You Became A Whole Country For Me Poem by Sreekala Sivasankaran

The whirlwind that surrounded me
must've reached you
I feared
Unspeakable sorrow dawned on me

The connecting bridge between you and me
Did not really connect
It just gave the appearance of a life
desired for long

I turn to your pictures now
In the memory storage
Mind too can be messed up with medicines
Who should have been treated?
For what?

Parasites feed on the last drop of life
They don't cure you
They just make one more guinea pig
In the war of hungry religions

I have the picture in my mind
Etched so deeply
Still so clear
Despite the efforts
To deface you
Erase the smile in sleep

A glimpse of your pale legs
The Bodhi tree leaf
The hair like the soft feathers
Of the birds resting on your fingertips

You became a whole country for me
Your eyes emitting the sparks
Needed for the traveller in darkness
My soul is now resting in that body

If I die tonight
Know that I have travelled to you

(From the collection, 'Stranded' by Sreekala Sivasankaran)