Emerging from the nightmare (Poem)
Moaning is getting louder, monotonous sound
A breath of relief, no more shaking ground
At least for now; though the hearts are chilled
With fear, earth could engulf them still.
Thousands dead and alive lay under rubble
Immersed in the moment, unaware of all trouble
A child sucks on mother’s breast, a woman long gone
Will someone find this boy before break of dawn?
City tower has fallen to ruins
Clock tower has forgotten its tunes
They repeat it again, time will heal
But which wound and with what zeal?
Prayers for Nepal floods the news and media
But one has to be here to get the real idea
The lustrous mountain still smiles down at you
On the foreground is flattened village view.
Clad in a torn sari she serves her husband tea
Her eyes pouring out her heart’s plea
The flame of hope burning out like a whirlwind
Expectations of finding her mother has thinned
In dismay and anger he lashes at reporter and crew
For whom he is only a piece of news, among few.
Agony, hunger wounds are here to stay
After reports complete, journalists go away.
Two winters and two springs have come and gone
He limps around dragging the legs broken
Help at the doorstep they heard and believed
The man on top or the donors who deceived.
Determined he is to complete the wall today
Three more tomorrow, a roof the next day.
Choosing between food, health or house
A home for my beloved he vows.
‘Make a wish,’ ‘a house for the wife’
‘I’ll be ready to depart for afterlife’
The jinni vanishes in a whisk with his wife’s cry
Is this the end, is she going to die?
Home ripped down again in her dream
He fails again to stop her eyes stream.
Homeland far away and exotic
Forgotten, as expected, by world chaotic.
Ms. Adhikary, a medical doctor, is currently working in Australia.
Image credit: Wall Street Journal
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