Dancing In The Rain Poem by Shankaran Kutty

It was another day for me so boring
A cold winter morn
As a nurse in a far off hospital
My day seemed so forlorn

“Can you help me child”, a voice trembled
As, I looked up to see
A man so old and frail to stand
For support, he held on to me

“Daughter, this stitch, can you remove? ”, he asked
As the clock struck half past eight
“sure, sir but there is a queue before you
On this chair over here can you wait”

The old man’s face fell, lips wobbled
The sorrow written all over his face
“if you have another appointment, then I can
Jump the queue, if that is the case”

“No, no, my dear”, he slowly mumbled
“To my wife I need to go
Every day with her, at nine o clock sharp
Is my breakfast, dear, you must know”

I fell for his affection and the free time I had
I proceeded to remove his stitch
The wound had healed and so the procedure
Went through without any hitch

But I did feel more than a bit amused
At this octogenarian romance
I will pull his leg, to see him blush
I thought I will take a chance

“So grandpa dear, what favourite dish
Has your wife cooked for you with love?
Idlis, pooris or dosas crisp
Or Rotis with buttery Vada Pav? ”

His reaction however took me back
A lonely tear filled his eye.
Inside this body frail, his little heart
Some terrible secret did lie

He clasped me harder and started to speak
His wobbly voice wobbled even more
As I removed the stitch and tightened the bandage
On his little finger that had been sore.

“My wife is sick and never will she
Idlis or Dosas ever make
Alzheimers caught her and she has no clue
Even if she is sleeping or awake

For five long years she hasn’t known me
And it has been quite a while
That I have seen her beautiful face lit up
With her enchanting smile. “

Shocked I was to hear him thus
From my face, my smile was gone
'If she hasn’t known you all this while
Why waste your time there alone “

He patted my hand and looked up at me
And looked so deep and long
Eighty years old vintage was he
But his mind was so youthful, strong

“It is only she who cant know me”, he said
“But I do know her still
Her thoughts and memories makes me live
Her love, my heart does fill

It is not a mandate nor my duty
That I have to be with my love
But over sixty years of togetherness
This love in our hearts did sow

No wealth or money, worldly pleasures
Or servants who for me would bide
Would give me half the pleasure I get
When I have my love by my side”

So saying the old man stood up strong
Left my hands for his stick
And turned and walked to the exit door
As much as his legs could be quick

I stood there stunned, my body froze
From the flowing tears, my eyes were blurred
I still couldn’t imbibe, the lesson learnt
From the story, I had just heard.

He was gone, probably never ever
Would I see that grandpa again
I ran out to catch another glimpse
But he had long gone, my run in vain

It has been years since this happened but
When I have gone thru my customary strife
I have remembered this lesson taught me then
By someone in the autumn of his life

Love is not of physical joy
Nor what we give or take
But of simple devotion from our heart
An ocean of love does make

So life is not of surviving
The fiercest Atlantic storm
But of dancing in the first spring rain
Without any fear or qualm