After The End Poem by Ananya Jetley

..And then came a time when I was free,
I revelled in it; I soaked the spirit true,
The benign atmosphere made me uneasy,
I hadn't been here, had been roughened all through...

I saw a bit clearly now, as the hazy fog cleared,
There lay in the sands a thin sickening creature,
It lay there taking laboured shallow breaths,
An unwarranted spirit, on brink whose life teetered..

I neared it and saw a ghostly reflection,
Its face brightened awhile and then lost its sheen,
It made an unbridled effort with determination,
And then lay back panting as it had painstakingly been..

I saw its eyes up close and lucid,
They wore the look of a weary traveller,
The lips tremored a moment with words unformed,
Silently claiming..' I had her...I had her'..

Confused and curious I now bent low,
And whispered into the spirit's ear,
' Who are you? Whom did you have?
And above all where am I and why am I here? '

It gave me a scathing look and turned its face away,
' Your soul is what I talk about, which was to be mine this day! ''
Startled, I stepped back instinctively and gave it a long, hard look,
Thinking furiously what it meant while remembering my own truth..

And then the world swirled before my eyes.
For I knew not what to think,
I could not fathom my own identity,
Could not relate to any possible link..

And so I turned yet again to the baleful spirit,
Who by now seemed to be shrinking away slowly,
'What do you mean you had my soul?
Am I dead? You are some evil surely..'

My words hung in the silent space,
And suddenly the spirit barked out a laugh,
Devoid of mirth, cold and heartless,
And turned to me with eyes aghast..

'So you see that I am evil, you feel that in me,
Yet as a part of your spirit, you nourished me so well,
Now that I am dying in front of your eyes,
All I get is selfish questions in farewell..'

And then with some restraint it mastered itself,
And spoke up now loudly and clearly,
'But I must answer what you ask of me,
You earned that much, earned that much barely'

' A killer, a murderer was what you were,
Your soul was tarnished and I lived in it lovingly,
Not many escaped your sinful hands,
And I grew stronger and vitalized gradually'

'Your path to hell was laid down clear,
But then came that little girl in the way,
Whose innocence captured your black heart,
And you became a protector from that day'

'As good you were with your dark deeds,
The same went into making sure she was safe,
You plunged yourself endlessly in harm's way,
But not a moment of distress to her you gave'

'And so I grew terribly weak,
A mere shadow of my earlier self,
It was then I provoked your greed,
To choose between her and yourself'

'It was my last attempt to arouse your sins,
But you rose to an unprecedented height,
In a moment, your heart was full and pure,
That moment when you chose self-sacrifice'

“And so she now lives, but you are here,
And I am dying a slow, painful death,
Now you know the whole truth so do me a favour,
Do not make me wait till my last breath'

'Pick up that axe lying askew,
And bury it deep in my heart,
I maybe an evil and tainted spirit,
But give me your pity, don’t make this last'

I saw the weapon he referred to,
And looked back at its contorted countenance,
' I am a killer no more my friend,
She rescued me and this is my penance'

Suddenly, it uttered a gut wrenching scream,
With it its whole being shook vigorously,
'You have thwarted my last attempt also! ” it shouted,
And at last closed its eyes after fighting relentlessly..

I felt the freedom yet again, but not uneasy anymore,
I felt my being uplift with the feeling inside me,
I could run, I could kiss the sun and lay down on shores,
The long, drawn out battle of life had ended with my liberty...

And then I saw the stairs up ahead,
And knew instinctively I must climb them,
But as I ascended to the next world,
In my mind, a thought repeatedly stemmed...

Who will I ever see again when its time?
How many will find the strength inside?
She gave me a path of salvation to follow,
Will others also flow against the tide?

How tough is it to heed to His call?
How different is it to take the right path?
All that life will offer is a choice,
To make the one which comes from your heart...