Glopowrimo 13 Petrichor

Glopowrimo 13 Petrichor

Annual homecoming, a tedious affair
Packing the right clothes books and toys
Making allowances for Calcutta weather
Hot and humid, dry in April
Bit of Ozone crackling in the air
At cusp of  May
Soon cool breezes and darkening skies at four
Presage monsoon's advent at our door.

Lightning slashing our skies  apart
Thunderbolts incessant, stop and start.

We came equipped with singlets and shorts
Then brought out hoodies, and canvas flip flops
For my dear daredevils to dance in the rain
As dry grounds slaked their parched up pain
Quenched their thirst and soaked in luscious  fat drops
Pitter patter, as they pelted non stop!

And what a lovely parting gift from the gentle earth
The wet rocks and clay soil  opened up their veins
fragrant fluids and oils oozed upwards from nature's heart.

My boys sniffed in the petrichor
Dubious faces unsure, I smiled
To see how new things are received
By the youngest denizens of earth...

At first not so pleasing but incrementally
Over our life span,
Somethings become a fundamental need
This recurrent reassurance of
Continuity,
Life goes on in contiguity,
Completing the circle of life,
Every thing in nature harmonized.

Arousing fishes in the river the petrichor scents
Reminds them how now is it's time to procreate
How it guides the thirsty camel to divine desert oases
Subtlest fragrance for their eager noses

And I bend to scoop the mud in my revering palms
Touching my ancestors in moist mingled  balm.

Petrichor... Soul sap of the Gods
Petrified scents set in stone cellars
Reminder of life juices permeating
Our fragile flesh and bones.

(c) Amrita Valan 2018