978: An Ode To May 17 Poem by Amit Biswas

For over 20 months,
I have listened to every word of yours,
Accompanied you to every street of the city,
Sang every song that you hummed,
Danced along to every tune that appealed to you,

Read every ad that you applied a job for,
Cried for every small pain of yours,
Roamed like vagabonds, when driven out,
You too did, each one of those!

Then came the fateful day, May 17,
You suddenly went blind, and
Could not see any further,
Went dumb too, never spoke again!

I shouted, I cried, I pleaded, I sulked and I died,
But you never spoke again, you never saw again,
Came August, came January, came April,
You never spoke again, lost hearing too, meantime,

What blinded and muted you? I never knew,
Was it by design? Or something went wrong?
What weighed more than the only love of your life?
What went wrong, I wish I knew,

Kindness personified you looked in your love,
I have felt ashamed, knowing I could not be as kind,
But it’s your cruelty that amazed me again,
Never looked back, once done with what you wanted,

It’s not easy to get love, you knew it better than me,
Still you weighed it against something, what could that be?
Sharing was relationship, told you again and again,
You couldn’t share still, let your secrets remain,

You marched ahead, what you called your way,
Trampled family, children, love, nothing could sway,
When they need you, you don’t have time,
When you would look back, they have lost their hymn.

You must have your reasons, at least I wish you do,
I accept and excuse your quandary and you,
But the trauma lives on! Why did you do this to me?
Did I deserve this? I wish I knew.

I wish you happiness, if you wanted this, (sure you did!)
Will carry your sweet memories to my grave,
If vision, voice and hearing are back and you are brave,
Do share your secrets, I wish I knew.

May 31,2006