DUSHYANT

What if one day

You forget who I am!

What if you never look my way

With love in your eyes,

And a song on your lips,

But with a crazy, blank stare?

What if the clock stops ticking

And time stands still?

Would you remember

The vows we had taken;

The promises that were made

Never to be broken?

What if the past fades away

When the dark night ends

And the present is a blur

When thoughts don’t mend?

What if you just walk out the door

And lose your way in a blind alley --

Never to return?

I shall cease to exist

'coz in your eyes live my pride,

My courage to be what I am
And it can all fade 

Just in the flash of an eye.

Ridden with guilt,

I'd ask dear God 

to give me another chance

To turn your face.

I'd bring back old memories 

And hold them still 

before your vacant eyes 

To wipe out your fears.

I'd turn on the lights of joy,

I'd drive out the spells of doom

And whisper in your ears,

‘Nothing is lost, nothing's gone

You're with me and mine at last.'

**************

(Written for Alzheimer patients)

July 13,2014, Calcutta 

CAUGHT IN A WEB

CAUGHT IN A WEB

The church clock chimes ten.

It’s a reminder of the undaunted

Passage of time and

Life caught in a web.

I hurry and scribble

A few words, lest I forget,

On the blank pages of my mind.

Of things that I cared for,

Of people I had failed.

Should I tear up the letters

Outliving their purpose,

Or save them to smell

In bitter moments of despair?

Should I wait for the morning to break,

or pray to the Rain Gods

To hold the showers in check,

So I could run across the street

To get a rose for my beloved,

Languishing in a surgical bed?

But, shush, how can I?

He's not mine,

No, not anymore.

Should I stay in

And plug in

for a fresh brew of coffee?

Or pass it, so I won’t wake

In the middle of the night

Fearing God’s rage for my sins

And lack of mercy?

But there’s no time to dither,

No time to falter;

In a moment darkness could fall --

And swallow up the morsels of joy

That still linger with hope

In the beat of my heart.

There’s no time

To lick the wounds,

to wonder and weigh,

No time to blame and curse,

But do what you may. 

The moment is now --

And I must run.

 

I should open the door

And step out in the rain

To love and forgive,

Before it’s too late

and I go insane.

************

Written on  July 13, 2014, Calcutta,