For Anannya, as always - a not-quite-ghazal salaam

 

Not amaltas, not lilies, the roses are their own 
Kind of new this year. Not in longing, not
In nostalgia, they bring a red white and blue
This year. Not finished, but not famished,
This is still an ode for you this year. 
In inspiration, exhileration, I extended my
Purview this year. Another stage, another
Page, another cast and crew this year. Call it
Paying it forward, or thirteen years
In the making, but Giti's doing
An Anannya too this year.

(Because 13 years of Daily Riyaaz later she now lives in my head, this year I channeled my inner Anannya and started a similar blog for foreign born writers in Iceland. You can find them at https://skaldreki.wordpress.com/ )