CANDLE
- Roopa Sharma, Chicago

A candle is burning
By the window in a dark corner
Its soft bright glow casts a halo on the wall.

Outside,
The wind is blowing - fierce wind,
The candle flickers
It sees its shadow - shaky, hesitant, unstable
Determined to light up the corner
It burns steadily.

People...lot of people
Smiling, laughing, happy faces...
They are dancing
Holding each other
The candle longs to dance - swaying softly
The people are singing,
Joyous songs.
The candle melts with the sound of music
Drop by drop
Yet glows brightly.

Night falls
And people leave
A couple dances in the shade
Then they disappear
Leaving a faint whiff of fragrance
Across the hall.

Burning alone
The candle looked at its bright reflection on the wall
And saw
What it felt all along
That,
It has been burning from both ends
All night long.