TOUCHPOINTS

TOUCHPOINTS

written by: Dilip Mohapatra

@dilipmo

The other day when
I turned sixty nine
and I sat down to take stock
of the touchpoints
that we continue to share
and tried to make a new inventory
I couldn’t find many
which could be jotted down
and an almost bare sheet
of paper stared at me.

No longer we sit on the
rusty and weather beaten bench
hand in hand
under the acacia tree
in the corner of the park
looking at the moon through
its branches swimming
against the gossamer clouds
as a faint yet familiar tune wafts in
from a distant flute.
The rides on our old second hand
Lambretta in the narrow
lanes of Fort Cochin
in the small hours
soaking wet in the downpours
look so very remote and fuzzy
nor do we take any more
alternate licks
of the silky smooth ‘softy’
overflowing off
the waffle cone.

But still you need my steady hand
to pull up
an obstinate zipper on your hoody
before we go for our walk
that we still take together
in the wintry mornings
and when we return home
to insert the key in the lock
to open the door
and then we sit together
to listen to devotional songs
from the YouTube juke box
playing through Bluetooth.

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Dilip Mohapatra

MAY 2017 / JAN-FEB 2019 AUTHOR OF THE MONTH at Spillwords.com

Dilip Mohapatra (b.1950), a decorated Navy Veteran started writing poems since the seventies. His initial foray into the world of literature was through poetry workshops in college and inspirations from his teacher Jayanta Mahapatra, an acclaimed poet in contemporary English. His poems have appeared in many literary journals of repute and anthologies worldwide. Some of his poems are included in the World Poetry Yearbook, 2013 and 2014 Editions. He has six poetry collections to his credit published by Authorspress, the latest being Dewdrops of Dawns, which has received raving reviews in multiple literary journals globally. Currently his latest, aProfessional book titled Campus to Corporate which is a career navigation manual for the students aspiring for a successful corporate career and for newcomers to the industry to survive and succeed has become a best seller with more than 10000 copies sold. He lives with his wife at Pune, India.

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