A Night at a Café

Dark clouds painted the sky,
Raindrops poured down on me,
People running, passing me by.
The cold wind whispered softly,
Bringing out an old pain.
After all these lonely years,
I'm still looking for you in vain,
My heart left empty with fears.

The warmth of a café spread out
Over the dark street, inviting
To cold and lonely ones all out,
Driven by storm and lightning.
People huddled together to find
Their own solitude secured
Or to oblivion they consign,
Freed from what they have endured.

Bemused by liquor and night
To an old fellow next to me
I started to confide
The cause of my grief:
"When I was young
I envisioned my ideal woman.
I used to dream all along,
She was beautiful and out of the common.

Then one day came
I met her in flesh and blood.
She was all the same
And more than I had ever saught.
She taught me everything,
She gave me all her love.
I felt like flying on wings
Right from where we had set off.

But I was demanding and restless,
Blind to the wonder I held in my hand,
Foolish enough to be careless,
Ignorant of her needs to attend.
At last I drove her away
By my impossible conduct.
And even till this day
She holds my heart firmly locked."

A silence fell.
We drank to stun our pain,
Trapped in our own hell.
Then the old man began to explain,
What cross he had borne:
"I had faught in many wars,
For a fight to death I had sworn.
Now my soul is marked with sores.

One day I was on the roads,
In a wayside restaurant I saw her,
A lady, dressed in neat clothes,
Eyes, sending thrills through my cover.
We started a conversation.
Our souls were as one,
But divided by expectation,
Since no past could ever be undone.

Damned to bear the evils of war,
I fantasized about what might have been,
To live the life I forbore,
Yet aware it was only a dream,
For my heart was all scarred.
I found the love of my life,
Knowing we would soon part,
Leaving only memories to revive."

We watched our lives passing by.
Raindrops were tapping on the window
As if they were counting the days gone by.
The suffering of losses began to show.
The sun made his way through,
Announcing a new day to start,
To me my search to continue
For the key to my heart.

1992