THE FOLLOWING POEM WAS SELECTED IN WINGWORD POETRY PRIZE 2023 LONGLIST.

Your rich vibrant laughter ringing in my ears,

The symphony of your baritone tunes of soulful music,

The warmth of your hand and the smugness of its fit in mine,

The damp grass beneath our feet during our long monsoon walks,

The tepidity of your hug and the intensity of your gaze,

The Michelangelesque small patterns you draw on my palm,

As you listen to my sad stories, filling abundance and completeness.

These are the memories I live with each day,

Not one waking moment did I feel abandoned or desolate,

I hold you in each step of my life,

You were my instep as I walked,

My eyelids to protect against dust ruthlessly blown by the crowd,

My umbrella during the rain,

My warmth on a cold chilly night.

You have gone, Adam, to the far worlds away from me,

More distant than the seven seas,

To a place where my warmth and love cannot touch your now cold heart,

You have encircled yourself in a world of which I am not a part,

Your wind does not fill me-this flute needs your breath to create music,

It is dead now-I feel like lead,

Numbness and leadenness are now a part of me.

It has been a year Adam, your memories fill the holes of this flute,

You brought me from abundance to emptiness,

But this emptiness is now my completeness,

I am your white shadow, pure but invisible in your love.