On the final day of the trek, we walked on a river
that wound through the middle of a forest cover
Steered by broad, tree-laden, bare-rooted banks,
the Gopat river rolled, gently nudging its flanks
The water, barely ankle-deep, cool, calm, & clear
gathered the sunshine, gleaming from ear to ear
The feet, simply bare, and to be honest, a bit sore
soothed at once on stepping in, like never before
Digging tiny puddles in the sandbed with the toes
I could feel each grain scrubbing away all my woes
For some time, we kicked and splashed and raced
learned how to drink the river water; new skill aced
Slowly the revelry receded & the reverie returned
and after walking about half the distance I turned
The entire trek flashed before me as if on rewind
It wasn’t just the footprints I was leaving behind
I started to walk backward, gazing into the infinity
the inexplicable, the all-encompassing immensity
Millions of years of unfathomable earth formations
and just thousands of years of human civilizations
Where do I belong in this inexplicable mystery?
Will it matter to the cosmos where I end up to be?
Trying to fit myself in this big plan seemed selfish
I felt small and big and at the same time outlandish
How much more? I was no longer tempted to check
rather slowed down to enjoy every step of this trek
Let the memories, thoughts, and imaginations play
Some flew off in tangents, some came back to stay
I was a part of the river and I was a part of the sand
And also a piece of the open deciduous forest land
Looking back at how far I had come was heartening
like a beautiful song that heals as you are listening!
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