When we meet again

When we first met

You were whiter than snow

And colder than ice.

I reminisce about

Hiking to your source --

A lake placid ---

And descending

Along the rocky slope

Hand in hand with you

Flowing incessantly.

I remember

Meeting a young man

Who got healed

Of snake venom

Plunging into your laps.

I have been witness

To your beauty eternal

And heard stories countless

Of you quenching

Travellers' thirst.

But

What did you get in return?

I can see

You have toned down

And turned brownish.

Somebody told me

The lake

Now is a happening spot

With boats ferrying

People making merry.

And

No longer

The migratory birds

Call it their home.

I am worried

How will you look like

When we meet again?

Republished from my Instagram post.

Climate of change

The snow-capped peak

Sneered at the change.

The wooden rooftops

Replaced by iron sheets

And the stone walls

Replaced by kiln bricks.

The beauty in uniformity

Had given way to modernity.

The landscape looked

Like tattered patches.

A scarred face,

Like shadows on the moon.

The village strove for change,

Stoked ambitions

To turn into a town.

But the silly peak

Wanted the time to stop,

Freeze in the past.

The villagers built roads,

brought vehicles.

And the vehicles

Brought everything.

With amenities galore

The village jeered at the peak

Scoffed at its wrinkles,

The dwindling snowline.

The peak decided to keep mum

And watch karma take over.

Republished from my Instagram post.