Cocooned

 

 

While I slept oblivious under the hum of an air conditioner

Life was seeping out

Slowly, under the scorching sun

Hungry, thirsty

The stiff parched tongue and,

Sunken eyes looking for a drop of moisture

 

Stretched out lifeless earth

Not a grain visible

The yellowed grass laughed

Looking at eagle eyes

Biding the time

 

The world celebrated

With riot of color and music

The triumph of man over the moon

Over the space

Galaxies looked with in the grasp

 

Drunk in my success I wobble out

The world is at my feet

Licking my boots, my hands

World be damned

The money is god

 

Not a penny to spare

Not a second to waste

You get what you deserve

Yet the cry of sapping life haunts

Leaving me awake

 

Dreams are dreams to be dreamt

I try to shoo away

Demons of reality stealthily touching my heart

My cocooned existence

Is challenged once again

 

             ---- Madhvi Karol

 

Living in New Delhi, Dr. Madhvi Karol, is a medical doctor and author of two books.