AN ELEGY IN THE TWILIGHT OF LIFE
by Sudha Varadarajan - India
Staggering amidst the swaying crowd,
The frail and fragile figure, hidden in a shroud,
Stretches her rocky palms, beckoning for alms;
Teary eyed and stifling her pride,
She prays for mercy to the men in jersey;
Withering of age,
Yet resigned like a sage,
Slithering through her life in its twilight,
She begs all day and night;
A mother perhaps,
Who once with love her children she nurtured,
Now stumbling upon her dreams fractured;
A widow perhaps,
Who once strode across joyous years,
Now sulking in solitude, haunted by fears;
A teacher perhaps,
Who once nourished young minds,
Now in desolation counting her finds;
A singer perhaps,
Who once moved many a heart with melodious numbers,
Now weary of her heart, she slumbers;
And into the dusk she fades,
Splashing all around life’s dark shades;
Strewing behind bitter tales,
As the ladder of life she scales;
Her glorious memories searing like a knife,
Mournfully she pens the elegy of her life;
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