The Rain

We left that old ungainly house

When my dog died there, after

The burial, after the rose

Flowered twice, pulling it by its

Roots and carting it with our books,

Clothes and chairs in a hurry.

We live in a new house now,

And, the roofs do not leak, but, when

It rains here, I see the rain drench

That empty house, I hear it fall

Where my puppy now lies,

Alone..

[From Only The Soul Knows How To Sing]


Kamala Das