Balachandran V's poem begins in misty mountain grasslands, where dew-wet grass becomes "beads of love" that we are told to tread on softly. From there, love is pictured as something natural and physical, like soil swelling and releasing drops. It enters the body through the nose, lips and tongue, spreading into the blood.
The poem then turns personal. The speaker, who describes a "ravaged face" and "ageing skin," longs for a lover's fingers to touch him, hoping his skin might glow again. The passion grows more intense, with red beads of blood, flares, and a blinding light, so that love feels both ecstatic and a little violent.
The ending is quieter and more uneasy. Love flows "only from your fingertips," and the speaker begs to be touched before the lover leaves "for ever." The unfinished last line leaves a sense of loss. The mood moves from gentle wonder to fierce desire, then to tender, aching urgency.