Denial

by Pankaj Vaishnavi

The step was quick and hopeful,
the gait as unbridled.
Darting eyes, expectant
of a peek of pulchritude.

Cavorted to a coffee stall
oozing hope in bucketfuls;
paper changed eager hands
and the quest was rewarded.

A face shone in the throng;
a singular scintilla.
A spectacular sylph approaching
as smoothly as a song.

I burst into one too

imperceptibly so, at the sight.
The coffee was never so hot,

the cup never as heavy.
Appetite became a liability
proximity, a strong provocation;

probability, a boring theory;
possibility, a cry so near.

Aeons passed, or seemed to
until the cup emptied into me.
With a burning gullet, flushed cheeks
and rising fever, I rose.

Agony of those four steps,
the fumbling choice of words,
the frugal chunks of speech,
so few and far between.

Blurted an innocuous question,

the awesome face now awful.
Lovely lips, mockingly parted
and I was denied a name.

09-Mar-2003

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