Time Speaks Poem by Dr. Bishnupada Sethi

A very quiet winter night it is.
Hardly any sound outside
One could hear.
Closely shut are
All the windows and doors.
Retained inside are all the warmth.

We aren't conversing.
The silence is punctured however
By his rapid breaths.
It's the only sound
That makes our presence obvious.

I was gazing at him
While sitting by for some time
With all the prayers on my lips.
On sensing my presence there
He pulled over the quilt
Just to hide his face underneath.

I had already noticed by then
How the streams of tears
Quietly flowing down sideways
For few minutes
Made his pillow wet
He won't make it obvious
If he was in pain.

I remember the good old days
Often when we discussed
About the rise
And fall of mighty people
Human pride and follies,
He would comment
‘Time speaks'
Conveying the temporariness
Of all our situations
Indicating to follow
Only the divine designs.

A firm believer
In Karma and Dharma,
The tall man is now floored,
His body is moth eaten
Like an old shirt.
He is well aware-
He won't be the same man again.
No one can travel back in time.

When asked
If he was worried
Or anything was bothering him-
He hesitated to speak
But he was feeling sorry
For the inconvenience caused
To those for making arrangement
For his treatment and care.

Raising his folded hands upwards
Begging for the God's mercy
Softly uttering why at all
He was being moved in and out
Of the hospitals
Even though he hadn't
Troubled anyone
Ever in his lifetime.

In all consciousness
He was trying to listen
What the Time was speaking.

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