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Mom & Dad feared that
she'd hurt me when she's around.
When I was a baby,
she took me for a shower.
Hot water bath, burnt my skin.
They sent her to a special boarding school
after that episode, or so was I told.
She grew phobic to hot water, ever since.

When I go to her school
for our monthly visit,
she'd hug me tight
and leave a wet kiss,
on my fluffy cheeks.
She'd remind me of my age,
precise to the day and hour.
She'd not ask me a thing,
she'd just laugh innocently.
I was told to be careful around her.
But I was cheerful around her.

She had blue eyes, sapphires.
I'd tell her that I love those eyes.
She'd say she'll pluck them out
and gift it on my next birthday.
She hated change, a lot.
she had hard time coping with it.
So she stole my sweater
on our first visit, to keep me closer
when she's surrounded by strangers
on all sides and corners.

She's mentally retarded, they said.
I thought it's a superpower where
you can love with all your heart.

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बरसों पहले बुझाया था मैंने अपना इक चिराग़
आँखें कसमसाती हैं उसके धुँये से आज तलक

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