Reminiscing NITT- If walls could talk

Standing on the sidelines, where it is always warm,
An onlooker, never to perform
Leaves us with refined perspectives, not rife with gloom,
Who better to testify than me – a humble classroom?

Opening my “hallowed portals”, to make way
For a bunch of students, barging in, astray
In varying degrees of wakefulness and disarray,
Plonking themselves onto benches far away

Glances stolen, partnerships struck,
Gossip unloaded, fresh off the truck
The professor enters and starts to drone
Stifled under students, the benches creak and groan

Some lectures make one visualise endless learning vistas
Some make us wonder if our future’s gone over for a toss
Whether one is awed or indifferent, inspired or dazed,
The professor marches on, undaunted and unfazed

Emptied out in mere moments after the bell rings,
Gasping with relief, wondering what the next hour brings
Reliving scraps of conversations I’ve caught
Soaking in them until they vaporize into naught

Immobile as I am, with life more uneventful than leisured
Each interaction with the outside world ought to be treasured
But greeted with deafening silence, I am left to reminisce the past
Creating imaginary imprints of the interactions I’ve lost

Collecting dust and rust, I wait with a weary heart
For an ‘offline semester’, that seems aeons apart,
To confess, I’ve never had a term this peaceful and dry
But now, I don’t know whether to remain placid or cry