Foe's Fruit

By Devananda Edamadathil

The hunger pangs hit me like thunder, 

But I had to feed myself. 

For my baby was inside me, who stirred, 

I couldn’t let it starve.

Fields were guarded, 

Fruits were plucked, 

Yet I wandered, driven by maternal might,

Until a haven appeared, a gentle soul in sight,

A kind stranger offered me a gift from above,

A yellow fruit, its sweetness a labor of love,

It looked juicy and delicious, 

I couldn’t help myself but munch on the feast so vicious,

Only if I knew, what I had just bitten,

Would be the last meal I would have eaten,

For it was nothing but a ruse,

To get me to fall to my knees,

To silence my heart’s beats,

I know not what was my crime? What sin did I commit?

Only that, I fell prey to a ruthless wit, 

To be the victim of this ploy,

And I shall never tell my little joy,

Of this ruthless world, of this cruel fate.Of this heartless, loveless state.

(Based on the pregnant elephant who died in Kerala, after being fed explosive-laden pineapple) 

By Devananda Edamadathil