NEPENTHE

A Letter To My Old House

Dear Old House I Moved Away From Six Years Ago,

I know this letter is long overdue,

But here it is, at last.

How are you?

Are you still the pristine beauty that we fell for,

Six years ago, or have you changed?

(Not that change is bad,

I don't think you'll recognise me,

I'm not the same girl I used to be)

Are you still that pretty shade of off-white,

Dipped in sunshine, with a dab of fresh air?

Does the green ivy still creep like dreaded white hairs,

Atop your pretty head?

Have the cracks on your walls, like happy wrinkles,

Widened over the years?

(We are both growing old.)

Do you still have a view of the bubbly soprano stream,

That hums her dulcet melodies and dances a jig,

With the twittering sparrows and mynahs?

Does the Golden laburnum still bloom in April,

Hanging heavy with the weight of flaxen flowers,

Like the blonde locks of the goddess of the sun?

Does the hibiscus still blossom red in our courtyard,

Like long-lost love?

Do the glow-in-the-dark stars glued to the door of my room,

Still light you up in the middle of the night?

Does the kitchen still smell like how my mother left it,

The scent of turmeric and tea and vanilla?

Is there still a file or a folder left,

In my father's cavernous office?

Are there still any crayons or coloring books,

That my sister forgot to take with her?

I guess, what I'm trying to ask is,

Have we ever left a mark in you,

That proved we were there at all?

(It goes without saying, That you left,

A mark on us, An invisible mark,

Front and centre in our hearts)

I hope your new family loves you,

And appreciates you and takes care of you.

I still miss you even after all these years.

Yours truly,

Nasreen

Thanks for reading!!