When I Am Dead Poem by Anil Kumar Panda

when I am dead,
don't look at my face,
it is filled with sadness;
time has slapped it again and again
left its ugly signature on it.

don't look at my face,
for it has cried uncontrollably
at the death of children
due to bombing,
at the destruction of hospitals
and shelters for refugees,
at the widows begging for alms.

when I am dead,
don't open my eyes,
it is filled with tears,
for the innocents and poor
who got killed while sleeping
and dreaming about a bright future
for themselves and their children;
who have written poems and stories
appreciating the beauty of the world,
of the goodness of the humanity,
about love and peace.

when I am dead,
bury me at a place
far from the zone of war
where only the wind sings.