there once lived a swan couple
devoted to each other as they cosily huddled
flying together across sapphire skies
seeing the golden dawn of a new sunrise

life sailed across a river of dreams
carrying echoes of songs that gleam
smiles shimmering on the shores of love
as they cooed like a pair of doves

life flew on the whispers of the breeze
a gentle, fleeting rustle of the leaves
in the hush of twilight’s solitude
they heard the symphony of the interlude

’til time, cruel time
snatched him in life’s prime
and she was left alone in the twilight
alone in the grief of her soul’s long, dark night

she cried and cried
copious tears on time’s tide
her heart breaking each time Facebook brought back her reveries
and mine breaking to see her memories

and then one day, she spotted Cygnus
the Swan constellation in the northern sky,
seeing her mate in the silver stardust,
she smiled, silver-haired, and tried to adjust
making peace with grief in her heart
while honouring love that would never depart

Avantika Vijay Singh is a communications professional wearing the hats of a writer, editor, poet, researcher, and photographer. She is the author of Flowing… in the River of Life and Dancing Motes of Starlight (ebook) and editor of five anthologies. A recipient of the Nissim International Award Runner Up 2023, WE Gifted Poet 2024, and WE Illumination Award 2024, she has been published in national and international journals. Nature’s beauty, sustainability, life, spirituality, and humanity are her muse, lending immense depth to her poems.

The Swan Couple poem can be found in Avantika’s new collection: Gold Dust on Sunbeams: An Anthology of Poems

You can find more of Avantika’s work here on Ink Pantry.