GANDHARA

by A.V. Koshy

I am unlocking you
till you learn to pay to me too tribute
and tithe worthy of the king I am
one fifth of your fragrance
one fifth of the softness of your skin
one fifth of the sparkle in your eyes
and the taste of your lips
one fifth of the movement of your hips
one fifth of your name and emotion
one fifth of your beauty, to stay
one fifth of your essence
in return for my one seventh
petal by petal of you, rambling rose, squeezed out and squashed into
drops of rose water and drunk
by me, to fulfill
the tale of love from your side too
Then and only then will the story be
complete
and forever, like a nectarine pickled
& sealed
Love is not love till
one teaches by example
and the other learns
like a rose to ramble
on the fence the beloved teacher is
to give back one fifth for the bigger one seventh got
and then it is
Gandhara
or Shangri La
Yes, let the lost horizon remain lost
and yes, let no one find us hidden there, the last pair
There I teach you the meaning of love
till you also learn as much or more to give
as you can from your granary's hold
as my reincarnated Shakunthala or Damayanthi bold