wrapped in foreign sheets
i burn with a fever
this city
is an unfamiliar symphony
its streets hum a language
my tongue stumbles over
my body shivers
not from the cold
but from the distance
that stretches like a bridge
between here and home
i remember
monsoon nights in Kerala
rain drumming on the rooftop
a lullaby
that held me close
in its wet embrace
now, i am lost
in a sea of skyscrapers
their lights flickering
like artificial stars
my heart beats
a fractured rhythm
longing for the pulse
of my homeland
i ache for the scent
of jasmine in my grandmother's garden
the sound of her voice
a soothing balm
to my fevered dreams
here, the sky
feels too far away
the sun
a distant memory
i lie in this bed
a stranger
to the shadows on the wall
counting the breaths
until i can return
to where my soul
first learned to sing
#poem #missinghome #longing
