The Odyssey of My Wayward Umbrella #WriteAPageADay #680

The Odyssey of My Wayward Umbrella

I am the seeker, the loser of things,
And my umbrella,
Once a shield of storms,
Has betrayed me,
Gone rogue, slipped from my grasp.
It is not my fingers it desires anymore,
But the wild breath of the wind.

I can still see it,
Caught in the crook of the café chair,
Abandoned for the company of coffee.
Did it know then?
Did it plot its escape while I sipped the world away?
Or did the storm inside me scare it off,
Silent, folding itself into quiet rebellion?

Now it is out there,
My umbrella,
Wings spread wide,
A black swan against the sky.
Is it laughing, twirling like a dervish,
Mocking the rain it once braved on my behalf?
I imagine its handle hooked
Onto the wind's invisible hand,
Dancing through alleys and avenues,
A gypsy with no master.

Where do you go, dear deserter?
To lands my feet cannot reach?
Do you flirt with city pigeons atop telephone wires,
Or drift into a stranger's arms,
Offering shelter where I could not?

I think of you in exotic places—
Perched atop a camel's back,
Guarding against desert winds
That carry grains of ancient whispers.
Or gliding across the Ganges,
Its currents twirling you like a lotus petal,
Blessing you with holy waters.
Perhaps you scale Everest,
A bold banner against the eternal snows,
Daring the gods to tug you from your summit.

Do you remember the streets we walked?
The cobblestones we tripped on?
You were my canopy when the sky wept
And my baton when I conducted invisible orchestras.
I whirled you like a blade,
Fencing with shadows.
Did you tire of being my servant?

Maybe you’ve joined a circus,
A clown’s prop,
Somersaulting to laughter under fluorescent lights.
Or a magician’s accomplice,
Disappearing in one hand,
Reappearing in the other.
Do they applaud you,
These new companions of yours?
Do they see you as I never could?

But perhaps you have found love.
Another umbrella,
Bold red stripes against your muted black.
You lean against one another in a corner,
The rain drumming your love song.
I hope you’ve found a partner
To share the storms.

And yet,
Somewhere in this world,
Are you not still mine?
Do you carry the imprint of my fingers
On your handle,
The memory of my grip when the winds howled?
Does the rain still remind you of my face,
Tilted up, eyes defiant?

Perhaps you are tired now,
Collapsed in a gutter,
Your once-proud spines bent like broken wings.
Will a child find you there,
Pull you from the filth
And see not your weariness but your possibility?
Will you become a boat in their imagination,
A shield against dragons,
A flag in their conquests?

Or are you wandering still?
Caught in the claws of a hawk,
Lifted to skies I cannot fathom.
Do you sail with the clouds,
Trading secrets with the moon,
Learning the language of the stars?

And if the universe spits you back to Earth,
Will you remember me?
Will you stumble upon my path,
Folded, humbled,
Your adventurous spirit spent?
Or will you cling to your rebellion,
Refusing to be claimed?

For now, I wait,
Half hoping, half fearing,
That you will return.
You, my lost umbrella,
Now a voyager,
A storyteller of winds and rains
That I will never meet.

I imagine your tale,
Written in watermarks and creases,
Your fabric tattooed with the dirt of distant lands.
And when I raise you to the sky again,
If you come back,
Will you tell me where you’ve been,
Or will you remain silent,
A sphinx under my hand?

But perhaps this is it,
Our final farewell.
And so, I wish you well,
My unfaithful companion.
Go.
Sail the seas,
Climb the heavens,
Dance in the storms.

Perhaps, one day,
In another life,
You will find your way back to me.
Or perhaps I will find you,
Weathered, worldly,
Your fabric thin as whispers,
Your frame bent by adventures.
And I will not curse you for leaving,
But thank you
For living the life I dared not.

#UmbrellaAdventure #LostButNotForgotten #Poetry #Personification #PoetryLovers #CreativeWriting #WanderlustInWords #LifeAndLoss #MetaphoricalJourney