Hear me, O People!
I am Hades, the Unseen One
The one you relegate to nether realms
Unacknowledged, un rewarded
For ever confined to darkness
Glory of worship, not for me
Nor a place in your Pantheon
Yet the deaths you dole out
Sent to me, to fill my world
Their silent screams echoing
Mingling with my voiceless voice
E'en as your Mighty spears
Sear and burn and kill.
Knock, knock, knock
Is anyone home?
Will you let me in?
It's dark out here
And I'm alone by myself
A wee bit of warmth
Companionship, may be
That;s all I ask for
Or just give me a corner
To sit in, watch
As yoy laugh and play
In your bright world
Happy reminder
Of my erstwhile days
Before drought sucked life
Before holocaust hit
We were friends then
Now you outcast me
Leave me to roam
In land of Hades
A shadow in a shadowy realm
Unseen, unsung
A specter striving to survive.
Days slip by, hour by hour, unnoticed
A silent streaming,
Time’s fluidity knows no bar,
Thoughts submerged in layers of silt
Life moves on, sedate as aged Matron
Till once more dreaded hour comes round
Reminder of ifs and buts and alas
Futile feelings fermenting within
Turning into deadly venom
Spreading through blood stream
Running into black void of restless soul
Both dead and alive
Both hopeless and hopeful.
This time it’s different,
A mute waiting
No decisions to make,
Nor arrangements
All taken care of
Only uncertainty
At change in status
That never happened before,
At a loose end listless
Role unknown
No need for rituals
To mark the end
Or perhaps a beginning
I know not which!
Just the internal scream
I hear it loud,
I hear it clear,
The unthinkable
Turned thinkable.
Insides churning
A different loneliness
More isolating
More complete
More defeating
I Knew, I was Unprepared.
It was coming, I could see
Every day, every visiting hour
Ever since that hurried return
Oxygen flow, now up to dangerous level
Then down a bit, fueling hope,
Like a roller coaster ride
That stays mostly down,
Through ambivalent consultations
Through that desperate clutching at hand
Supplicating for I know not what!
Through ability to still remember
Telling me who visited
On ByPap,
off ByPap
Through the long waits
Before learning of blood flow
Its source undetected,
No way to get to truth
And that last visit
Rapid fluctuation of heartbeat
Sinking levels
I had seen, before the end,
I knew, I knew it was coming,
The call expected – still a shock,
That last desperate drive
Etched in mind forever.
