By Epsha Sharma
"Words,
As deep as the Ganges,
Faded faster than the waters that struck the sand;
And with every crashing wave,
Words faded into the stillness
In my silent attempt to find
Music to my tears.
Under the midnight stars
Beside the sparkling river,
I asked with a subtle stammer.
“Ma, what hurts more?
To feel love long forgotten?
Or to float in memories yet to be felt?”
Well, it never mattered much with memories,
(I rambled)
“What did was the doubt…
Could feelings ever fade?
So strong that deceptive dreams
failed to imprint perceived reality?”
Ma faced me
Deafening silence form.
Her heavy heart perhaps open memories
Of that fateful storm;
Could the sun for her, ever shine after?
Or was the rainbow but an illusion?
And faster than my tears
Came the silent, hidden rage; not of a mother
But that of a maiden she once was.
Of a free river she had hoped to be
In the deafening silence, few words echoed:
“Ma Ganga”
“Rever both as if they were the same”
And without a doubt so,
She would drown herself into an ocean of dreams
Her rage dissipated into the stillness of time and the monotony of life.
She grew flowers in places forgotten,
Nurtured our hearts to an amazing extent.
She shone bright in the darkness and wild
Our woes would end, each time she smiled.
Silence…
Her memories go rushing back
Faster than the waves on the moonlit shore
Silence...
The brief moment of the pain she showed
And briefer still was the chance I took,
As I stepped into unclear waters
To pour my heart out to her
Felt love and pain as two counterparts
Like the tides splashing against both my ankles
She made me come out stronger;
For if I sang meoldies of pain in my loudest voice,
She, in her silence, was music herself.
I called her
Ma
Silent,
Ever present,
With memories of a thousand winters in her heart
-Epsha Sharma
09/07/2024"