Once In Darkness Poem by Akham Nilabirdhwaja Singh

One night returning home from the market place
Street lights suddenly gone.
I could see the road rolling in the headlight of my car.
After driving for some time I reached a place
By the side of a streamlet.
Yet there is no streamlet in my locality
Nor on the way from that market place to my home.
Confused I turned back but reached at another place.
This time by the side of a rill water hyacinth floating.
Some houses standing quietly in the darkness
On its other bank.
Again I failed to know where I was
It seemed nature disguised herself in another garb.
Then, to my relief in that lonely atmosphere
I saw some local youths loitering.
I asked them the way to my locality.
One of them told me the directions of the routes to go.
I resumed driving my car to the direction he told.
After driving some distance on the right turning roadway
I saw some women standing on the roadside
A pressure lamp placed before them.
Oh, a beautiful girl I saw among them!
She deserved to be a maiden in an oasis
To a tired wayfarer who lost his ways in the desert.
I politely asked them the way to my locality
Not sure although told by those youths.
One of them told me to go further till crossroads
There to turn left and drive to find my locality.
I again drove my car.
Then the street lamps illuminated and I recognized
The place where I was.
Oh, that was the place I frequent and
Not far from my locality.
I reached home out from a big puzzle.
But felt, that night I roamed to unknown places
Exotic in the darkness of the night.
It was an exciting experience.

25th April 2008