Seven Minutes To Hell Poem by KAMESWARA RAO CHELLAPILLA

“Seven minutes to go! ” alerted my great friend-

Suddenly I became jittery – Is all over for me on this planet.
My God! - not much time spent happily!

True – I wasted a lot of my time trying to figure out
What is right and what is wrong and what is good and
What is bad- as I was always worried of jail and punishments.
Time slipped like water through my fingers
And I was always worried about getting drowned in a deep red sea.

My pride was always put down by my daunting father
And was long later restored by my soothing mother

And I do not claim to have had great achievements
But unhesitatingly and unabashedly I can say-
That I had a great appetite for food and sex, if it is well arranged
And had great and peaceful sleep all the times and phases of my life.

Time used to whip me up and make me run
for coping up with competition
and to be safe from the bull fighters
like the clumsy and the rich.

A mad rush for appreciation and promotions
for keeping my collar up
And a little cash uplift which used to disappear soon.

I do not know why - but I never used to regret
for any presumed loss in my life-
Because I came to understand that my pain is for some one else’s gain
And vice versa- and today’s gain
used to appear like a colossal loss tomorrow.

Like every one else, I descended on this planet quite naked-
Not knowing to communicate or talk
except through weeping and crying
Making my mother and father waking up all through the nights and,
For quite a long time, draining their energies
demanding utmost attention.

True, I came into this world naked-not a penny on my head
Not a piece of cloth around my waist,
Not even a spoon of German silver in my mouth.

I came silently into this world, as my mom says-
I have not cried at that moment of my birth
May be, being breathless due to immense unknown sorrow or
speechless due to unbound and unknown happiness.

To make sure if I were living-
I was turned upside down and was slapped on my buttocks-

Believe me – I expected a lot from this world.

As I grew up, to my great surprise all around-
People are running for picking and plucking gold coins
Raining from the sky.
Many believe in gold and dollars
as against belief in me or you or humans.

My son repeatedly used to ask me:
“what great things you did in your life”.
As usual I used to mumble not knowing what to answer
As my pride was long back lost in some woods
which I can not trace no longer in my life.

“Two more minutes” my friend cautioned –
“Pack off and let us go-“ he rushed towards me.

I suddenly came out of my melancholic slumber
And with my bare body and on my bare foot
Dumped myself naked into the ghee-drenched fire
And burnt myself into a smooth dust-

And flew myself into air and disappeared into the atmosphere.

With my friend Yama on my side- I had a great flight to hell!