A Love Story

As I sat on the wooden bench,

overlooking the fringes of dusk

falling on the corners of

this wonderful sweet square;

A couple with the passion of

the sensation of first love,

embraced each other, and

repeated those three magical words

almost at the same time.

Something tingled at the

door of my heart and

drew me back to those young years

of love, fun and energy

the great time when only he

mattered to me at all.

How many times had he

whispered the same three words

when we were locked as one,

when we had had

those silly little tiffs,

and he would wrap his

arms around my waist

and say them, when he

would be away from me

and in those busiest of moments

call me and remind me of his love.

Long years of marriage,

struggle and kids, had long

forgotten in me that life exists

beyond all this as well.

Scratching those visible gray hairs,

I realized with shock and pain that

life with all its bounties had left me

cramped and cold, and I had never

articulated myself to my poor man.

Oh God! My mistake.

 

I stood up on my wobbly feet,

dusk had already invited the

dark night for its lovely stay.

My house was in unusual darkness

With little difficulty, I found him.

As usual in his comfort chair,

sleeping fitfully, with his book

across his chest like an armour.

 I knelt before him and said

         I love you, hubby

I felt he would be smiling at me,

showing his toothless happy grin,

looking into my shrunken eyes,

waiting to hear these lovely words,

But then I realized that,

I had been already too late!