Every evening on hearing my car arrive,
My little niece would run to the door
And with her two year old little fingers open it.
Fragile body choking with loud laughter,
With uplifted hands and joyful demanding looks,
My niece would order me to carry her;
What a wonderful life moment was it
To gently lift her from an yielding ground
And to hover her in my arms.
With chattering lips mumbling glorious nothings,
Clutching my brief case hook in her little finger,
We both would climb the stairs up to my room
To play a mirthful game before she would leave.

At every evening whether it rains or not,
My niece would implore me to show her the stars;
The million billion stars that adorn the heavens,
The stars that for generations spoke folktales
To millions of children at heart to dream about and sleep;
The very same stars rapturous and romantic
To thousands of fluttering hearts,
The very same stars beckoned my little niece every night.
Not a night would we conspirators not come
To see the immortal guardian angels twinkling above;

‘Mama mama, show me the stars’
would the little angel scream about;
why stars alone dear, see the moon also
would I say and both of us would laugh and gaze;
Time would stand still for those joyful moments,
Man’s frailties and foibles and wicked arrows
Would for a while vanish in joyful splendour
Of a shared divine conspiracy;
Agonies of ages past and failures of yesteryears,
False promises and betrayed love of past
Would all melt in heavenly splendour
As we gazed the heavens in joyful freedom.

But, alas, it was too good to last;
The joint family of trusted love threw me out;
The chasm has now come;
Many a present night I look up in agony,
Pondering whether another pair of innocent eyes
Also gazes at the same time,
But, its all so still.
The moon still prances around the grey clouds,
The distant stars still twinkle in isolation,
To me their splendour and lustre
Its all long over.