Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Quartet

You cross the moment, looking for that fleeting second chance. You catch his eyes and look to see if he feels the same way. They smile at you and move on, across the room. The room is a blur, the noises are muffled. He mingles. One by one. Till he reaches you. But he doesn’t say anything. You don’t say anything. But you know, this is the moment. You are looking for that second chance. But there are no second chances honey. Not when you don’t take the first one. You blew it.

You miss the instant, because you were drowning in memories amiss. You see her searching you out in the crowd, drawing you. Your eyes twinkle, seeing her across the room. The path is clear, there is a sudden silence. She disconnects. Here and there. Till you reach her. But you don’t know what to say. She is waiting. Now you feel, maybe this is not the time. How can this be the time? It was never meant to be. Not before. Not now.

You catch it happening, when you were looking for something else. You see them connect, like they did before. No acknowledgement, just a connection, perfect and unpretentious. They move towards each other. Meeting others. On the way. Till they are together. It looks like they are silent. But there is so much going on beneath. You can see it, they were meant to be. You wonder if it was all a lie. About nothing having happened. Of course it did. It’s obvious.

You almost didn’t see it, because you could never see it happen. You see them notice each other for the first time. They linger, taking the moment in slowly. Meanwhile, the room is bustling with activity. They struggle to get to the other. But manage, eventually. Till they face each other. There is an awkward moment. They both try to speak but stop, waiting for the other. So, this is how they meet. This is how things happen. It comes out of nowhere. Just like that. Anytime.


38 comments:

J said...

I wait and wait and wait. Somehow I want this to come from him.

He waits, wonders, wants me. But doesnt know what's running on my mind.

They whisper, "These two look so cute together. The are just perfect."

But nothing happens. Everyone's waiting for gow knows what to happen.

Itineranting said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
{illyria} said...

hot damn. sounds like something i posted about. fate in motion.

Sindhuja Parthasarathy said...

Beautful and soothing..

Liked this one :

"You almost didn’t see it, because you could never see it happen."

Anonymous said...

Perspective ,waltzing to the notes of your verbal orchestra......it looks beautiful....but so many moments meet yet dont mingle and so many paths cross yet dont touch...because of this damn perspective.....

gulnaz said...

damn this stings like tears!!!

i love the circling in of the perspectives of a single moment, brilliant!!

diana christine said...

ah, such brilliance. more than simple poetry, this is rich psychology. you take us beyond ourselves, offer us a different path. and you bring us hope...

exquisitely performed...

Ram said...

aaah.. people and their perspectives.. so many 'if only' situational possibilities.. you wish you go right there and let them know what each other is thinking and relieve them of the misery.

Prat said...

Oh boy oh boy oh boy.
These near perfect moments captured in paper.
Tha liquidy scented gaussamer of possibilities.
And possibilities of a certain English, August quietly slipping into you near perfect afternoon teeling you about something wonderful that feels like you have just seen it...reach back in your head and you can almost touch it.
Thankyou for writing this.

La Louve said...

i think am becoming too shallow! or is it that i realise...

Phoenix said...

This IS fate in motion...this is a moment, the 'moment' that everyone lives in, ought to live in, wants to live in, but someohow, everyone just waits for the moment to come to him, waits for something to happen that will make him realise this is the moment.....

and thne, nothing happens..several moments pass, several livs pass...

O god. i dnt know what I' writing here. Ur piece has done somethng to me....I love the various perspectives that u have shown, though honstly i feel something is missing in this piece, this is not the best u can give, trust me.

Vikram said...

hm what a topic (for want of a more artyfarty word!) to write on!

nice, but left me wantin a little more..maybe part II?


and thank you for the blogroll!

. : A : . said...

J - Thanks for your take on this.

transience - Would love to see it.

Samudraa, jawaher - Thanks.

rusty - Yes, perspective can change a lot of things.

gulnaz - Glad you liked it. Why like tears?

feminine expressions - *bows*

Ram - Then it wouldn't be so much fun, would it?

Prat - And thank you for your lovely words on it. I enjoyed reading them!

Wbix - I think, you realize.

Phoenix - The best is always, yet to come. For we know not, what is yet to come. ;-)

The Arbit Council - You're welcome. Not so sure about a part 2.

Extempore said...

You miss the instant, because you were drowning in memories amiss.

:)... very, very gently.

Pincushion said...

An excruciatingly liquid dance of words unfolding layered emotions from so many reflected angles! You do it so beautifully...its so you!
:)

Anonymous said...

Yeah I know what that is.

venus said...

aww, this is very plausible event, for a third person, it is not conceivable to grasp on what is going on, only the ones know who are involved. hope, this didn't happen to you.

G Shrivastava said...

That's an interesting play with perspectives...was almost confusing since there is no indication that the narrator is changing...

G Shrivastava said...

That's an interesting play with perspectives...was almost confusing since there is no indication that the narrator is changing...

Anonymous said...

Kickass post, :A: !
Loved it :)

. : A : . said...

Extempore - :-)

Pincushion - Thanks for your lovely words.

Phal - Am sure you do.

venus - You are always one of the four. :-)

Geetanjali - Thanks for the feedback. I thought about putting breaks initially to seperate the two but then decided against it as it was not appealing to me visually. So I decided to leave it as it is. But agree, there could have been some indication of the changes in narrative. Maybe colours?

Ash - Thanks a lot. Glad you liked it.

Elixir said...

:) hi.

iamnasra said...

Some moements meant to be held forever
Yet we allow them to slip away from us..

Some moments the bitter silence is all is needed..
However we utter what we presume is thr truth..yet the truth is confused in mess of our thoughts..

Some moment a word or two is so sufficient to say it all ..yet we speak too much out of it

m.fletcher said...

This is what its all about, this is what makes people do things they never thought the would do. This is the magical moment that we all long for, but only a few of us will touch it and seek it out, over and over again, like a drug that you can't stay away from.

mermaid said...

I've always found attraction between two people a complicated thing. Outsiders try to analyze it, break it down to the basics. Until you are in a relationship, you don't realize that only the two involved will ever really fully understand their affinity for each other. And even then, parts of the relationship remain a mystery.

. : A : . said...

MissQt - I am sure you were. ;-)

Elixir - Welcome back!

iamnasra, mermaid - Thanks for your interesting perspective.

Gypsy Girl - Yes, this is the magical moment. And there are so many ways we can touch it.

aristera says - Thanks. Opening night of a show sounds like a good scenario. I like it. And yes, Vikram Seth too.

Bhisma Chakrabarti said...

this is what the narrator says with the opening shots of 'their little cliches' (and i am talking of the film here!)

great job!

Lorena said...

the loveliness of beginnings, opportunitites waiting to happen, love ready to start. that important minute, moment where everything can change or everything can stay the same. i'm intrigued by such moments and definitely captivated by your beautiful words.

. : A : . said...

wandering dervish - Great! So we have scene 0 / opening titles now? :-)

Lorena - Thanks a lot for your lovely words.

Deez said...

wow...hadnt imagined someone could give word to this....and so!! amazing post

. : A : . said...

Deez - Thanks a lot!

Anonymous said...

A director's cut? The scene flowed in front of my eyes

. : A : . said...

Sudarshan - Thanks. You can say that again! :-)

Russell Ragsdale said...

We are lost in the moment by being not in the moment -- excellent use of perspective. Followed it all and loved the intelligent places you took us (not just standard fare). Mind if I put up a link to you?

. : A : . said...

Russell Ragsdale - Thanks for dropping by here and commenting. Glad you enjoyed this. No problem with the linking. :-)

Brood Mode said...

"No acknowledgement, just a connection, perfect and unpretentious."

so very true... that's how it should happen

loved the post

. : A : . said...

Brood Mode - Thanks!

. : A : . said...

yvaine - Fate it is. Thanks.