For Misha 17/07/2009

There was a star
In the sky
It hid below
In the cloud
When it could not bear
To watch,
The tear below
Of what it thought-
Was the end
Of the journey of the sun
After it went down
Until the morning dawned
And a meaning was born
Of the trials we learnt
In childhood
Of how our people
Long denied adulthood
Attained nationhood-
Amidst the odds
And the star-
No longer fearful
Yet forever fortified
Looked up and about
And rejoiced.