Later in life –
Does it dissolve
Or
Is it volatile?
– But it does disappear
The impulse to communicate.
The speech events
You learn to greet with silence
Since you are in your autumn.
Yes, yes. Otherwise
You will be labelled odd.
Swallow your words
Bite your tongue
You are no more young
And, therefore foolish.
Foolish to hope, dream
Or feel wanted.
Flit, skip, don’t let it stick.
Kicked away it dies
No more highs or lows
A nauseating plateau.
Sticking a synthetic smile
You pass mile after mile,
Keeping quiet about not being senile,
Till the final stile.
Then blessedly
The need to communicate is gone.
—
Poetry lover? Check out Gitanjali: A Collection of Indian Poems by the Nobel Laureate
