The desire comes

I too have this longing,
that someone would come into this life to be the reason I stay awake through nights.
Someone who would say "I love you" in the midst of conversation,
who would slip in demands for kisses, with reason or without.

I too have this longing that someone would suddenly appear in my life
like a shadow, shattering all the grammar of loneliness!

Someone who would pester me on the phone, needed or not,
who would truly torment me by coming to stand beneath my gate
at midnight, saying, "I'm dying to see you!"

I too have this longing that someone would come and stand before me
like a rainbow, erasing all the darkness from my life!
Hold my hand and share colored tea at the corner shop, or puchka.
On rain-soaked monsoon days, riding in a hooded rickshaw,
ask me to rest my head upon their shoulder,
or sometimes, from the fear of losing me, simply break down and weep.

I too have this longing that in this life,
someone who belongs entirely to me would steal me away,
to some distant island, some blue solitude...

I too have this longing to press my ear
against someone beloved's chest and listen to their heartbeat...thump thump thump!

I too have this terrible longing...I too am human!