My Prayer, Today

Srideep Mukherjee

Original: Biswanath Gorai, May 2021

The father’s solitary corpse left unattended; I wonder where the son has disappeared
The lonely, friendless old man …
Left by the roadside where only street dogs keep vigil
Their incessant barking keeps at bay the cop on the beat, and passersby as well.

Piety, the gathering or the sharing of it
Are lost episodes from the sacred books
Redundant values from a distant past.

Today, its paranoia all around.
I am no exception, for I view every acquaintance with a suspicious eye
Wondering, is it safe to converse, for he could be a killer on the sly or even a public enemy in disguise!
What if I too do not survive this life
Quite like that old man lying bereft of company
My child too will leave me to the dogs!

My waiting today, is like an old haggard mother in her death throes gasping for a breath of fresh air
My prayer today, is a yearning for a time of liberation from fear
I await that miraculous tolling of the bells of goodness in a dawn of wonder.