The Last Day

By Kavya Venkateshwaran

Upon the banks of Cauvery,

As her old, wrinkled hands offer flowers,

Her lips whisper a prayer,

“May peace be upon all,” she says,

As the currents curl around her knees,

She opens her eyes to see,

Two young girls, splashing,

Holy Water, laughing in glee,

The decrepit smiles and old dry smile,

“May they laugh in perpetuity.”

She waddles to her dwelling,

Under the thatches straws that shelter her,

From the harshness of the skies,

She laughs at the fact,

That she’s living on borrowed time,

For the roof shall not be a barrier,

Between her and the heavens soon,

So, she cooks her humble meal,

And sits calmly to eat,

And reflect and reminisce…

When she savoured the last moments of the day,

Before her mother would show her,

The tricks of the trade,

She remembers the cold touch of Cauvery,

Against her round ankles,

Mumbling to herself that,

Even the glorious Sun God, whose splendour,

Shines throughout the lands of India,

Paid obeisance to the river goddess,

As his tangerine hue proceeded to set away.

Homewards, she walked nervously,

Feeling the absence of the moon,

That night, she had no companions,

She must comply and obey,

If there had to be food on the plate,

Dare she not smell the wind anymore,

It was time for her to turn her heart cold,

So she prayed to the wind,

To cool the nervous heat off her chest.

The aged one’s thoughts,

Continue to clutch the past,

To the moment she entered her front yard,

And saw the plain face of her mother,

Whose countenance reflected integrity no more,

But shame and desperation,

To make do in this newly Independent Nation,

For once her daughter entered that hut,

Like her mother, would succumb,

To the life of being called a slut.

In remembrance, the old lady smiles,

To the day of her investiture,

For the service of men,

And eventually the service of God,

Her grey hair tucked in pride,

She wears it like a crown,

For she paid the ultimate sacrifice,

And thus, she looks towards the sky,

The roof, no more a barrier,

Towards heaven, she flies.

By Kavya Venkateshwaran