An Affair That Never Was - 2

This is a story of an affair that never was. 

Long long ago, in a tiny island

Crawling with crowds, dreams

confetti malls, coffee shops and

Printed balloons for every event of life

A lonely little missus met someone for coffee, once. 

And once more. 

And for the last time, 

oh please, just once more.

What stories, what beauty, what rain!

His words brought back to her,

a world she had shelved 

in her locked-out drawer of 

never-to-be-visited-memories. 

The lilt in his language taking turns, 
in unclothing her and dressing her up 

in white silk sarees, glass bangles, 

sweet wet sands of moonlit beaches,
 forgotten tastes, idioms of beauty, 

Handwoven jasmine garlands,

Armchairs meant for dreams of

two; cool coconut water in

hot sultry fields. 

Time-lapse images

of could-have-beens, 

have-beens, what-ifs, 

why nots. 

Now when urgent, intense 

memories wake our little missus 

from her daily grind and dingy dreams

there is no drawer to lock them up.