The past has a smell
Somewhere distant in the horizon
Floating in gently, nostalgically
Through the long lost years

The smell reminds me of my childhood
The sweat, the grime, the fights
The exhilaration, the sadness, the madness
The make-up minutes, hours, days

The smell lingers dramatically
Mysteriously
Playing hide and seek with my mind
Wafting through the senses

Bringing back sudden shafts of memories
Like lightning
Striking my ageing grey cells
Randomly, without any design or decorum

Making it all very real
Making me wanting to reach out
Only to realise the thin air
The continuum, the vacuum

But that vacuum has an existence
A reality seemingly near
A reality fused in my mind
A reality I hold very dear

Subir Chakraborty / 13th Aug 2018