What do you think love is
I asked my circle that day
We were 18 then,
So our dreams were tinged with unreality
Unbroken by adulthood
Unrestrained by truth
Doused in optimism
And all those romances we had read.
What do you think love is
I emailed my circle that day
We were 21 then,
Our horizons now broader
Missing each other as we emailed
Back and forth, each tinged with
Nostalgia, the dreams of having joint apartments
As we readied ourselves for adulthood.
What do you think love is
I WhatsApped my circle that day
We were 25 then,
The adultiest adults we could be
Laughing at our 18-year-old selves
Still wishing we lived in the same city
Finding solace in our quarter-life crises
Discovering and abandoning ourselves.
What do you think love is
I finally asked myself
I was 29 then,
Stocking up a house for a party
Awaiting the congregation of the circle
Adding items to the grocery basket
Not of things I would eat
But of things they would need.
That grocery basket gave me the clue
I had been looking for, for 10 years
The meaning of love was hidden in
All the jokes, and messages
All the memes and emojis shared
Drunken declarations of love
Hearts and kisses freely given
‘Hum hai na’ thrown into the mix.
Written as part of AtoZ. For more, check the Theme Reveal 2020 – 26 Letters of Love.
tales of Suchita 
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