One Day Poem by NAYYAR SHABBIR AHMAD

I’ve had this crush on you all my life
Everyone thinks you very ordinary
I don’t!
You mean everything to me

At one stage there was serious talk
of our marrying one another
I felt rather flattered that you’d chosen to spend your life with me
rather than with any of the many other girls in your life
Then-suddenly. Inexplicably. It all fizzled out...Completely

I heard later that
apparently my parents weren’t rich enough to provide the large
dowry you required to maintain your lavish lifestyle

Well - be that as it may

You married your match soon after
I trust, she and her dowry have kept you very happy

I however didn’t take my rejection lightly
It took me all too long to recover

When I eventually did marry
it was -happily for genuine love
Pure and simple!

My husband insisted on
waiving aside any talk of a dowry -
unless it was solely for ME -

So, for the moment
you and I live completely diverse lives
You live lavishly in your palatial home atop a hill
and I live modestly below with my precious family.

But one day-some day
when riches and lofty heights
status and decorum
will mean nothing to either of us
we’ll finally meet on equal terms

under the same turf
Perhaps miles apart
But, definitely sharing the same earth