The Serene beauty

( This poem was writen by me back in 1978 when i was a class 8th student at Swami Vivekananda High School, Chembur, Mumbai. I as very much enchanted by the French Teacher,her quite demeanor , her silent beauty .Though I was not her student, I observed her from a distance. A part of me longed to be in her classroom, to hear her speak a language I imagined was as beautiful as she was. It was her, as much as the language itself, that drew me ..Back then I chose Marathi over French, Music Over Drawing and the direction of my life changed for ever. And the French teacher, with her silent beauty, faded into a cherished memory. Learning both French and painting together , the opportunity came to me after crossing the age of Sixty,when I felt that it was the time for the culmination of a journey that began while i was kid of 14. But the delicate hands that once held a brush with youthful vigor were now fragile, and my memory, once sharp and quick, had grown frail. I had finally found the time, but time, in turn, had taken its toll ).

Her beauty was silent

yet terrifying

She spoke no words

her mouth quivered

In the depth of her eyes

were shadows

of the sorrow

that was

insurmountable

yet measurable

but still they called her

The stone faced lady