136. നിശാഗന്ധി / Nishagandhi: Queen of the Night

As I kept fighting dreary dreams
in the middle of the night,
a nocturnal fragrance woke me up
from the depth of my slumber. 

Wanting to find the source of this scent, 
I embarked on an uncharted journey. 
I kept fumbling in the dark haze until
stumbling across a mesmerizing sight. 

Even as the drapes of dusk covered the light,
it was like twilight, this mystical sight.
With it's radiance and enchanting allure,
before me bloomed the Queen of the Night.

As everything else stood still, stuck in time,
my life felt like a riddle; perhaps a rhyme. 

-Rithin.

After planting the Queen of the Night in her indoor garden a few years ago,  my mother tended to it with the same love and care she gave her own children. It took immense patience as this type of flower only blooms one night a year. The fact that it wilts before dawn further signifies its rarity. Last night, I was fortunate enough to have woken up by the sweet fragrance of this blooming flower. I watched it dance in front of me like a peacock displaying its feathers. As I stood there in awe, the above poem flowed through my soul like a stream.