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Writer's pictureKeerthana Venkatesh

At the altar we met

By Keerthana Venkatesh

Contributing Author for Spark Igniting Minds


Standing under the huge metal arch

A smile glittered my face

This was a moment I knew would come

But never with such grace...


The dark, cold alleys, sweaty with moss

Touched my cheek and swept my feet

Combed my hair and gelled my scalp

With tenderness that tolled me back…


My mother’s fingers would caress my hair

While my child filled himself with mud

And then suddenly there would be a swish

A bucket of cold water straining my blood…


The strain comes back to throb my brain

Standing at the edge of the altar

The cloth of destiny covering my head

Reminding me of a shame I never feared...


The thought comes back of that gross day

When I saw my little girl soaked in red

With the woman I married smiling sanctified –

I rid the mother she once had...


The smile deepened on my face

A sweaty glow returned

The ground under me split apart

And my little girl and I walked on.


(Featured Image from pexels.com)


About the Author

Ms. Keerthana Venkatesh

Keerthana Venkatesh is a passionate writer with a penchant for positivism via thoughts, actions and alternative therapies.

She has worked on the editorial of some of India’s biggest media houses and as content management and marketing head in various corporates.

An avid traveler and a doting mother, she finds inspiration and the energy of positivism through places, people and her daughter which she showcases in her blog titled "This Short Story"!


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