By Suseela E V Edathadan
O My Papa
I stared you go, stars in eyes
You waved me, with promise,
"next time we'll ride the skies"
But fate has pinned, ruthless.
Papa,
You kept me back, to keep me safe,
You left me stranded in your place,
Yo! now silence holds our last embrace,
And time has etched your missing face.
The terror came with gunfire and fume,
Through valley veiled in morning's hum,
Therein children played with kith and kin
Lie worn out, echoing cries within.
Thick silence and smoke hung around,
The world fell hard, hearts hit the ground,
They say you are gone, I hear the round-
That stole your breadth, where love was bound!
Papa,
I love you more than words can bear
In every thump joy or in utter despair,
In fact you missed me, wished me there-
As death came drifting though the air?
I hold your voice in broken dreams
In echoes lost in siren's screams,
In shattered beams your shadow moves
A ghost stitched to life torn seams.
The house is quiet, Mama cries
Your chair unharmed, the echo lies
My sister ask me how and who,
But I just stargaze for clues.
If only I had been your shield!
Easing and soothing, the wound healed!
Perhaps some other fate revealed,
Perhaps our bond not yet repealed!
Today I write with trembling pen,
To bring you back, again, again-
Through verse, I face the bitter end,
True Papa, my first and dearest friend.