Late into the night
     the ground became silent
     the restless spirits
     morosely tread
     in the eerie darkness
     and I stood at the verandah
     peered long into the dark shadows
     the tears of sadness
     stream joylessly from my eyes. 
 
     I cried for the future
     uncertain what it might unravel
     I cried today
     for the warmth and affection
     of the spouse and children
     I would leave behind. 
    
     Late into the night
     the ground became silent
     I stood at the verandah
     peered long into the dark emptiness
     and I cried
     the tears of pain and longing
     a constant menace to my joy
     for almost a score minus two
     my heart silently sobs
     the pain of separation
     a nagging burden
     the scars of sadness
     etched gloomily in my tired face. 
 
     But hope
     like a creeping plant 
     that grew in an undergrowth
     meandered towards the light
     and faith blossoms as a beauteous flower
     for the one who patiently waited
     at the bottom of the well
     would one day meet a pail
     at the bottom of the well.   
 
     You are the seed of my loin
     the root of your tender tendrils
     runs through my sinews and bones
     my flesh and blood
     you whom I bathe at the foot of the well
     the pain of the past several years
     the pain of the long separation
     was that you who paddle
     in the basin of water at the foot of the  well
     lost in the innocence of a child 
     came into my heart once again
     as a beautiful sturdy grown woman.  

What else can overwhelm
     the happiness of a father
     that the child who dabble
     in the basin of water at the foot of the  well
     came into my heart once again
     as a beautiful sturdy grown woman. 
 
     Rene  



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