Innocent Lives Poem by Nikhil Parekh

Lunch boxes filled with spicy delicacy,
Children dressed in neat uniform,
Stitched badges identifying institution,
Hung coarse bags filled with textbook volumes,
On rustic shoulders of budding youth,
Polished footwear projecting from cream pant,
Shoelace tied in immaculate fashion,
Plaits of hair brushed meticulously with coconut oil,
Brilliant red tie dangling from shirt collar,
Secured to shirt cloth with metal cufflinks,
Conspicuously large watch dial displaying time,
Elastic socks of white conclude attire,
As group of children board the school bus.

Shouts of laughter; chorused rhymes,
Plodding of feet; biting of nails,
Twinkling smiles; comic faces full of glee,
The toddlers were having a gala time;
With dead drunk driver hands on the steering wheel,
Flashing demon smiles through the rear glass,
Meting personal frustration on gas pedal,
As the bus sky rocketed into daylight,
Leaving unsurpassable tornadoes of dust behind.

Swerving wildly like an African panther,
Ultimately crashing into iron posts,
Marking the outlines of the river bridge,
Shouts of laughter turned to breathless horror,
Metal screeched against solid concrete,
Multiseater bus took a hundred feet plunge,
Chorused rhyme converted into imprisoned cries,
As Innocent lives mercilessly drowned into the savage waters of the amazon.