PLIGHT PERSONIFIED

The eyes take a far away look,
Tears well up and trickle,
He sniffs and tries to look a man,
But the tears won’t just let him,

His mother, bedridden,
His father, disheveled,
A knot forms in his heart,
And succumbs to paroxysms of anguish.

The pain sears through his heart,
Breaking a nerve too many,
The nerve to co-ordinate,
The nerve to feel happy.

Mother passes on,
In the wee hours
He wakes up,
A cold lifeless form greets him.

Despondency sets in,
On father and son,
It’s there to stay,
Oh what suffering!

Father, all nerves broken,
Succumbs and says adieu,
Leaves boy alone,
To fight life’s battles, alone.

East or west, no hope,
North or South, hopelessness looms large,
Boy with no one to turn to,
Contemplates ‘voluntary termination’.

Goes to his room, he does,
Bolts it tight, air tight,
With a rope around his nape,
He hangs from the roof.

His body swings to and fro,
Flies compete for space,
The lifeless form,
A vivid picture of broken dreams and aspirations