All that remains of you

a poem by Siddharth Bhattacharya

(This is a poem about a terrorist,
who blew himself up and
I saw his scattered remains posted on some website.
Just a few words to describe what I felt about him.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I see you in front of me
Unfortunately you are dead
Just some mangled remains
I see your ear
I see your hair on the head
I see your eyes
They are closed
And I see a putrid mass of flesh
That’s all that remains of you

You came to kill
You came to bleed
You were ready to die
You thought you could be the hero of your species
Sorry!!! can’t say you are human
I don’t see you in shape
You are scattered
That’s all that remains of you

Your legs… mmmm I see one of them
Beneath your so called body
Over that red bloody land you died for
And I see a hand of yours
Unbenigned and charred and may be bloated with puss
Your wrist and forearm… hah all burnt and roasted
Let me tell you honestly, I feel like eating it
The sewage will be full of you tomorrow
That’s all that remains of you

You died… left your loved ones in tears
Ain’t that cliched
You died… your kins declared you a martyr
Rest of the world does not know you
You read that… you are not in existence
When you breathed your last… I remember (2/18/2005)
I was sleeping on my bed
Do I sound non sequitor
Well… I see your arm (left or right, I don’t know) in a shovel
That’s all that remains of you

As I hold your head with blown up mouth
Eyes closed in extreme pain that you did not comprehend
A scar on your forehead and bruise above your eyebrows
And your bone exposed from 14 inches of your vital remains
Burnt red… I cannot imagine your last moment
When you pressed the button of death
I cannot describe what you are now… flesh on gunny bag
That’s all that remains of you