The streets of the dark
Winter night cradled
Sleeping bodies huddled
Close, close as ants
On an ant-hill seeking
Warmth from the proximity
Of each other’s thinly clad
Forms and figures
The misty air meandered
Through the pavements gray
Compelling the little urchins
To embrace their limbs
Tightly to their bony chests
Tossing, Turning, Shivering
Man, woman, dog and cat
All resting on the
Same bed of earth
Sharing a bond intimate
‘Cause they were drowning
Together in the same
Whirlpool of life.
Struggling for survival
Yet as the night matures
And the silhouttes on the
Tower deepens, the features
On those sleeping faces
Sinking into a celestial abysss
Reflect the serenity of
The waters of heavenly rivers
The silent water not lapping
And not a ripple circling
Reins of their thoughts uncontrolled
By their wandering minds
That refuse to welcome
Sleep; It dritfs..drifts
Journeys far away, beyond
the starry roof over
Their heads, to step
Into the fantasy land
Where the sun never sets
The light never fades
Where the flora is rich
And fauna are gay
Where sorrow is unknown
Hunger a stranger
Winter is forbidden
And Spring is forever.

                                                                       ~Priya Pillay

                                                                              Mumbai, India