Poems by
Aniruddha Ghosh

Alone

a poem by Aniruddha Ghosh

The bell rang,
Twice,
A signal for urgency;
He rushed.

The storm had blown up a dust,
It took time to settle,
But with time the face was revealed,
And happiness froze him.

She threw herself into his arms,
Tears overflowing,
But he couldn’t believe it,
She had returned!
He always knew she would!
She could never leave him alone!
She could never betray him!

‘Oh I have missed you so much!’,
She cried, her red eyes bursting in affirmation,
But he couldn’t manage a single word,
The deluge of emotions was overwhelming.

‘Come with me’, she whispered,
As they tiptoed their way to the terrace,
An eerie calm had blown away the storm,
Belying the monstrosity of its havoc.

‘Do you want to be free darling?’, she cried,
A madness twinkling in her big blue eyes,
‘I don’t understand…’, he mumbled,
Suddenly feeling afraid.

‘In freedom we will have our eternity darling!
Won’t you join me?’, she cajoled.
He didn’t think twice,
He jumped at the opportunity.

He was buried the next morning,
His mother choked back tears as her husband delivered an eulogy,
Another youth lost to schizophrenia.