THE NIGHTMARE

The night is burning away,

Everywhere the flames sway,

In a naked dance of brutality,

The man made signs of fatality,

Stare at me in the eyes,

As I turn to ice,

The red skies reflecting the shades fire,

My heart gets filled with utmost ire,

Seeing the torn clothes,shoes scattered around,

In the crackling noise,all voices of people drowned.

The entire world is burning and set afire,

Burning buses,houses,shops,bags,clothes,tyres,

The stench of burning things fills the air,

Everything turned scary,unnatural and bizarre,

There are people with sticks and swords,

Turning to mobs,crowds and hordes,

The pictures of religious horror,

Crossing all limitations and borders,

The gory red of the blood scattered 

Here and there, humanity stood shattered.

The burning stench of flesh made my stomach churn,

Made me puke, feel sick and spurn,

Every thing horrible spinning around,

All human values to the soils downed,

In this scenario of hatred,

I go around bedraggled,

Looking for you, all straggled, 

As I staggered and waggled,

In the dreary,dark by lanes,

To hear and see,my eyes and ears badly strain.

To hear a sound ,hear your voice,

Birds flutter in fright,having lost all joys,

All enveloped in a deadly quietness,

Despite the shouts,persists an eery stillness,

My eyes scout here and there for your silhouette,

Amidst the murderous violence and threat,

My body covered in cold sweat,

As I looked inside shops,mounds,statuettes,

I want to ask somebody about your whereabouts,

But whom to trust? Am filled with frightful doubts.

How will I get to you?

How long will it take to locate you?

Prayed to the Gods to guide me your way,

Amongst the gore and the night’s gray,

With senseless people running around to slay,

I wait with bated breath for the early lights of the day,

All of a sudden I see you crouched,

Sitting against a corpse,slouched,

In vain I run to you,hoping against hopes

To see you alive,in the darkness,I grapple and grope.

You sat still like a body dead,

To me returned the unknown dread,

Of not finding you breathing and alive,

To control my breaths, my heart strives,

I placed my hand in front of your nose,

As I  looked into your eyes,our gaze froze, 

Your warm blood and body, filled me with joy,

My little heart brimming with overjoy,

Though strange in such torturous environs,

Joyfully I took you in my embrace like a matron.

Cuddling you, soothing you, trying to comfort, 

Slowly easing you out of your discomfort, 

My heart came back from the throes of sadness, 

Snuggled together in the darkness, 

Trying to shake you out of the gory quake, 

As we waited for the daybreak, 

Gradually I slip into sleep, 

Relieved of the enormous heap,

My heart carried for hours,

The murderous gory spurs.

I wake up to the chant of prayers,

In our room,in the soft bed of ours, 

Oh! What a nightmare!

In fright stood all my hair, 

Remembering it all, I again perspire, 

Thinking of the night’s consequences dire, 

I fold my hands in obeisance, 

To Him, in true trust and allegiance,

I am happy to have you still around,

With me,our family and everything on ground.

I am thankful it was all a dream,

As tears well up in my eyes and gleam,

I see you again,holding my chin up from your embrace,

To see you in flesh and blood,your happy face,

My heart went out in a prayer for those in such situations,

Held up in human madness,impatience and frustrations,

Thank God,a mere nightmare it was,

Though scary,as you are there,still some relief it draws,

Never ever leave me alone,for it will stop my breath,

That will be my end,when life will make way for death.

-Madhumita