A Promise I Couldn’t Keep

By Gaurav Chandrawanshi

You told me once, with a tear in your eye,

"One day, I'll be gone, and you’ll ask why"

I laughed it off, so naive, so small,

Unaware that time would steal it all.

We laughed together, a fleeting smile,

Not knowing that moment would last a while.

Now you're gone, and I stand here alone,

The silence louder than any tone.

Your voice, once warm, now slips away,

Fading with every passing day.

I try to hold it, but it’s so hard,

Like trying to catch the rain in a jar.

You were my safe place, my guiding light,

The one who made everything feel right.

But when you left, something inside died,

I wasn’t a child anymore, just trying to hide.

I wanted you here till the end of my life,

To share my victories, to ease my strife.

To feel your touch when the world feels cold,

To hear you say the things I was told.

But now, all I want is just one more time,

To see you smile, to hear you rhyme.

If I could trade years to feel you near,

I’d give it all, I’d have no fear.

Yet, all that remains is a fading trace,

Your memory lost in time and space.

Grandma, I wish I could turn back the tide,

Just to feel your love, standing by my side.

By Gaurav Chandrawanshi