Parting (We Shall Meet Again) Poem by Aditya Chandrasen Salvi

“I am sorry I couldn’t understand you.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks
As words flowed out of my shivering lips.
Voice, broken was filled with eternal sorrow
And pain was the only thing I wanted to borrow.

She lay restless before my eyes,
But troubled smile endured to laugh in her eyes.
Her mortal frame had undergone complete transformation
And my feeble heart couldn’t withstand her deterioration.

The supple round body that I once relished
Had lost its curves and diminished.
Red hot lips that showered kisses so bold
Were drained of blood and ice cold.
Soft rosy bird pecked cheeks
Were now pale of suffering borne for weeks.
Here luminous eyes, excited explorers of nature
Now narrated the tragic story of its torture.
The sweet soft breasts were once my warm pillow,
Where I would hear the melody of the tender heart below.
Today it heaves heavily to keep up the breath
As it knows its owner is close to her inevitable death.

Emotions poured out rhythmlessly.
“I still remember our last meeting.”
“Yes me too! ” And she smiled wickedly.
“It was our secret engagement! ”
I tried to smile.
“Yes it was! ”
And her eyes sparkled
With the revival of those sweet moments.
“You offered me a ring.”
She laughed in her right pale cheek.
“I proposed you! ”
I tried to emphasize.
“It was a great surprise!
Most beautiful moment of my life! ”
A deep sigh!
And silence prevailed
With just an interruption
Of irregular beeps of ECG machine.
“Instead you gave me a surprise.”
Both tried to laugh.
But eyes were filled with soar salts of sorrow.
Her’s managed to smile,
But mine were filled with tears of fear.
“Why? Why didn’t you tell me? ...”
I whispered loudly.
“Because I love you.”
She whispered softly.

“It has failed you my dear.
I am sorry.”
She pressed my hand on her tender heart.
Diversion was the lone cure I could offer.
“They… They say…”
She interrupted.
“It ends tonight, doesn’t it? ”
I struggled to find words
And was just able to give a helpless node.
“I want to sleep.
Hold me.”
I moved beside her
Her hand on my heart
And my on her.
“I am afraid”
She whispered in a broken voice.
“Me too.”
And both were locked in a warm embrace.
She kissed my lips and said,
“Don’t be.
We shall meet again.
We shall meet again...”

Hours passed by
Hands of the clock crossed many a times.
At 5 O’clock of that Christmas morning
When the sun dawned on the whole world
Her life’s sun sank into
The deep oceans of death.
All I could here
Was the increasing beeps of E.C.G.
All I could feel
Was her fading heart beats
And her diminishing breath.


She died...
She died a silent death.
But left me
To suffer a living death.

- Ushakiran