The Choice Is Yours! Poem by Kamalakar Arakala

In front of corporate hospital
Breathing from cylinder
In a mile-long Q of ambulance-like trucks
Awaiting allotment of a bed
Or
Breathing fresh air
Sitting by the window
In the comfort of own home
Which you, hitherto, thought as hell!
The Choice is Yours!

Spending sleepless nights
Among about-to-die patients
And in the close proximity of already dead
Or
Spending time among
Own kith and kin
Whom, though you can never win
In own home!
The Choice is Yours!

Tasteless food
Packed in plastic
Handed from afar!
Or
Home-cooked
Fresh and hot
Made to taste!
The Choice is Yours!

Gazing crowded ward ceiling
Doubting, when you arise
Will you ever see sun rise
Or
Dreaming golden future
Sitting in cosy comfort
Watching favourite movie
On your LED TV
The Choice is Yours!

All savings clean
Branded as outcast
Basking in regret
Or
Being clean
Keeping distant
Masking
Is it too much of Asking?
The Choice is Yours!