Navarasas - Bhaya Poem by Shankaran Kutty

(Bhaya is Fear. A subtle anxiety, a fear of a tyrant or a feeling of helplessness. Cowardice, panic or timidity,)

I crouched lower,
In the middle of the night
The apparition moved
My heart was pumping with fright

Then it moved closer
And in the little moonlight
It was a tiger, I could see
Its eyes were burning bright

And then something slithered
It only increased my fright
From this scary place
Will I get a respite

I then saw the snake beside me
Stand up on all its glory
Its hood spread so wide
Hissing with all the fury

The tiger moved in
Full of stealth, on paws soft
The snake beside me then
Held its hood aloft

Would it be a quick bite to the jugular
Or a painful death by poison
I had no choice, did I
To think about it or reason

The tiger then pounced
So the jugular it is
As I slipped off my senses
I could still hear the snake hiss

When I woke up I found
I was lying in a different set
On my cot by the window
But my bed, I found was wet