A26 Life After The Ordinance Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

The Dean, unlike earlier,
In his heart, had a soft corner,
To this girl, Bernadette,
Who always talked straight.

To Bishop Laurence he went,
Her genuine case to represent,
That her vision needed a look
From the angle of God’s work.

The Bishop heard his talk
But expressed his dislike
To hear that kind of speech,
Not in the interest of church.

He didn’t stop with that
But told, “I shall see to it,
That she finds it more difficult
To hold on to this trait.”

It was a different scene,
At the site of the cavern,
Where the policemen,
Hit the crowd and ran.

Public broke the fences
They burnt the barriers.
Trespassers were fined.
It was like a battlefield.

The open public cries
Came as front-page news
In all the national dailies,
And it became popular thus.

Daily life became difficult,
Especially for Bernadette,
To face a spate of visitors,
Who frequented her house.

Listening to their questions,
Giving them the same answers,
This kept her too much tired.
And she became almost mad.

Three months had passed.
She was found depressed,
Awaiting the Lady’s return
Once again, to her cavern.

It was one evening
The sun was falling,
When she was near
The swirling Gave River.

From that far distance,
She saw the vacant space
At the same cavern-place
That housed her Lady Grace.

Suddenly she saw the Lady
Walking towards her close-by
On her tender tiny feet,
With an eagerness to meet.

Bernadette ran towards her
Crying, “She’s there…..,
Oh, She’s there….., , ”
Along side the river.”

Was it a farewell meet?
She had the same doubt.
When she was questioning,
The Lady kept on smiling.

Perhaps, her smile meant,
She had made an agreement,
To have her friendship
With her lifelong tie up.

The Lady disappeared soon.
Bernadette sank into a swoon,
And on the ground, fell down,
Unable to bear her separation.