A Sacrifice Abandoned Poem by Vadakkumpurath Ramesan

A Sacrifice Abandoned



He stood like a stone
Before the statue of his son
Who sacrificed to protect the bound
That was hailed as supreme
By the supreme commander
Who with the band of soldiers
Gave his son a ceremonious exit
From this world as the corpse
Of the corps life lost body
Laid on the pyre with flower bed
And the shot sparked
From the guns of the soldiers
Encircling the decorated pyre
Where a sea of men and women
Thronged as if before the holy
Sanctum sanctorum of a God!
The mob chanted and praised
And elated him to a semi-God
The colorful tearful festivities
Dispersed as pyre started to swallow
His decaying foul body!

It was a decade before
His son died leaving his bride
Just wed a couple of days before!
The crackling fall of fate's
Unkindest cut of all the dreams
Of his spouse and the family
Reached the village in shock.
But the shell-shocked father
Had a wishful thinking
Had I but died an hour
Before this chance but for his son
The nuptial knot would have
Been safe and create the new generation
A dream a father nurture always!
As days passed the soldiers bride
Packed all with billions to her village
Where she was dressed up
To the take another 'sapthapathi'
With her new found spouse!
The frail old father
Put a statue with all his reserves
At the place where the soldier
Turned ashes and mere memory

The foot of the statue
Bore petals of flowers
That the soldier's father
With out fail put every year
On the day of his sacrifice
But the village and family
Forgot that brave son
Who slept not but for the country -men
Who slept in dreams!
There he stand looking
To the face of the time
Asking a question
Why the village in thankless
Leaving him abandoned
Ignored and forgotten!
The soldier is left alone
With none to glance a moment!

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