The light

I stood tiptoed,
Stretching out my hand,
I reached for the moon,
Only, if I had a magic wand!

I was stuck at the crossroads,
Of my drab, deserted life,
I was in love with the moon,
When black emptiness was rife.

I begged for a moondrop,
I was barren and parched,
With a straight face the moon stared back,
Desperately, it's eyes I searched.

I longed and pined so,
Without respite, night after night,
I gave up, I lit a candle instead,
But there was never enough light.

The heartless moon left me for a cloud,
That lightless night, a lost traveller came my way,
I sheltered his fears with my own emptiness,
He decided to stay.

Now we both share our teardrops,
No longer for the moon I cry,
We just have two candles between us,
But strangely, the dimness satisfy.
© 2009 Rituparna Das