Paris is where you are

A fifteen-day gilded romance it was
Right by the Eiffel, in heavy downpour
Sealed at the drop of her camera, his pen
Blooming at the very spot they stumbled, smiled
took their respective directions and went.

Coffee glazed his notebook involuntary
Or were her eyes conjuring a spell
Was the click that captured her smile, a sheer luck
Or was his heart finally waking up to the flicker of love
While they resisted, a part of them already had taken the leap of faith.

Walking side by side on different sidewalks
The distance closed on in or was it them
A slight touch of the back of hands
A spark, she smiled, he smiled
Love struck.

Pink cotton candies, gummy bears and icy mocha
Entangled in the moments their hearts raced laying side by side
By the musical fountains they kissed
The clouds roared, lightning blazed the sky
As if angels clapped and clicked pictures up high.

Slow footsteps walked to Eiffel
A wrinkled fist held red roses, shimmering in sparkles
A tiny shadow accompanied the hunchbacked
The full moon beamed as if welcoming an old friend back
And a silent drizzle the sky wore.

He sat by her but she didn't take his hand
In hope of that smile, he flew over continents
Laying roses in her lap, he then took her name
Not a whisper, not a sound, his heart broke again
The child, in silence, held on to the tears that slid down his face.

And then he got up, adjusted his tie
If he let it all out, eternity would fall short to cry
The fountains he saw and let drown in oceans of his eyes
"You want cotton candies, Isabel?", clearing his throat, he asked
"I love you, Grandpa", the little girl's voice did an echo dance.

Racing his hand on the headstone, he sighed
Kissing her name, he whispered "Goodbye"
And walked on, slowly, to the vendor nearby
While the little girl, stayed, reading the inscription, moist eyes.

"In Paris life learned to live, love smiled.
In Paris lay me finally for it's here I can forever survive".

And then she opened the note the roses enveloped
yielding a slanting cursive, it read:

"I know you won't speak but I hear you breathe, I hear you cry
I know time is such that I today I cannot lay by your side
holding your hand, listening your song, hugging you to sleep, dusk to dawn.
I take medicines on time but they say I have 6 months
Next year on our anniversary, I might not have to come
For by then I'd rob you off here
For by then I'll make Paris for you up there".

© 2012 Neha Choudhry