Between this world, and my realm,
a voice peers at me, and says:
“There is a lapse, a great lapse –
Can you see...? The sun has died,
and your hopes droop
like the leaves on the Ashoka Tree.”

For me, the sun has died,
and my hopes droop
like the leaves on the Ashoka Tree.

One chance meeting,
even through my accidental death,
could liven up things,
and revive my hopes.
The droopy leaves would then become,
taller than the Ashoka Tree.

1998

Geeta Chhabra

Glossary.
Ashoka Tree – A rain-forest tree, possessing dangling foliage.