Winter whispers promises.
Spring clears its throat with flowers.
Everything blooms politely,
on time.
Except the gulmohar.
It is not a morning flower,
not a breeze-flower,
not something that opens
to be admired gently.
It waits for the sun to lean closer,
for afternoons to taste like metal,
for roads to shimmer,
for leaves to curl inward
like tired hands.
When the world begins to thirst,
the gulmohar drinks light.
April sets it on fire.
May lets it burn.
Red spills from its branches
like pomegranate broken open,
like embers caught in green fingers.
Sometimes orange,
sometimes yellow—
as if the sun forgot pieces of itself
in the tree.
While other colours retreat,
this one arrives.
While gardens go quiet,
this one speaks in flame.
It is mango season confidence,
watermelon courage—
sweetness that needs heat to exist.
Not early.
Not delicate.
Not asking to be different.
Just summer,
discovering it has a superpower,
and wearing it
in full daylight.
Anuradha Sowmyanarayanan is a multifaceted professional—tutor, blogger, poet, e-book author, book reviewer, and passionate reader. Her deep-seated interest in reading and writing led her to launch her blog, Book Food Language, in 2016. This platform seamlessly blends her love for books, culinary arts, and languages, featuring content in both English and Hindi.