Ashoka trees and coffee mugs—

This poem reflects on the passage of time, exploring the changing relationship between the speaker and the once-vibrant trees, now still, as both nature and the speaker themselves evolve.

I watched the mighty trees, standing tall as ever,
Shrouded in their leafy blanket, with a strange stillness today.
They seemed alive in the most bizarre sense,
Yet something was missing�"a dance I once knew.

Were they always like this, unmoving in the afternoon light,
Or was it me, romanticizing the wind's sweet caress
As it made their conical forms sway,
A magical dance to the windy Bombay evenings?

Sipping my black coffee, the soft melody in the air,
I watched, waiting for the trees to dance again.
They had always been my company�"
But was I naïve to think it would last forever?

Could I be disappointed now,
Knowing the trees�"those constant companions�"
Seem to have stopped following me
Through my changing years?