How the Lights Flickered In the Rain

*how* *the* *lights* *flickered* *in* *the* *rain* Dark skinned, cross eyed, with thick mascara She was a poet. and a dancer before that Or was she a singer , I do not remember . It was the festival of lights The light from the earthen lamps fell slowly into the grass and in the freshly fallen dew it lingered awhile. She wrote in her poems Of how she was a firefly She could shine But no longer fly. She sang,she danced and got drunk in everyone else's music. They cursed her pen And so as she lit the lamps she knew that she , will burn that night . Her dog with in his yellow collar Slept under the diwali lights, dreaming of lizards and of Christmas . They put a lot of lights out that year, In a friendly competition with the neighbours. The lights were on all night and it rained later that night . No one saw how the lights flickered In the rain . But she did. She walked passed them when everyone else was atlast sleeping She took the essentials . in hand and like the lights in the rain, she burned. (• Diwali- Indian Festival of lights)