CUP OF TEA

 

My first cup of tea

When was it drunk by me?

Yes, I remember

It was a Sunday evening

During my school days

When I was ill, wrapped in a blanket or a quilt

Watching raindrops break on the window sill

My mother came in with a hot cup of tea

Took the thermometer out of my mouth and said, “Let me see”

She gave me the cup and told to drink slow and steady

But before she could complete,

My cup was half empty already!

After such two to three days of tea drinking,

I was fine, and all because of, caring mother of mine

Tea became regular

When I was enjoying my college year

The boring lectures

And the heavy syllabus

With my best friends

Some fun loving and enjoyable

And some rather serious

The classes bunked by me

And contribution of all friends

For everyday snacks and tea

Every day, every year

Would soon become an addiction!

But at the end, of my college

Tea had become my favourite beverage

After my interview at my workplace

I had a cup of tea in its canteen

And five years had passed

Since I had turned eighteen

The waiter was an old guy

With wrinkles on his face, hands, forehead

But the taste

Was exceptionally different

Maybe because of his hard work, blood and sweat

As the years passed

There was a promotion waiting for me

But due to the failure of a project

I had to hear, “This is not your cup of tea”

This was it, I thought

But time made me learn from my mistake

And at last I retired respectfully, for Heaven sakes!

Now, what else remains?

After everything’s said and done

Sitting in the veranda in my wooden chair

I enjoy the fresh, warm rays of the sun

What’s my age?

Maybe seventy-two or three

I try to remember again and again

Holding in my hand, and feeling’ the warmth

Of the hot cup of tea

Of the hot cup of tea….