Reviving a Memory: My First Day at Work

Shadows and light, the morning bright

the shades and hues of the sky so blue

I wonder if I could have a canvas

and paint my world like the nature does

I find my paper and all of my inks

orange and yellow and pastel pinks

I keep my brushes close to my fingers

what I wish to paint in my mind lingers

I have coffee and some pastry to munch

I randomly sketch while savouring its crunch

Finally with a vision of my next creation

I sit with a pencil filling up my imagination

And finally I begin, one stroke at a time

A hot summer drink like lemonade and lime

I draw from my memory, the one I had

When I was running both out of breath and time

On a day when I had a train to catch

my first day of work- I started from scratch

The glass drawn was not perfectly done

just like that day with a scorching sun

After two-three attempts I managed it right

Now it had the perfect width and height

Just like that day that started out wrong

But I didn’t despair while trying to be strong

I made fluffy clouds within the sky

and watched the afternoon drift by

A touch of blue, a streak of white

to balance shadow against the light

The glass now stood upon the page

a simple sketch, yet more with age

For every line that I redrew

reminded me of what I knew

No perfect start is guaranteed

we stumble first before we lead

Just like that day beneath the sun

I kept on going till it was done

And as I signed my name below

I felt a quiet pride still grow

For art, like life, has shown to me

Beauty lives in persistence, faithfully.

• Poetry by Anushree Bhattacharya