Don't Insist On Leaving Tonight!

The skies are playful again,

As if to usher in excitement, 

Like someone's painted the canvas 

With the last shades of the crimson dusk. 

As if the daylight was so envious of the night,

That it has planted a few streaks deliberately.

As if there is a party,

of a few strokes of purple, 

a shiny grey, a shy turquoise blue,

a soft pink, and an effervescent yellow!

As if rest of the sky

Has chosen to be sublime 

So even the silver crescent could ring in warmth

And hope to my life,

On a late November evening -

As if there were love in the air tonight!

My heart picked the beats again,

And there is hope, to be up and about tonight.

Sitting by my window, 

As I kept soaking in the beauty outside,

And allowed the gentle wintry breeze to seep in,   

Also seeped in into my half awake mind,

Was the music of the noisy kids from the garden

Or, the chirping of the birds in the trees. 

As I tapped my fingers on the window pane,

My thoughts swept to a distant world

I didn't realize when thoughts faded into a dream.

I can't tell which came first - 

The warmth, or, the aroma of her hair,

But her fingers clasped mine in a lock,

And, drawing strength from the murmur in my heart,

I find myself humming,

Don't insist on leaving tonight!

© Sashikant Mohanty