Lavender Smile: A poem by Indrani Chowdhury

The heathen, unsullied lantanas,

Carefree beauties of the wild,

Graces the dormitories of,  

Hills, plains, and valleys,

Wearing their lavender smile.

A chance glance at it,

Uplifts the spirit of a troubled soul,

One starts to believe in miracles,

While marveling at their lavender robe.

The lantanas wear their lavender smile,

While facing hails, storms, and stress,

Sending us a powerful message,

That someday love would reappear to wipe away all our tears, 

That someday all our grievances would be redressed.

The rejections, the failures,

The grievances, the silent tears,

All seems, in their presence, things of a distant past.

And hope springs in the human heart,

By witnessing how they stand tall even at difficult times, 

Still retaining their everlasting lavender smile.

Note: Lantana is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants of the verbena family, verbenaceae. Lantanas are seen almost everywhere in the northeast part of India, specifically at Guwahati in Assam, where I was born and raised. Though they can be found in different colors, the lavender- colored lantana is my personal favorite.