In The Pink Of The Tabebuia

At the foot of the Tabebuia outside the temple where you’d sit

And wait for me to conclude my evening prayers,

I found your earring hiding amongst the fallen petals;

Silver shimmering erratically in the sun, in pink.

You would leave me your toe ring to keep When you couldn’t spend time with me for days

After your father heard that you were laughing loudly with a Hindu boy

Outside Vasanti’s coffee house in the rain, soaked to the bone.

I wondered if you’d left a piece of you amidst the flushed flora,

Knowingly.

I wonder if you would come away with me

If I told you that I missed your loving and that

I couldn’t bear to see you marrying Faizan.

I wonder if my mother would come with us,

Leaving her intoxicated husband to sponge off of himself.

I wonder if you would get your degree like you wanted if we make it

To another place, a far kinder place.

Because no matter the Tabebuia wilting or blooming,

It’s us passing it by on our way to the rest of our lives together.

And it’s still us

In Vasanti’s coffee house when it pours;

And it’s still us

In the darkest of rooms when we hold each other

And where I find all the other shimmering pieces of you.

About Diya Kumar

Diya Kumar is an 18-year-old Indian girl who will be studying English alongside Western Music and Psychology to become a writer in the future. Diya learns Japanese as a hobby, dreaming of visiting Japan more than once in the future.

In India, a person's religion is given more importance than anything else. Though legal, inter-religion marriages are often condemned. Lovers belonging to different faiths are forced to separate, and many a time the families resort to murder for the union to be completely severed.

Instagram: @bearcurrysenpai

Graphic by Ayumi White