When will 
What we feel 
Travel as words on winds 
And cross the ocean of silence
Existing between us 
That’s lingered far too long

Everyday I reach the shores 
Sit down in the sand and deeply concentrate 
To drown out the squawking gulls 
And crashing waves
To listen to something
That might have hitched a ride on the winds 
From the distant shore 
A lonely silence answers 
I trudge back home wherever it is
Only to return 
With deepened hunger  

Our shores separated by time
And distance
Do converge 
Where I can’t recall 
Too lost am I
In the meeting itself

We exchange pleasantries
A lot of furtive glances 
Though avoiding to gaze long enough 
Into each others eyes
Lest they confess then and there
The longing they have felt
All along
It’s that fear again
Fear that holds back 
Fear that will kill dreams
In a world that’s suffocating us to death 
A tiny pool of happiness
Won’t drown us
Would it ?

©️ Shashikant Dudhgaonkar