There’s something unforgettable about a scent. It lingers long after a person leaves, carrying with it moments that memory refuses to let fade. In Jasmines in Her Hair by Kalpesh Desai, that lingering fragrance is a reflection of love, loss, and the tumultuous choice of letting go.
Many of the poems in the book bloom from a kind of nostalgia for someone the speaker once held close, or perhaps only the memory of them. The book captures how memory enchants and ensnares at once: it is both beautiful and binding. I struggle to think of anyone who hasn’t fallen victim to their own memories, and even to the many what-ifs that are often asked.
As Desai’s verses unfold across pages, the sentiment shifts. It’s not exactly all about clinging onto what once was. The warmth of nostalgia fades, and what once felt romantic begins to reveal the clarity that comes after taking off the rose-tinted lens.
Perhaps,
The endings that we hold on to
Do not allow us to grasp something new.
Perhaps,
That emptiness you feel when it's over
Is nothing but space to newly seek and
discover.
Here in his poem “Letting Go”, his language is simple, but his emotion is layered. It serves as both a mark of beauty and a reminder of impermanence. Flowers wilt. Scents fade. What once felt eternal becomes a moment to release. The end doesn’t necessarily mean doom. It’s by nature that everything that begins has an end. The end only means space for new things to begin. Through this, Desai teaches us a simple lesson: love and loss are not opposites; they coexist, and it is through acceptance of loss that renewal begins.
Of course, it is fair to say the most obvious: letting go is rarely easy. It is never as simple as acceptance. I feel that this points to the profundity of human existence.
I'll write words unspoken,
Of a spirit left yet unbroken.
I'll write of all that's amiss,
Memoirs of a forgotten kiss.
I'll write of loss, and pain and sorrow,
A promise of a brighter tomorrow.
For these are the lyrics of life,
That I sing when times are rife.
The poem, “Lyrics of Life”, is one of my favorite ones in the entire book. Our lives are painted with the balance of greatness and sorrow. Loss is unavoidable. Letting go is a choice. Letting go is a part of the song of life.
In our own lives, we often resist letting go because we confuse it with forgetting. But Desai’s poem shows that remembrance and release can coexist. We can honor what was without getting caught up and hindered by our great emotion. The jasmine’s scent doesn’t vanish; it transforms, lingering faintly in the air, enough to remind us that beauty once touched us and that we were capable of feeling deeply.
Letting go, then, becomes an act of renewal. It’s not about emptiness; it’s about space and what we make of that space. In the end, Jasmines in Her Hair leaves us with a simple truth: every ending carries its own kind of beauty. The scent may fade, but the heart learns to bloom again.