In an empty house--By Paresh Tiwari--India

In an empty house

The bed unmade in the tenor
of our last quarrel.
My guilt shattered against the brick wall.

Like the shards of a fun house mirror,
the faces bloated, sucked, thin,
fat, tall, short, crazy, delirious, demented.
I wonder which was the real me?
the dog yet un-fed, the pillow un-slept,
the taste of your skin undone.

From the moonlight and orchids,
evening mist and morning dew,
or my fingers that caressed your song
From the wings of the last free lark,
the howl of the first wild wolf,
or the flicker of an old oil lamp

Could I ever distil your absence,
your presence and all that’s lost
between the two of us…

Paresh Tiwari is an often-published poet, writer and illustrator currently residing in Mumbai, India. He took to haiku and its associated forms in 2012 and is currently dabbling with longer forms of writing. His haiku, haibun, tanka, haiga and other poems appear frequently in noteworthy journals and anthologies across the world. An Inch of Sky, Paresh Tiwari’s collected haiku and haibun, has been published by 20 Notebooks Press. The book is now available online at http://goo.gl/MsSCaK