The Silent Reader and the Tot

There was a bassinet and in it a lay a tot

Dark bleak nights and days so short

Sleep was rare and rarer was it sound

The tot often wondered, is death around?

But death isn’t so kind, neither is life

To understand it well, supreme souls must connive

So, the supreme souls said, “Let it be then”

Reveal the intricate secrets before she comes to heaven

Then came striding, the Silent Reader

Conspicuous, vivacious and so very tender

She held the tot’s hand and rocked the cradle

The tot looked up and saw an end to her trouble

“You are mistaken my darling”, said the silent reader

“I can’t end the unrest, but I can be your mentor”

I will tell you the secrets and the lore of love and life

But you are your own savior, you alone have to strive

Nights went by and the tot heard stories

Of life, of death, of a dervish called Shams of Tabriz

The wintry nights kept getting shorter

There was sunshine now and the tot was merrier

But the coldness of the night bothered her still,

“When will it end, can you give me a magic pill?”

The Silent Reader smiled infectiously,

“The pill is with you”, she said so humbly

“Hold on my dear”, said the Silent Reader

“For there is no winter that lasts forever”

Months passed by and the tot was growing

What wasn’t visible earlier, now she was seeing

She smiled more often and lesser she cried

She changed herself briskly yet remain unchanged

Finally, spring came and the tot was at glee

Out she ran but came back feeling chilly

“Wasn’t spring here to stay”, said she perturbed

“Of course, it is”, said the serene faced Silent Reader

Life is a mix of all seasons and will always be so,

But sometimes when it's chilly you have to just let go

Accept what you can’t change and change what you can

Happiness is a choice, in life’s topsy turvy lane

Twinkled the tot’s eye, for she finally had her answers

It didn’t hurt anymore; she was no more her own vexer

Stood up the Silent Reader and looked at her intently

“It’s time for me to go”, She said ever so warmly

An oxymoron was witnessed therein, happy tears of the tot

The departure of her beautiful mentor was a happy heartbreak of sorts

“Put me in my bassinet and keep it by the fireplace”

I am still scared of the winter, put me in a safe space

“Look in the mirror once, my dear” and face what is real

“Look at your body and your soul, you have outgrown your cradle”

A steady gust of warmth flushed the tot’s face

She wasn’t a tot anymore, but a woman running life’s race

The silent reader’s face beamed as she bid her final goodbye,

With grace matchless and bliss unrivaled, she walked away

Away she walked, into a world of new adventures

Of fun, frolic, and ardent ventures

Leaving behind the beautiful difference she had made

Unaware of the fact that a life had been saved

The sands in life’s hourglass kept slipping out

The woman had healed, without a spec of doubt

She had forgotten her lovers and surely all the haters

But etched in her heart will always be the beautiful Silent Reader