A Song....! Poem by Konjit Berhane

After his death…
Whose death?
The cyclist’s

Every one was arguing
Some say it was the cyclist’s fault
Others added it was the truck driver’s
But I was on neither side, lingering on my own sole argument
I blamed it on the song

What song?
Whose?

It all started because of the song
The song the cyclist was listening to
So loud through his big earphones

If the cyclist hadn’t had his walk man
He would have heard the truck coming
Or at least he would have heard the horn
Blown by the truck driver that scared me to my bone

But he was nodding his head with the bit of the rhythm
Moving his lips with the song, which he studied well and to the extreme
His strong feet pushing the pedal
His hands holding tight the handlebars

At this crucial moment of his life
The ears seemed the queens of his senses
His eyes concentrating on the rough road
To find a smooth way to balance


The truck driver blew his horn
The women screamed
‘N I stood still like a stone
The men called “watch out”
Imagine all these sounds at the same moment

But he seemed to enjoy the song
As if he knew it’s his last time to listen to it
I felt dizzy, cold and sad
When the truck hit the bike
‘N he fell far and hard

Alas….
He is not moving, look at his face
For the longest time there fell silence

Even though he was pronounced dead
His body was taken to the hospital
All left of him was in the road
His fallen mountain bike and his fallen body chalk signal
‘N the cause of his death, his beautiful silver walkman

Every one wondered about
What his family would say?
How young he was!
But I…
I was wondering
What was he listening to?
Whose song?
'N which one?

31 October,2005