Night

As a child,
We were taught to fear the night.
Demons under our beds,
Bad memories in our heads.
Blindlessness,
Helplessness,
Fear.

Then we grew,
And we grew to love the night.
Staying past midnight,
Movie-marathons,
Spontaneous cooking,
Full volume car rides.
2am video calls,
Deciding plans for the fall.

Growing some more we did,
And the night-time became splendid.
Finishing due assignments
Changed to
Finishing due decks.
Teachers became bosses,
Not working at night
Brought great losses.

Some got married,
And the night was all they wanted.
Some time alone,
Some time to cherish,
With one another.

Many moons after came
children of their own,
Holding their hands in the dark,
They created happy memories.
Staying up all night,
Just to be with them.
Looking,
Smiling.

And yet at a certain point,
They found themselves all alone,
Old and wrinkled,
Fearing the night once again.
Will they make it through?
Wishing for just another chance
To
Exhale
The breath they took in.
Blindlessness,
Helplessness,
Fear.