Whenever I remember the year, 2009,

One memory never escapes my mind.

Countless nights I may have seen,

That starry night isn’t difficult to find.



There was a power cut,

So we were lying on the terrace.

Although it was summer,

The weather was quite pleasant.



The stars shone quite bright,

In the moonless night,

I was overwhelmed with delight,

At that beautiful sight.



Lay ahead of me,

The never-ending twinkling streak.

Out of curiosity,

I started counting them like a freak.



I always messed up in between,

Several times though I tried.

The little kid that I was,

I started to cry.



My grandpa came to my side,

To give me a bit advice.

He told me that it is not possible to count the stars,

Because new ones are formed every night.



That small talk somehow made me feel better,

So I ceased to cry.

Whenever I saw the night sky from then on,

I never took a try.



Since that summer,

Eleven years have passed.

The world is not what it used to be,

And the change has been very fast.



I still remember,

That scene well.

Sometimes I wonder,

Maybe it was nothing but just a vision.



Grandfather isn’t with me now,

But his words stayed with me.

He was right, of course,

But what if the environment isn’t pollution-free.



There are not enough stars,

Left to see.

Four or five maybe,

Sometimes show up.



Some people still say,

We can’t count the stars in the sky.

I just simply ask them,

To have a try.



No doubt,

A lot has changed,

That’s the reason why,

I can count them!

                                         – Anmol Agarwal

                                 (September 10, 2020)