A Love Story!

I knew not of love

When I was five or six,

The tenderness of childhood

Sharing its warmth.

We grew up together,

Me and her, my childhood sweetheart,

Sharing our toys

And sharing our joys,

Sharing our gains

And sharing our pains!

 I know not when

I started loving her,

 My growing self indeed knew

Yes, I’m in love with her,

And perhaps I read the same

In her twinkling eyes!

Yet she spoke little of it

I blame her not

And we shared our love

 In the silence of our eyes.

Years rolled by,

My childhood sweetheart

Now, a beautiful young maiden

Never did utter her love

Nor did I wish to spell it out

For her most gentle heart .

The day of her wedding came

And the celebrations rocked our home,

She blushed in joy and delight

And her rosy cheeks ever more rosy,

The mangal-sutra in her neck

The moment of her utmost bliss!

Her husband was a gem of hearts,

A childhood friend of ours

We knew him ,

As clear as a crystal

So much radiant and pure,

Together we became the thickest of friends,

The three of us!

Quite often we shared

A letter or two, a day-out or call,

The story of caring and sharing

As good as ever.

I did not stop loving her

Even when the bonds of marriage

Locked her in,

For love knows no ends,

Boundaries or depths!

My untold love did not hurt,

Till fate had its cruelest turn,

He was killed,

My truest friend,

Her soul mate, and love!

On his funeral day,I heard

The glass bangles on her wrists

Shattering into pieces,

The sound of our broken hearts.

They poured pots of water on her head,

Washing away the blood-red suhag

And with it,

The joys of her life forever.

Her pallid countenance,

As white as her dress,

She, the widow of a young man,

His children on her lap.

She talked of memories,

Of a joyful time in the past,

Of him, the essence of her life,

And of love and love-lost!

Her grief pierced through my heart,

That endless sorrow hurt me,

“O my love, such agonizing pain,

I can’t bear to see

So much distress in your heart” ,

Her pale young face now,

The woe of my nights,

And her deep disturbing despair,

An endless ache,

I wished to say

Atleast for once in my life,

“Lend me your hand,
I shall hold it tight                                               

For the rest of our lives,

No more shall sorrow be yours

Till I breath my last! ”