Evening Prayer Poem by BASAB CHAUDHURI

I visit this page several times a day,
not that I write something on it,
but to see the page again and again.
The white background creates sensation -
it asks: nothing today?
I feel a gnawing pain in my heart,
nothing today?
As my little child waits at home the whole day,
and when I return, he looks at my hand -
when I have nothing to give him, he says:
Dad, nothing today?
The background, the tone, the tune -
nothing today?
Not a word of truthfulness!
Not a word rising from the depth of conscience!
Not a word of love, gratitude, pain or remorse!
Nothing today?

At the end of the day,
with my eyes set on the white screen,
I write a word and they slowly start flowing.

I repeatedly ask the same question:
will these words find a nest somewhere, some time, some day?

They may, they may not,
it doesn't make any difference
as long as heart attempts to speak out from the depth -
that matters.

A word of love, gratitude, pain or remorse -
my prayer.