Last night, on my balcony, as I was silently watching the day end, I felt the night call my name…..
Bats swooped around like manic flyers
The night owl hooted its questioning cry
Cicadas played their orchestra below
The night was unhappy, I heard it sigh.
‘The twilight was too short’, it said
‘The day couldn’t tell me more
And at dawn, it’ll have forgotten all
Of that I am very sure’
There were questions left unasked
Many mysteries still unraveled
My love had no time to feel fulfilled
On the paths that we had traveled
We weren’t together in one place for long
Yet I am the mother of the dawn
And in me it dies, when the day is done
As I die in it, every morn
That’s what mothers do, I am told
They live and die again and again
Long after they have forgotten
Their unimaginable birthing pain
The twilight ends for them too
When their baby is no longer so
Just like for me, it is too short
So much love left yet to grow
That’s the cycle of life, I realise
You go, sleep now, let your dreams flow
And if there, perchance, you meet your mother
Give her my love, tell her I know
Kishore Asthana
kishore.asthana@gmail.com