Dr Roopali’s poem encourages us to embrace spring’s magic, witness nature’s rebirth, and rediscover the beauty of the season in the Special Feature, exclusively for Different Truths.

It’s time to fall in love again.
To fall in love with the rustling winds
and the flying clouds
the trickling waterfall slipping over
the rocky mountain wall
the flitting butterfly dipping into
flowers for a sip of honey. 

Time to step out of the door and
deeply breathe the mountain air
and lock eyes with
the passionate crimson rhododendrons.
The shepherds are out with their flock and
leopards stalk with padded feet.
You will hear the sheepdogs move about and
the stray dogs barking a dare.
Love is in the air.
 
Robins are looking to rent homes
It’s time to birth their babies
and light the kitchen fires.
 
Wiggly worms plough the earth
And petals burst out of buds
Spring has sprung its magic
and the fragrance of love wafts everywhere

The sun-setting evening sky
leaving a red trail behind
seems drunk in ecstatic delight.
It is time to fall in love again.

Picture design by Anumita Roy

Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur

Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur is a poet, travel writer, and social justice activist. A former professor of English Literature at Delhi University, and a creative writing professor at IGNOU, she is a widely published academic and creative writer. Her book Twice Colonised: Women in African Literature, is a seminal text on women’s socio-political empowerment. In 2020-21, she co-edited two poetry anthologies – In All the Spaces: Diverse Voices in Global Women’s Poetry, and Earth Fire Water Wind.