THE PETRICHOR

It's the first rain marking the arrival of monsoon.

There is something subtle about the air.

My mother is humming some arbitrary tune.

My soul is indulged in the fresh petrichor.

All have their own worries to think about.

No one has time to slow down and stare

The sky's tears that are so incessantly cast out.

But, my soul is indulged in the sweet petrichor.

I used to see children of the same age playing in the alleys in rain.

However, I never made boats of any colourful paper.

Rain dancing just never made my senses go insane.

Something that I cherished always was the calming petrichor.

Even if I ever wanted to get out and dance madly,

Tales of going sick early always made the dancing scarier.

To reach school, I used to wear the long old raincoat shabbily.

The windows in class freed me more like the gentle petrichor.

Nevertheless, there are people for whom rains sound romantic.
For some, it may be a symbol of a love journey that got over.
Some are also fond of Indian rain myths that are simply fantastic.
But, the charisma of the petrichor excites me more.

When the sky used to cease it's mourning and crying,

It used to turn pure blue for everyone to peacefully share.

But, as time passed by, dear pollution set the sky to be terrifying.

Grievously, now, the Earth hardly remembers its beloved petrichor.

In a few days, it might abruptly rain cats and dogs.

There may be suspended tours and some flooded river.

Lack of food supplies and croaking of political frogs

May devoid me of my indulgence in the deep petrichor.

There are also others who may suffer from this rain.

Who knows there may be some dejected farmer?

Who knows what untimely rain will do of his crops again?

What if all left with him will only be the fragile petrichor?

Rapid deforestation and windstorm may kill some evergreen trees.
People and animals falling in open manholes may die or get sicker.
There may be collapsed bridges and multiple casualties.
Will people anymore love the enchanting petrichor?

There are some places that may suffer a drastic drought.

Some places and people may undergo cloudburst and downpour.

What about the downtrodden whose skin and food may rot?

I hope even under testing times, none neglects the familiar petrichor.

Rain brings with it many questions to ponder upon.
Endless possibilities of answers are always there.

I don't know what this and future rains will bring on.
However, I can never forget the much dear petrichor.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------©Radhika Gupta(July10,2018)