Empty Streets

By Suhas Reddy

A few years later,

You'd be walking

Down these empty streets.

And through burning bridges

You'd set fire to all your

Charades and Facades

You know you're tired

Of pretending

And being unreal.

But having a façade of happiness has become

A subconscious part of your mind.

You miss the stars too much

On cloudy, stormy nights.

But the stardust in the air

Around you, kind of makes up

For their absence somehow.

You don't know,

Where this empty street is,

Or where it leads,

Or how you ended up there.

But the walk down the lane was peaceful,

Like a walk down memory lane.

Reminiscing about good memories

Etched with nostalgia.

Or a walk

Through your favourite park,

Amongst the whiffs

Of baby roses and lavenders.

And somewhere near the trail,

You see wildflowers blooming.

You'll tell the little children one day

About this journey of yours.

You believe this story will go on

And on for generations,

Like a famous folktale.

They will learn about how

You never knew how and why

You ended up on that trail,

But you continued on,

Because you did know that

Empty streets aren't always

Lonely.

By Suhas Reddy