FULL STOP

IN MEMORY OF MY BELOVED FATHER WHO LEFT US 23 YEARS BACK ON FEBRUARY 1, 2003

Life hadn’t come full circle,

But you had to go.

Go on a journey that has only one stop,

And that stop was nothing but a full stop.

No twists, no flips,

No more turnabouts or roundabouts.

The lethal wagon had no brakes, and its chauffeur was an expert, never missing the dead end.

Once its wheels rattled, no other sound could be deciphered.

Don’t you think you boarded that wagon a little early?

You were needed by all,

Because once you were gone, ascent suddenly transformed into a steep fall,

For those who looked towards you whenever they faced a hue and cry.

But perhaps the final hour of your life was beyond your power to postpone,

Since it was predestined, and you had no choice but to be gone.

I wish somehow you could know that

The sun still shines bright in the sky,

The moon still adorns the firmament every night.

The wind blows,

The rain falls,

Crops grow and

Seasons change.

Everything moves incessantly.

The age of your progeny keeps fleeting by,

Though twenty-three years have flown since you have gone.

Gone with the winds, by wish or by compulsion.

Still, you are needed when life turns harsh,

When, one after another, it delivers blows,

When pain feels never-ending,

And the tests of life are flung relentlessly,

And efforts fail more and more for those who are parts of your soul.

Still, they stand and stare, searching for you among the brightest stars,

And, as if fuelled by your energy, brave all storms—believing you are blessing them and smiling from afar.