The City of my Life

The City of my Life

                  -Nagaraju Ramaswamy

The songs are deep; multi-layered;
word over word;
A trilogy of memoirs; diffused lines;
page over page.
Hyderabad is the book of my life.

Today
I tread the streets;
my gazes gauge the tides’ crests and ebbs
my thoughts pickup the pearls.
Hyderabad is the sea of my life.

Those days
I dreamt the dreams of the dawns and dived into the myriad morning lights;
the blooming rainbows behind silver lines.
Hyderabad was the sky of my stars.

Those days
my hopes were high, the Himalayan;
mountains of books and files; and
I scaled the slopes to reach the peaks.
Hyderabad was pinnacle of my peaks.

Those days
my plans were meticulous, ambitious;
story above the story, aspiration above aspiration; the high-raise future.
Hyderabad was my towering sky-scraper.

Those days
I tamed the wings, the wings of the wind;
the swinging clouds in the rocking blues.
I settled in the muse of my comfort zone.
Hyderabad was the peace of my inner space.

Those days
when the spiralling diaspora turned the tide and
when my kids were swept over to the land of opportunities,
I was, yet, brooding over the beauties of my forlorn city;
Hyderabad was our launching pad.

Now a days
I look from far beyond, from the farthest lands.
I am in the lovely paradise, amidst my loving lads;
But, my nostalgic mind lingers over my distant horizons;
Hyderabad is the city of my life.

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