Emptiness

Clutching the bag tightly closer to her heart,
She imagines herself to be standing naked in the yellow light of the street lamps.
The river shimmers with the necklace that surrounds it,
Body shivers with the cold creeping in.

Silently admiring the newness of the newly built flyovers,
Her heart searches for the old cobwebs hidden in the corners of the mind.

She tries to concentrate on the questions of the auto driver,
But behold! Has she gone deaf? Has she gone dumb? Why doesn't she respond to the queries of the driver?

Tonight can she write the saddest lines?
Tonight has she made up her mind? 
Tonight her eyes have turned stony.
Tonight she looks over the iron fence to understand the river.

In her hollow anger, in her loud dumbness, she instructs the driver.
In her silent protestations, she tells her mind to go numb.

Gently moving her fluttering hair behind her ears,
She preens out of the auto to check her destination,
and tells herself, "Oh Heart! Heart! Cry not thou! There is a better place for this emptiness!"
She needs to move on! No! No! She needs to move out!

Checking the yellow glowing street lamp again,
She knows all is well. Hence reassured.
Moving swiftly, she gets lost with the chaos. Again.