Helpless I Am

I should have known when the elderflowers failed to bloom, Blind was I, dancing in Plato's Cave. Then there came the day. The cosmic disarray nor the wolves howls Rang bells to me. For had they, Church bells I would have clanged With my bare hands And salvaged many a white Lily From withering away. But helpless was I.... Shell- shocked and deafened by the screams of churchgoers, Spectres of sordid morgues sprawled on our screens, We clutched onto our heartstrings lest they should tear away, Silently praying it should not be... Violently denying it could not be. But helpless was I..... Brood tucked to my bosom Eyes shut from horrors unfolding I witness a mother Rummaging for the remains of her relatives Thereby the heart disintegrates into shards of glass No morsel of food would enter that throat The mind entrapped by a darkened lair Groping for answers Distorted was I by the Datura flower For helpless was I... Minutes streaked, days sped and months flew by, Determined was I to help that mother But a mother she was not, Nor a wife, nor a daughter Not even a soul But a body of clouds wandering in the skies. I press an envelop of money into her cold hand She declines, she resists “take it away,” she insists “For Christmas” I respond, “Christmas will never be the same,” she whimpers, “Sorry” I say, “What For?” her voice trails off.... I turn away For helpless was I.