One night I was alone.
Would I be remembered?
Or would my gravestone be
Just another grim one
Adorning the cemetery?
I had not lost anyone -
Not someone close to me;
I had good acquaintances,
Nice people I knew,
A long lost friend or three.
If I were to die, would I fade away?
Or would anyone remember me?
Leave my favourite flowers
At my tiny grave,
Remember my journey?
I stepped out then, into the balcony;
Leant against the railing heavily.
I gazed at the stars, all so brilliant,
Spotting Polaris instantly.
Everyone knew the North Star.
I remembered that there was another star -
"Sirius", I thought.
Wasn't it the brightest of all?
Where was it in the sky again?
So famous, existent, yet forgotten.
And then there were the others -
Pleasant to look at,
All of them brilliant
(Some more so than others)
But most of them forgotten.
Out there somewhere
Was some constellation or the other.
Visible only to the practised eye.
But who practised nowadays?
The constellations were just there, existent.
"Orion has a belt", I thought.
A three starred belt.
Where was it though?
Every other star shined the same.
But at least they were always there.
And they were stars, sparkling.
Maybe it wouldn't be too bad,
To settle with being another nameless star;
Someone who'd given to this world,
And left behind traces to be seen but not remembered.
When I stepped back into my room,
I was feeling much better.
I didn't know the purpose of life,
But I knew it'd all be fine.
I could settle with being just another star.
( It's okay to not be remembered after death. We'll not be alone in that. There are many others like us, who manage to have an impact on this world while they live, but their names are lost in the wind. Their names will be forgotten, but through their deeds their existence will be remembered.I find this to be a very comforting realisation.)
By
Gayathri Deshpande
