The House On The Hillock

The tiny house perched on a hillock

Below the majestic snowcapped Himalayas

Boldly weathering the sun and rain and snow

The passing clouds gliding by its windows

Peering into its mysterious nooks and corners

A climbing rose hugged the walls and crevices

And blossomed in red clusters over the white wall.

A rumbling river flowed deep down in the valleys

Waters gently breaking over the rocky bed

And leaping in joyful spirals into the air

Splattering into a million silver droplets 

The swaying pine trees stately on its slopes

The meadow grass dancing to the tunes of the wind.

 

A lonely soul made his way slowly up the hill

His thin lanky frame blown by the wind

His shirt fluttering in the distance on the mountain slopes

He was the hermit of the hillock

A man of great wisdom, very few words

Who lived in the house on the hillock.

Many a story the villagers tell

Of the Hermit of the hillock

On a cold wintry night, he appeared

He appeared from nowhere

He made his home the deserted house

Which the villagers looked upon in fear

There was a sad story of the house

Which was told in hushed voices in dusky evenings.

On a fine sunny day evening the sun rays slanting

Playing mystical lights and shadows in the pine trees

The family of three went down the river in a boat

Their laugher drifted over the riverbanks and flowing waters

And not to be seen again.

Many a sun and moons later the Hermit appeared

And made his way purposely up the slopes

To the house on the hillock

A long beard hiding his features,

His face lined deep with sorrow

Eyes filled with melancholy

His gaze far away beyond the valley and the river.

Who was the Hermit of the Hillock

No one knew, no one dared ask

He spoke with no one, kept no company.

He lived in the house on the hillock

A life of solitude, a life of deep sorrow.

A year later, on a gloomy winter evening

With the skies overcast and a dreary air

As the shadows lengthened and mist gathered

The Hermit wandered down the slopes to the river

And was seen walking past the bend in the far distance

Receded beyond the pine trees and vanished from sight.

The wind blew eerie whistles among the pine trees

And the river meandered on silent witness to the world.

The following day in the twilight in the fleeting sunlight

The Hermit returns and joyful found his family

Three  forms could be seen slowly walking

 Up the winding path to the house on the hillock

And in dusky light the family was seen frolicking

On the roof of the house on the hillock

A bearded form throwing up in the air

And catching a pony tailed girl

Whose shrill laughter floated down

From the house on the hillock

Climbed into the twilight rays of the sun

And climbing into the sky

And spreading over the hills and valleys.

It was no more a melancholy house, the roses bloomed

And the lilies all around danced to the winds.