My Worthy Son Sleeps Poem by Prafulla Kumar Panda

The queen of the heaven smiled
and like other days walked with him
through the dense and up to a clearing
and stood with him until her entourage
came yawning and left her drowsy in the wintry evening
although,
the wintry wind silenced the obstinate crickets of the evening
but the ghosts' eerie laughter were still echoing
and the guns of the gory crooks did grin
on mountain tops in and around him
he was firm and like a rock standing
seeing the Mother in the front and the Father within
for he was firm to trigger fear
that could shear and tear
the heart of the enemy one after the other

after his terrible last night fight
with the demons of mankind
with all his courage and all his might
and when he did rest at a conspicuous sight
the morning sun rushed in
ripping the heart of the foggy morning
after wiping flakes off his face
whispered into his loathsome ears some words of praise
to which he jerked and did sheen
holding a smile
his drooping eyes shed some pious tears
before his men carried him away in a coffin

ssh! 'don't shout,
here my worthy son sleeps
cover him lest he will catch cold
and that can prevent him from being stout and bold
the puckered paths have tired his limbs
while the wild thorns have bled him like hornets' stings
to him your soft tongues can't reach
when he has fallen into a profound sleep
and has stiffen his ears
to the cacophony of guns and mortar shells...
he sleeps and let him sleep
until the world awakes being freed from the bloody beasts'

here, he sleeps after the requests of many a night.

©Prafulla Panda, India
All rights reserved.