Avik Maity- English Literature

A Little Distance                         Vikram Seth A little distance from the waterfall By a small pool the yellow beach towel lies On a long warm rock, and near it azaleas grow And the shadows of thin fish fall Across the speckled stones, and a light breeze blows  Rippling the skin of the pool, first this way, then that. A blue-tailed lizard suns itself And we ourselves as the sun burns through a cloud Into the rocks, into our cold bones. Tired, tired, my mind melts in the sun. An ant crawls over my ankle. I sit up: there You lie, beautiful, half-nude on the white pebbles, Cream-coloured breasts open to the breeze and the sky And a few lines of silver hair in the brown To announce the burden of your twenty-eight years. To be chaste, how frustrating for minutes, How uncomplicated for days - to order fish, chives, To discuss the rats in our room when the morning gongs Sound out the monastery routine. To be Just friends, reverting in a richer vein To