Goodbye Grandpa

                                             

I dove into a dream of you deep into the night

Kept swimming till the morning bird cried

Was still bumping into old memories when I woke to a sun smoking bright

Dark clouds engulfed my eyes, ears trembling with the thunderous death knell

I was too awake to know you’ve gone to sleep to never wake again

Now I’ve gotta get used to the change

Now that you’ve flown to a better place

Thoughts breaking me in the already broken places

I walk about your home; in every sinew I can sense your traces

I feel the shivers entering, opening your door

Watching Djokovic vs. Federer, without you asking me the scores will be such a bore

When we brought your cold body & grandma pulled the sheet off your face

Seeing you still the clouds in my eyes broke into tears like rain

I won’t embarrass your soul, will celebrate you, not mope & mourn

You were rustic like the flintstones, lived life like the rollingstones

Our friendship was born before the internet & the cable TV

Long before the humans went nuts over FB & selfies

You held my hand & introduced me to sports

From the cricket fields to the tennis courts

Cheering for Steffi Graf & Gabriela Sabatini

Uncorking your jars & pampering me with chocolates & candies

Going nuts over Sehwag’s blitz & India’s victories

Dissecting each delivery & discussing India’s fortunes

Humming as we listened to Kishore & Burman’s tunes

The tragedies & comedies we plucked off the newspapers

Me on the couch, you in your favorite chair

Always looking debonair in your dyed black hair

You always set aside loose change for the stray beggars

Dressing dapper to go to the temple for daily prayers

Grandma would make us treats & sugarless teas

Wondering if I too, like you, had diabetes

In my teenage years I’d sit & bitch about my pimples

But you couldn’t give a damn about your million wrinkles

All your life you gave to the Indian Army

Fighting the violent wars, not caring for the trophies

Sharing a tent with comrade Anand Bakshi

Who went on to become a lyricist legendary

You’d tell me about your clan

“I love my only son even if he’s impolite & slack

I’ve seen my five daughters grow from frocks to rocks, can protect me from the fiercest attack

Gaurav, your grandma, in her day, was more beautiful than Katrina Kaif”

Never saw you tired or walking with a cane

Always with a glimmer in the eye & an inquisitive brain

When the sun would sink, you’d savor your scotch & soda

And I would take sips of my ice & coca cola

Last thing you asked me was to get married

Someday I will, for now I love living like a gypsy

I didn’t have an inkling those words would be our last

Your going away has hit me harder than a blast

In the years to come I’ll grow frail & gray, waking up will become more difficult than giving birth

I will know it’s time to say goodbye

I will pack my bags & depart the earth

And first thing I will meet you in the skies

Sitting on the clouds, rolling the clock back, will share stories & teas

I’m already stitching these dreams; someday my frozen dreams will melt into reality

{Goodbye Grandpa, love & respect.........I’ll be thinking of you}