A canvas of memory - Poetry

Shadows and light, the morning bright

the shades and hues of the sky are so blue

I wonder if I could have a canvas

and paint my world as 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 drawing 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 wrong

But I didn’t despair while trying to be strong

I made fluffy clouds in the sky

and watched the afternoon drift by

A touch of blue, a streak of white

to balance the 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

• Poetry by Anushree Bhattacharya