Life!

The sky looked crystal clear,

From his prison cell ventilator,

30 long years!

Vanished from his life- forever

Gone down the fast flowing river;

With a frail body,

Weak eye- sight,

He is unable to recollect his young days of delight!

Why is he here?

Oh! Everybody is innocent inside- you know!

It was a grave crime,

Committed on the pretext of mere dime,

Guilty- Convicted- Innocent!

These words have lost their essence,

Retribution! Rehabilitation! Redemption!

Beautiful words,

To him they hold no meaning,

The prison walls, the ground, the library, the fellow convicts;

They are his world now,

For he knows no other,

Lo and behold! His sentence is forgiven!

He is free to roam the earth below the Heaven!

Happy- he feels otherwise;

For outside he is a man to be despised,

Inside he has importance,

He wants to stay!

Collect some more cognizance,

Futile! Futile effort!

Suffocating! Stifling! Revolt!

Remorse culminated, erupted like a volcano,

Emotions ran rampant-

Stabbed his heart- now vacant!

His last words: “Peace have I found at last,

For I am an outcast!”

Amrita Paul 9^th September’15