Words

"You're good with words" he used to say
Compliment it is, I used to think
Little did I realise back then
Sarcasm was what he truly meant

All my childhood I had read
Books in languages known to me
Began with Champak and Nandan
Panchatantra made my eyes gleam

Words did to me what people couldn't
Liberated the soul, kept the body trapped
In the lives of Meena and mitthu
Escape it was that I began to seek

An escape from what i thought was home
With familiar faces yet souls so strange
They lived together under a roof
To prove the world they weren't estranged

Away from the chaos of this worldly affairs
I met him in school a decade ago
Sitting on the last bench, we shared the food
Both for the body and for the soul.

Friends for a decade
Couple for a year
Proximity ruined it all
Distance became dear.

He admired me for my words
not anymore for the creation
As allegations were put
Of living lies and manipulation.

And it was time to look for escape
Yet again from what claimed to be home
Two states, kite runner and the Alchemist
Words showed me what it feels to be home.