Poetry
Beautiful Coincidences
by
Vaidyanathan Subramaniam
testing the strength of the tongue.
I trace the word with my finger,
the letters loom large in my mind's eye,
but I don't say it yet.
I bump into a stranger,
and the word tumbles out.
I am late for my class,
and it comes out automatic.
I say it a thousand times
in her imagined presence.
I say it to her photograph,
and to her possessions.
But, does it suffice?
I make up my mind,
it has to be now,
it has to be done,
even if I melt in the effort.
I turn around, and approach her,
nearing her with a sustained sibilance.
As I lay my hands on her shoulders,
I feel her softness enlarged by a sigh.
She turns to face me
and we both say "Sorry".
The word, uttered twice,
merges as one in time and space,
dissolving the egos into nothingness.