The Bond of Love: A Poem by Mousumee Baruah

 All those petty squabbles between you and me
Now I cherish in silence with glee.
How you beat me up when I snatch your marbles, chalks, and slate.
My eyes rested always on your plate.
As I thought you always get a large piece of cake.
One day my heartache, when I saw maa, gave you an almond flake.
And I thought you were maa's, blue-eyed boy.
And you presumed, for papa, I am the source of joy.
And one day just before the sunrise
You gave me a heartfelt  surprise
As you cried when without looking back wearing a lot of bangles and Mehendi, I tossed gently a handful of rice.
You cried louder, when a lady murmurs, that I end the ties.
We drifted apart, now we call each other once a week.
Mostly we talk about our respective families' flairs and feats.
But the heart is still  close to each other, only  there is a physical  distance
We celebrate our fraternal affection in silence.
 Every year  I send you a sacred thread, a bond of love, and you send me goodies, no big rituals, and fuss.
Dear brother, distance cannot separate us.
After all, we are born out of the same womb.

Sharing the same blood, listening to the same heartthrob.