Murk Ignorance
A stark reality
Be still, my heart, do not fear
Born lonely
But then came sister dear
Nothing’s gloomy
She found herself a lover boy
I was left alone
It was then I found lovely ‘Joy’
To warm the cold
She blessed me
Delicately
With tender hands and feet
That consumed us rapidly
But she rushed off leaving
Those unknown gifts
And that empty feeling
Tearing me to bits
All alone I raised them
My pride, my joy
On her grave, they bend
Our girl and boy
Together they flew
Quickly
The nest they outgrew
Silent, forlorn, dusty
Blocked in a cocoon
Lost
In love, life, and doom
Sometimes they talk
I feel unwell
A pandemic has struck
Near me, no one dwells
In 1 year, the world hasn’t budged
Thank God, my Joy lays still
Beneath the snow
Gasping, I lose will
Swiftly, I go
I close my eyes smiling
Looking at her
My soul happy
United with my dear
But my body lies tarnished
Smelly and lifeless
On strange shoulders carried
Stuffed in an ambulance
Secretly falling
Along the path
Strangers calling
Raising alarm
I am stacked in a corner
Just one of the dead
No more a loner
Waiting for eternal rest
From dust, I came
To dust, I went
Alone at birth
Alone at death
Inspired by my 86 year old grandmother’s recent brush with death in India with the dreaded third wave of the Coronavirus. She was lucky to get a bed at the hospitals before her breathing collapsed. She saw younger people dying. The hospital staff quickly stuffed them into coffins, with no one to grieve, rushing the last rites according to a person’s religion, and making way for others. The dead are being piled up, waiting for enough ground to be buried and wood to be burnt. Many are just dumped in the rivers, creating other bacterial dangers for the living poor. Lord have mercy!
