Chandigarh’s Sukhna Lake, a long-lost friend

Oh vast lake drown all my sorrows,

May your silence soak up all my sad tomorrows.

Let your broad horizons broaden mine.

Come heal my body and my mind.

I have long lone walked thy lovely crescent.

At the break of day and under the moon reticent.

Felt thy cool and damp breeze ruffle my hair.

Have seen people walking in joy and despair.

The secluded shady wooded lovers’ lane,

In the water foreign weeds fight advantage to gain.

The waves whisper in ripples and call my name.

Whistling ducks, singing quails, the emerald forest trail.

Thy forest side to walk is a true pleasure,

Where animals roam in a significant measure.

A deer and baby doe peer at me from shadows curiously,

They gaze shyly through the foliage, grazing peacefully.

Gnarled trees dried and stranded on brown bars of land.

Egrets and crows feed on carrion on exposed strips of sand.

I wander around framed by the mighty Shivalik sentinels.

And sit under the cool shade of the old peepal.

Let me see colours not darkness in thy sunset glow.

In your glassy shimmer let me gather a glimmer of hope.

Boats drift by and kayaks in tandem tranquil grace,

Gliding through the lake’s warm embrace.

As rows of rainbow flowers sway gently in the wind.

Let me sit by your side like a long lost friend.

Dr Deviyani Singh, Chandigarh