G - Day 7 (AtoZ Challenge) and Waiting for the lights - Day 8 (Napowrimo)

i sat on the ghat all evening 

waiting for the lights to perform miracles

you wanted to come here before it was too late

it is too late now and finally we are here

i remember you wanted to see the million lights floating

the lamps on the Ganges and the lights on our eyes

i wanted to take you on that boat ride

while your fingers plucked a rhythm on the rippled waters

i wanted to see you glow at the golden hour

your orange saree as if in flames

the red bindhi the spot of reborn love

the ghat looks serene today after the day’s burning

all the bodies that turned to smoke and ashes 

still simmering, embers spangled and rising like glow worms

the nameless men have stopped raking

the sadhus in saffron and ash smeared foreheads

the multitude of people crossing back and forth the Ganges

life moving on like any other day

only i am absent from your side

i am left on hold, waiting for the call to be picked

i can hear you speak sweet nothings into my ears…

i dare say she must be here somewhere even now

you see she is not a quitter, she always resurrects 

she likes jasmine, i can feel the fragrance 

her bangles, i can hear the clinking

her laughter is infectious and she hums almost all day

i know you can’t go back to the place we called home

i don’t know how you will live without me

i was your anchor, the keeper of your soul

i shall wait here until the lights appear for a miracle

until this very ghat beckons you into its lap.

Napowrimo prompt: