Hampi—where time stood still

I felt the earth beneath my feet
I felt the sky above, embrace my thoughts
And envelop—wrap around my mind
Forgotten time
A land where time stood still.

I felt the electricity in the atmosphere
The gentle hum that never gave up
The kinetic energy that moved from generation to generation
The gritted sand beneath my toes
The monkey's eye upon me
Oh Hanuman's pure grace.

I wandered down a path less trod
I bathed in waterholes forgot
I lay beside you and just watched
As you lay breathing quietly with eyes focused up above
And the sky turned—and the clouds drifted—and the sun blazed.

I touched the rocks and felt their pulse
I came face-to-face with souls
Through eyes that told their stories
And the stories that came before them.

A little girl smiled
And a green silk shawl floated through the sky
And gently fell to earth
Where it landed in a perfect crinkled heap upon the ground.

And on the back of a bike I rode behind you
Meandering over dirt roads that cut through the land
With the bold rock formations that proudly stood erected either side
And the horizontal view of paddy fields
And palm trees, coconuts and the flat, flat land that went out-stretched for miles
Over yonder.

I soaked it all in
And it will always be with me
My light will forever remain with you there
Sealed in that moment
And we shall join the forgotten times
And remain the untold stories that are yet to be found
And read out loud.