The Chapel Meet

By Nitya Jha

It was a gloomy day,

Nothing seemed right.

Everything seemed to fall apart,

And then we had a verbal fight.

It had never happened before,

Between my sister and I.

In a vociferous tone,

I threw my views like stone.

Walked out of the room,

Ignoring her disdainful cues.

I left my house, strolled on the streets;

An air of melancholy surrounded me.

I heard the chapel bell ring,

And glanced at my watch.

To my surprise, it was 8 o’clock!

The cold night sky was aglow,

With bright city lights.

I walked towards the chapel,

My shadow sympathetic to my plight.

As I neared my destination,

I could hear the choir singing.

After wiping the drops of dew,

I sat on one of the pews.

Looking at the Giant Cross,

Holiness reflecting in its gloss;

I said to myself,

“Why does God ordain days like these?”

Tears welled up in my eyes,

Reflecting the pain within me.

As I went through an emotional turmoil,

A girl with glossy skin, cheerful eyes

And kohl-black hair,

Started advancing her steps towards me.

“Hey! Are you fine?” she asked

With an unwillingness to talk,

I replied, “Not everybody,

Is as lucky as you are.”

To this, still smiling, she said,

“Indeed, not everyone is as lucky,

to have lost both the parents,

in the pandemic blow.”

And she walked away from me,

Leaving me with thoughts to flow.

I felt as though,

Somebody had awakened me.

Many a times we forget to thank,

For the infinite things we already have.

Family, food, shelter,

And the basic needs;

Aren’t we lucky?

For we have all of these.

This Chapel Meet,

I shall always remember;

On a cold Friday night,

It was the first of December.

By Nitya Jha