Shared Dreams And Dark Lane Poem by Bashyam Narayanan

Shared dreams and dark lane

There is a dark lane
En-route from a temple I visit in the evening
To my home
This lane in the late evening has dark patches
Developed beneath trees with thick brances
Despite street lights being on

I prefer this route
Simply because it reduces my walking distance a bit
And the road has little vehicle traffic

Recently I have started noticing
Couples of young boys and girls
Below the dark shadow of the trees
Invariably on motor bikes
I used to pass by them
But not even once I could make out their identities
As it is dark all around

They may be there as it could be preferred place
For exchange of romantic whispers
And for sharing cherished dreams
And for envisioning a collective future
And for paving way for happy togetherness
Without anyone knowing who they are

A security guard in one of the blocks there
Once cautioned me
As I was to enter that dark lane one evening
He said that people under the cover of darkness
Would consider me a nuisance
And may not hesitate to harm me even

It was a little over eight ‘O clock that evening
Street lights were off
And the lane was in total darkness
As I was to enter I thought it better to take
Some other longer route
But it was also dark there

I continued to walk despite zero visibility
But managed well as I was familiar with the path
I was about to cross a road junction
And as I did I came to know that it was all dark all over

I went ahead
But before I could realize what happened
I toppled over something
And fell full length on my chest ahead

Luckily I was not hurt and there was no sign of any injury
Gathered the strength to walk back and
See what came on my way
I went very close and had a close examination

Even in that darkness I made out
It was a girl lying flat on her back
And I tumbled over her projected feet

Something told me to leave the scene as immediately as possible
And I started walking on my way
But suddenly I thought I should do something
So that I helped her, if she was injured
Who knows, I may even save her life

I went near and started tapping her feet gently
And telling her to get up
I saw no sign of movement in her
I struck her feet with force
Now shouting "please get up"
Seeing no response I continued tapping and shouting

"Ah, what is happening? "
I heard my wife shouting
And everything became clear
It was all a dream
Thank God, I was not in the dark lane
But was in my bed room