Smiles in Winter Morn!
– Faruque Sayed, Silkeborg, Denmark.
Fire wood burns, water boils in the pot,
I wait for a bowl of puffed rice and a cup of milky tea!
She sits busying beside the fire,
Warding off the morning chill.
A red frock flutters, a ponytail sways,
Searching for someone by the courtyard well.
Newly hatched chicks peck at scattered grains,
Following their mother across the yard.
Smoke bends and curls over the tin roof
Just as the crows flee off in flight.
The dawning sun heralds a morn
Resting on bean blossoms and gourd vines.
Glass bangles chime,
As a hand reaches out in a winter tale –
Gives me a cup of tea and a bowl of spiced puffed rice.
Her smile shall live
In the corner of my softened heart!