” I’m in the middle of the darkest cave
and then there’s a hole in the roof.
The sunlight pours through, tingling my skin
And now there’s no need to run. No need to hide”
His chest rises and falls .
The liquid – burning his throat – down it rolls.
He smiles. Despite the blood on his hands, he smiles.
And so he sings at the top of his voice.
She echoes his words. All in happy pain, she lies.
She dreams of everything she can never see and softly laughs.
“No need to run. No need to hide” he whispers behind her eyes
And then I hear her first genuine smile.
The blood stains remain etched on the floor of their forgotten suffering.
He sees her to be finally calm and then closes her eyes
Then he sings with all his lungs and beyond all his lies,
“No need to run. No need to hide. It’s a wonderful, wonderful life”
He goes out and stumbles onto the road, walking and singing.
While she lies – breathless – for once not sulking
These last lines of her book are written in bold
for they’re the only true words that matter.
“Here I stand, at the end of the short, dark cave.
And I see the blinding light pouring in.
Now there’s no need to run. No need to hide
It’s a truly wonderful, wonderful life!”
~ Smruthi Bhat
Swaatanya 