Keep a few baskets of stories

 
If you truly love me,
then don't come close.
Think I'm someone dear to you?
Then stay far away.


This is a time turned upside down,
if you love, staying distant
is the new rule! Let the garden of love
remain empty for now!


If you think me a friend,
push me far away…
even farther than that,
as far as you'd push an enemy.


The story of coming close—
store it carefully in forgetfulness.
Don't bind me in embrace, beloved,
keep me distant even when I'm near.


If you feel like reaching out,
don't extend your hand, extend your heart.
Every day you're invited to my home,
if only you don't come!


If you miss me terribly,
if you desperately want to see me,
then glimpse me in dreams,
and say hello on your mobile phone!


If we stay alive, we'll surely meet!
For now, just stay home!
All your 'buts' and 'what-ifs'—
tuck them in your shirt pocket!


Sit at home and watch movies,
give your father a little time…
I too am listening to songs now,
reading books, writing so much!


One thing—don't be angry!
From your mother, learn
fried eggplant, lentil dal,
mashed potato—just a little?


I promise, in this week and a half
I'll lose exactly
five and a half pounds, on one condition—
if you learn to cook!


Writing poems about you,
I'll fly them away each evening!
You watch the sky then
and gather that love in your fist!


If you remember me,
take sanitizer in your hands,
if you cry thinking of me,
keep your wrists in liquid soap!


The day this world's illness is cured,
there'll be so many stories to tell!
Just stay home these few days,
keep baskets full of stories ready to share!