Then

a poem by Charudutta Panigrahi

There were no shackles,
no pretensions,
we were all full,
with life in exuberance.
I did not know that times change,
so fast,
the young are gone,
life is shackled,
none to preserve the moments,
where am I
and where do I head?
She brought life,
she cried for us,
She was the epitome.
She is gone,
the lights get dim,
so sudden,
so fast,
She taught me the temporariness,
the hollow.
For the rest of the period,
I would strive to get her,
out of the closet.