By Sakshi Srivastava
It was surely the cries that woke me up,
No, not of a child — I would have known then.
Yes, I remember, but I remember faintly,
They were surely the cries of despair,
Deep, dark in the night — cries that were resounding with might.
And stark awake and completely sane, I went to my windowpane.
The sight was not the one to behold — definitely not!
For what I saw was unimaginable, ghastly, and purely inhuman.
No, no, I was not a kid that I didn't understand what was going on,
It was just the brink of hope that I prayed — let it be a damn dream. But it was not so!
The screams grew louder and so did the pain — the pain of suffering.
I saw families separating, and I know they were seeing each other for the last time —
Children clinging onto their mothers, because it had more security than a concrete wall could offer!
And I stood there watching, without a tear wetting my dry eyes,
Without any emotion — I just watched.
I watched because I knew there was nothing I could do,
Neither could I stop the bleeding feet, nor could I mend the torn sheets.
I went back and thought of things that will remain,
And I could only see the empty sails and undelivered mails,
Houses that will echo the sound of heartbreaks — houses that were once homes.
And I thought of those people with disdain, who make us believe this world is cruel and insane,
People who will be jubilant and insolent, while others will be rotting and dying.
And I know this havoc will continue, making you lose your sleep — waking you up to your worst nightmare!