Tears

Wrapped in white sheets on his death bed,

An unknown man, lifeless, breathless,

Soon lifted his body from earth to be taken away,

Resting on shoulders! Four, as they chanted,

God’s name, his wife sitting beside for last,

Sobbing in grief, and stood I gazing little from far,

Couldn’t come closer by!

Couldn’t watch to see her cry!

Too much pain pined heart and more,

The view of a dead body lifted from earth,

Stirred the deepest emotions in me,

Tears flowing from my eyes,

Yes even I cried, and his eyes too,

I gazed across the mob, staring his red face

My beloved a strong man, still he cried,

He stood there little afar, yet our eyes met,

And shared we some silent words, he felt,

And so did I, a bizarre feeling wrapped us,

To see that stranger’s body taken away,

Made us cry, it felt not was he taken,

But it was something of ours was!

He was no one but gave us the lesson of love,

Coming back I was in my mate’s embrace,

For longer time, tears flowing myriad

From eyes of both, and souls of both,

Dust to dust, womb to tomb it all was!

That dead man gave us back, what we have,

Lost in time, I didn’t realized when he cleansed,

Our souls and we read the hidden message

In the air and shed many tears over his grave.....

*Monalisa Joshi*