Celebrating Shashank forever

 Shashank, my son.

He'll be here with me

every time I see a spider working on its web,

or a sunbird doing a balancing act on a hibiscus flower,

or a slug making its way slowly across the paving stones.

He'll be here with me

every time a cat pauses at our doorstep

or yawns gracefully

as she stretches languidly in the sunshine.

He'll be here with me

when the dark clouds start gathering,

when the smell of petrichor wafts across the terrace,

the harbinger of the rains to come.

He will be here

when I am planning a pattern for the loom

or thinking up the colours for a new quilt,

never the World map quilt that he wanted.

He will be here every time I pick up my crochet hook,

looking over my shoulder,

making sure that my spider has 3 or more eyes,

that my owl does not have ears - even if they are cute,

that the dugong i am making has a longer snout (or is that a manatee?),

that I don't call my tortoise a turtle.

He will be here every time one of us is leaving on a journey

and we pose for the selfie-taker who has to record the moment,

much to the amusement of the waiting cab driver.

He will be here every time we sit

in front of a beautifully plated dish

or a particularly attractive dessert (the creamier the better)

that just begs to be photographed.

He will be here every time I make a dosa

or a carrot cake

or a mango lassi

or a biscuit pudding

or. ....the list just goes on and on

He will be here all the time.

I just wish he wasn't gone.