From a Funeral

a poem by Sakthi Ravichandran

A sudden call from my native town carrying
A message of my friend’s death
We were the close mates of our town
In school, streets and in play grounds
For our bread, we went to east and west
After our meeting at his marriage in my town
Another meeting is at the graveyard in his funeral
His face turned to black and dry
I asked my mind, Why?
It replied to me
Cause of his expectation of my arrival at his last bed
My disappointment might have made his face
As black and dry
In his last bed he might have desired to see my face at least
I paid my homage and wept for my loss