Monsoon Season Poem by Ananta Madhavan

Seasons change, summer brings the monsoon to the south of India,
From the oceans which have no boundary markers
It brings rain to the long coastline, moves over the peninsula
Departs into the sea again and whirling to other lands.

Some years the monsoon seems to lose its plenitude.
It slackens to a laggard pace, dispersing
The mass of nimbus clouds more dark than light
Shedding the moisture in sudden showers

And lightning flashes with self-applauding thunder.
The parasols unfurl in sober shades or gaudy prints,
The umbrellas are now no longer walking sticks
Or staves to chase away famished street dogs.

We finish two circuits of the park's inner track,
Secure footed on the wet paving,
With tufts of grass between the paving stones.