A Lifelong Illusion Poem by Biswajit Basu

I can still remember when I was about ten years of age,
I began to think of the world outside my childhood cage.
Science, art, beauty and people were taking on a new hue,
That was so distinctly different from a little boy's view.
As the years passed, the new adolescence in me,
Catalysed a feeling of loneliness that ruled my psyche.
In the inner recess of my brain, to satiate this trend,
I conjured up in my mind a virtual girlfriend.

She was lovely and pure and young at heart
And captivated, I succumbed to Cupid's dart,
As a dear friend, she saw me through college and school,
Whether in academics or life, she taught me every rule.
At night I slept with her, bodily entwined,
A more rapturous world you never could find.
So passed the years of my youth sublime,
I now wish that I could once more relive that time.

After college to make a career I went out to sea,
Silently and without question she also followed me.
She was my only friend every lonesome night,
Thousands of miles from help, no land in sight.
Sometimes on deck when it was not night as yet
Holding hands we would watch the red sun set.
When we reached port, she was never angry or jealous,
When vicariously I left her for momentary pleasures.
And sometimes remorseful I went to bed at night,
I apologized to her and held her very tight.
But she always came back faithful to her lover,
Always forgiving me when the devil took over.
She was ever so glad when finally I did marry,
Very happy and joyful, never jealous or sorry.
Her glee held no bounds when soon my daughter was born,
She blessed her as if to me she was sworn.

The years now pass rapidly and I am well past my best,
But she is always there to help me back to my nest.
All my busy life all I could give her were moments so few,
When we stood by the sea, the distant horizons to view.
But we still found time together and many beautiful places did see,
And in snow, sun, rain or hail she always held an umbrella for me.
We walked with my dog in the hills where stately cedars grow
From where rivers, brooks and waterfalls did verily flow.
She was my constant companion wherever I went,
And soothed my weary brows when exhausted, I slept.

I miss all those years of laughter and of fun,
But she knows that my worldly work is now ably done,
I wish that I could tell her that I owe her my life,
For to me she has been really a virtual wife.
Old and frail I shiver now feeling so much colder,
But she remains as I first saw her and not a year older.
But now as twilight falls and the candlelight must die,
To this world I shall soon have to say goodbye.
Indeed, I have to say farewell, fluttering out like a dove,
And vanish into oblivion with my make-believe love.