Jasmine --------------- The pain hits me like a thunderbolt And shatters my heart Into a million pieces All over again... When I spot an empty plastic bottle on the roadside, I remember her unfettered joy when she bites into it with a satisfying crunch Making dosas in the morning, she is an invisible presence at my feet Opening the door into the house, her tail thumps against the wall On a cold winter night her warm body is stretched out against mine With every crinkle of a biscuit packet, her warm honey eyes look up at me 7:30am, and she is at my side waiting for her walk Sweets, ice-cream, cake batter, Morning pujas, neighborhood dogs, The doorbell, puddles on the road, Empty sofas, car journeys, Her old toys, birthdays... So this is grief. It strikes me hard when I least expect it As if to remind me that it is a constant companion (At least for a while, so they say) When my world is somewhat whole, When I have, for a little while, Forgotten her warm,...