A Cuckoo Came Calling | Tejaswinee Barua

Holding broken pieces of me, I sat

on my balcony a summer arvo

pondering about love and life

wondering where had I gone wrong

and then a cuckoo came calling.

She made herself home, confident

sure of herself, unlike me.

and then she sang a song,

a melody that pierced my heart

She took me back in time

when my hopes were young

when my dreams were blinding

when loving myself came easy.

Back to the home she flew me

the one that still stands, just empty

where love meant mom’s food

where tears were wiped quickly

where kisses healed scrapped knees.

To the fields, where her kin sang to me

on cool evenings when I wove dreams.

She looked at me, holding my stare,

striking a final tune, as if urging me

to move ahead and still look back

to still dream, to still believe

and to find in myself, the little me,

who believed a kiss healed.