Ties, Unbroken

The bunch of threads arrived

By courier to a dismal home

In the lockdown,

Unlocking many doors;

An old widower

All alone, gets

Reminded of someone

Who still cares, and,

Remembers somewhere,

Someplace, in the vast universe---

A bed-ridden sister

In another type of home

Where faded inmates wait for the final relief

From pain, and, more acutely-felt

The forgetfulness of their very own;

The man smiles, after months,

Holding the simple rakhi in

His shaky hands;

The message, a sprawl of

Bouncing hand-written lines,

Delivers a promise from a full heart:

Bhaisaab, miss you and Ma, very much here

Surrounded by the strangers who are all

Lookalike, now become a new family. Cannot 

Move around much---confined to this iron bed.

But worry not, dear brother,

A sister often thinks of you and sure 

We meet, hundred percent,

Come what may,

On the next Raksha Bandhan!