Desire's Web- A Fallacious Dream. Poem by Om Chawla

One night I dreamt of a damsel,
with wild eyes and flowing hair,
with exuberant flesh so fair.
Looking at my youthful incarnate;
she glanced at me and winked and smiled;
to follow her she beckoned me with her eyes.
In a trance like daze she led me far.
At an idyllic place she bade me 'halt'.
With hasty steps she strode ahead
and vanished behind a cluster of lush green trees.

Anxious I grew as hours ticked by.
Impatience cajoled me to look for her.
Going past the cluster of lush green trees;
I found myself in a lovely vale.
There stood a lonely cottage with roof of hay;
bedecked by creepers of lovely flowers.
No sign of life other wise was there.
'Where else could she have disappeared''
so thinking the cottage I approached.
An old and shrivelled man at the door,
with questioning look he made me halt.
His inquisitive stare some questions asked.
Telling him what I saw, his help did I seek,
To find the damsel where might she be.

'Where for you want to know? ' he asked,
'What might your intention be? '

'I like her, I love her and happy would I be,
if she were my bride to be.'

'I have two daughters, and one is she'
so saying, intothe cottage, he led me.
' Ah there they are Serenity and Desiree,
both side by side. Both are young
and with there mates they should be.
My days seem numbered as you can see.
I will be happy if either of them you chose to marry.
To give you a fair chance to make right choice
have this inherited mirror which will help
to see your future life with either as it might be.
So see it complete to make right choice.
See it complete, I say, lest you regret.'

As I looked into the mirror,
Serenity came across as a simple
calm and unexciting mate.
Leaving her tale in the middle
I switched to see how my life
with Desiree would be.
Exhilarating her company appeared to me
with lovely fairy like her kids
Avery, Covety, Envy, Greed and Jealousy
all in a cluster weaving a web around me.
Ere I could think and reflect
'Leave the mirror, let's marry' Desiree said.
So saying and holding my hand, out she led
andbrought me back to this side of
the lush green trees.

Just then door bell rang
and half in reverie and half awake
I sprang out of my bed,
unsure what this dream meant to me.