Sailing Through Lives
Clasping the bed linen
The old woman gasped for breath
And pleaded air to enter into her nostrils
She beseeched before the heavens
To pump back health into her
She sensed the fear of her heart
Embroiled in a war between life and death
The subtle heat of the case
Could be sensed in the air
The courtroom remained silent
Except for the two lawyers who broke the silence
The accused looked at the Lady Justice
Like her even truth was blindfolded
He was innocent and only he knew it
The politics in the state found no scapegoat
Better than him
He was sure he’d be announced guilty
For a crime never committed
Entangled in truth and Lie
He beseeched the heavens to save him
The right leg walked left
And, the left one seeked right
The right hand danced in the air
Whilst the left one caught a cheap beer bottle
With drowsiness robbing his senses
He walked across the crowded road
The drunkard’s carelessness
Threw the people into tantrums
It seemed, as if death pitied him
And halted every time he came closer
To a moving car or motorcycle
Tangled in the web of addiction
He forgot the world everytime
The nectar trickled through his throat
Just like a dry land revives after rain
His tongue revived when the ambrosia flowed on it
The unwanted hand touched her
She stared at a shadow approaching
Towards her in the room
She was forced into prostitution
It brought her money
Enough to feed the members of her family
Torn between dignity and shame
She found no way out
With the decline in the day
The sun reached its resting spot
The cough of the old woman calmed
The court was adjourned and he returned home on bail
The drunkard wobbled back home
The young woman made her way back to home
The four were found sleeping under the same roof
Amidst the four walls that surrounded them
Neither of them had the strength
To admit their day went on well
Yesterday remained the same
Today was the same monotonous one
While future promised no hope of change
Sleep lovingly enwrapped them
And provided them a temporary escape
From their harsh realities
Copyright © Shravya Venkatesh | Year Posted 2023
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