The night before, a thought was born, will anyone miss me, when I am gone?

The night before,
a thought was born,
will anyone miss me,
when I am gone?
Teeming millions, the world is vast,
could it matter if one more has passed?
In gloom I sat to meditate
what have I done
What did I take?
some space to breathe,
a little to eat,
And, the love of my loved one.
O God, is belief in you, a pun?
your world is fast,
and I am slow,
I must extinct,
this much I know.
My eyes are dry.
I, no more can cry,
though saddest now,
since I was born
and, will anyone
miss me, when I’m gone?

{From The Yogi and the snake, 1995}
This poem from My book is a song of the sad seeker. And later in the book, Shiva answers it for Him.

But has there ever been a time that Shiva Himself could have sung something like this?
i wonder. Perhaps when he was separated from Sati. Perhaps when he came to take stock of his own creation, and was pained to see only the sheerest materialism, perhaps, when he went to the extent of even having poison for the welfare of all and expected the world to generate only love in return....
perhaps when he could not see more than a handful in his own image...
perhaps life is not about the world that God gave, but the world that we make....
Perhaps...
and have we not all felt like that, at times?
Perhaps there was a time when Shiva felt it too.

Aum Namah Shivaye.