The Wall

By Sindhu Verma

There had been a wall.

Staunch and stern-looking.

And yet, it would have unfurled

Like the petals of a lotus

To bare its heart

For you and only for you

To hold and hold dear,

Had you called out with love.

It was not impenetrable.

Had you run your hand

Over its ungainly roughness,

It would have softened and melted;

It would have flung open its doors

For you and only for you

To enter the sanctum-

The delicate heart

Whose keeper it was.

It needn't have been pelted or dented.

And because it was,

It cannot hold up any more.

It groans and cracks.

It squeals and crumbles.

There lies the naked crimson heart,

Sans defense, palpitating,

Shamed and stifled by the openness.

It races away in fear.

Will it be stomped?

Will it be stowed away frozen?

The heart needs the wall.

By Sindhu Verma