In The Valley of Kashmir

Chinar tree image from frontiertreksindia.com

A poet
tells me
there are chinar trees
on the landscapes
of Kashmir
just like
the tall old maple
out my door.

This thought

tinkles

through my mind

enticingly

as if

I had never

fully

grasped

this truth

before.

I gaze

upon

my newly

significant

tree,

as if

I could

somehow

look outside

and see

those ancient temples

in another land

shining

in our shared

celestial canopy,

reflected

in its skyscape

back to me.

In the valleys

of Kashmir

a  poet walks,

eyes bedazzled

and wondering

in the glow

of the place

he calls

a Paradise

on earth.

The pictures show

a landscape

that I know:

a winding river,

a lake,

hills

soft and rounded

in the setting sun,

willow trees,

tall  poplars

one by one -

that mirrored valley

ten thousand miles

away

looking

just like

this valley

encircling me

today.

image of Kashmir Lake from trifter.com

Kashmir,

"where nature

sits

in the lap

of the gods,"

its pathways

where

a gentle poet

trods,

where rivers wind

through valleys

sweet and mild,

and a lake lies

ringed by

round low hills

exactly

like those

around

my lakeside

orchard valley

as a child.

image by Wajid Drabu at betterphoto.com

              

Two valleys

where apple trees

will bloom

again;

in this mirrored

world,

somewhere

it's always

spring -

their buds

will be

peacefully

unfurled,

and poets' hearts

will lift

again

and sing

at the

unexpected

beauty

of

this

most

amazing

dual

offering.