My Sleepless Nights Poem by indira babbellapati

now,
don't you conclude
my sleepless nights
are a cover for my
longing for you

yes,
i do spend
sleepless nights
over an infant dead
over an old man struggling
to gather his breath
over a mother looking
for the children to return home...

yes,
i do fidget
on my restless bed
when i chance upon
a forlorn lady standing sorrowful
at the door step awaiting
a lover who would never return

yes,
my pillow absorbs
the tears of a pining child
dragged away by a helpless mother
from a balloon seller

yes,
many a morning
my wakeful eyes
puffed and blood-shot
look around for the warm clasp
of your stretched out hand...

now,
who said
i spend sleepless nights
only for you?

but let me not confess
that in all my sleepless nights
fragments of you
lie entangling
even my heart...!