The Passing
One by one,
People of my dad’s generation
Are passing away.
A call came
At 9 a.m. on a Sunday
An old family friend
Died, at 91.
Cause of death: old age
Soon, a photo of the deceased,
Arrives on WhatsApp
Lying still on a hospital bed.
The wife stands nearby
Gazing at the husband.
Fingers pressed against
Her cheeks
She is mourning two deaths
The physical death of her husband
And the death of a decades-long marriage
What now?
There will be no one to share the days and nights.
Their children are scattered all over the world.
The life alone,
Is terrifying at the best of times.
More so, during the last stages of life.
The husband had the company of the wife
When he passed away
But what about the wife?
Who will give her companionship
Before she transitions to the next world?
Her children, perhaps.
The cycle of life
Spring, summer, autumn and winter.
No matter how powerful you are.
Or how rich.
Or how charismatic
The ascent is always followed by a descent
To the graveyard
Or the crematorium.
Depending on your religion.
You have to say goodbye one day.
But it’s not easy… this last lap
To extinction.
Many suffer prolonged agony.
Some lose their minds
To dementia and Alzheimer’s.
A few have bodies ravaged
By cancer.
Many have regrets
About the actions they took
But it’s too late.
An act can never be undone.
It’s like a word which comes out of the mouth.
You cannot pull it back.
So forgive yourself
And forget about it.
It’s also frightening to behold
That one day, we too
Will have to go through the same process.
A friend said, “Let’s live,
As if each day is going to be our last.
And cherish it to the fullest.”
Easily said,
But difficult to implement.
The human mind
Slides into negativity so easily.
And so persistently.
The fight between light and darkness
Occurs at every moment.
This battle will go on.
Till the exhausted heart gives up
And stops beating...
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