I Was Not There Poem by Parameswaran K V

I was not there
when the lilacs bloomed
wriggling in the slime
feeding them with the goodness of the earth.

I was not there
At the break of dawn,
when the sky was celebrating the new day
being a pale moon wasting away in the far end

I was not there
for the coronation
at the end of the tour de force
burying the dead scattered in the streets.

I was late for the feast
served for all countrymen
and content with the left over
sharing it with the beggars in the street

I was not there
when the doors of heaven opened
struggling in the hell
with self imposed punishments.

I was not there
where you liked me to be
failing to reach the heights you set for me
and fading away into oblivion