A Dark Night

- by Pratyush Parashar Das 

The darkness grows as the sun goes down behind the hill in front of the forest,

Fusing all the colours of the landscape into a dull shade of nothingness, and life comes to a still, where all living creatures rest,

The greyish mist slowly curls through the trees, rendering the landscape white, freezing people with fear, with no hope in sight,

And in such a setting does a chorus of lonely voices sadly sing about happiness and joy,

Both feelings which now appear to be as elusive as the Helen of Troy,

The wolves and the crickets join in as the chorus, filling the atmosphere with pulsating buzzes and mournful howls,

As the Moon shines on the jaws of the wolf pack, red with the blood of many jungle fowls,

And so does yet another night pass in the ancient village town of the First Borough , with its inhabitants wishing that other nights like this should not follow.