Living Poem by Saroj Padhi

Hey, do we stop living?
As death stalks
like an invisible enemy
round the corner,
laughter seems to have made exit
under crush of tear,
life's gone out of gear;

insta stories wallow
in hash tag throwback pity
old album photos lose luster
life loses glamor
in pandemic terror,
eyes ache from reading
e-newspaper
showers erratic exhaust
pity and tear;

despite the specter of death
hanging over us everywhere
look how blades of grass
crack open ancient walls to shiver
with life's benediction
like nascent born calves from old mother,
flowers beam and burst with color
mongrels on street
with love lick each other
drops from wet night's kiss
on leaves shine like blazing silver!

@ Saroj K Padhi