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Sunday 27 May 2012

Requiem

(A soldier's funeral song. Dedicated to the brave hearts who not only choose this path of valor & sacrifice but also lay down their lives selflessly for the sake of their nation & fellow men.)

He braved the fear of not returning ever
He shed his qualms of living in danger
He went ahead for the pride of his soul
He marched to his country's call


He watched in guard while we slept,
He starved in wars while we ate
An honor he thought of that task
To lay aside comforts for his duty's ask 


In the lap of heat & fire 
He fought by his men sans tire
Bullets in, bullets out
Grenades drowning every shout


Shredded skins of hands he'd shaken
Shut eyes that'd playfully teasen'
Still figures in traps of smoke
A phantom he'd become in one stroke


He moved ahead, in time of retreat
He refused to lay low on cowardice feet
Oblivious to his mates' urges
Pleading to return to secret lurches


How he ran into the enemy citadel 
A message - his country will not fail
He left behind all who cared
He'd sworn a thing & that he dared


Today we gather in his memory
We've nothing but to sing his glory
Those salutes of guns will matter
They will thunder in his greatness for sure


But what'll go on for ages
Written in history's golden pages
Is the act so uncommon
Living a life from his loved ones forlorn


The story of his life
Shines in the tears of his wife
The patriot's reign,
Courses in his toddler's vein


I walk up to the lady
To give her a Panda teddy
A gift her man had bought
To welcome their child he'd sought


Then I hand over his letter
Unsent & meant for her
She stares at it for a while
Suddenly she sees the smile


Their child is giggling
In her mother's arms he's jiggling
Like a message he's conveying
For the departed he's acting


There lies my friend, my savior
A man who was born to be a warrior
While we mourn a patriot's departure,
Let's hail the victory of a soldier

23 comments:

  1. Absolutely profoundly moving!!

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  2. Wonderful moving tribute to our heroes!!!

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  3. Wow. I'm actually speechless. Beautiful!!!

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  4. really amazing.. thanks for sharing.. deeply touched!!

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  5. beautiful :)

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  6. Beautiful poetry. I was moved by your words. Thanks for sharing Anupam.

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  7. very moving indeed ... loved it

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  8. Its a touching and beautiful expression...and you have captured the essence of a requiem...

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  9. no words to say how much i am moved after reading it
    very touching

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  10. This is very moving and well written. Thanks.

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  11. Bhaina kan lekhicha ma! :P I loved it! And the title is very well suiting! :)

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  12. Made me hang to the last word.

    Excellent!

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  13. Thank You Specs Buffy, Shreya, Ghazala, Manav, Sayingitall, Neha, Indu, TTT, Rujuta, Poojak, Vetrimagal,Puru, Arpana, Cruxrebels, Panchalibolchi for reading my poem & encouraging me by your generous appreciation. Your support keeps me going. THANK YOU !!!

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  14. I really wish more people like you join the defense forces than some of those joining now who treat like any other job and worry more about the benefits than their duty.

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    1. Some jobs are done for not anything other than the nature of work involved in it. The job of a soldier is one such thing. Though I'm in an entirely different profession, I hv always believed that being a soldier is a matter of great honour. It gives you that one offer that no other job gives - the chance to die for your country in battlefield, instead of some disease in some hospital ward. Hence a shot at immortality.

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  15. Very few think like you now a days. It is more like a normal job for most. Everyday life, children's education, family life, career prospects etc etc seem to affect their thinking more these days as there is practically no-war situation apart from few insurgency areas where they have to counter their own countrymen (which no fauji likes to do).

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  16. Moving. You weave magic with words and this time u created something that I am sure must have made many eyes well up....: "The story of his life, Shines in the tears of his wife, The patriot's reign, Courses in his toddler's vein". Beautiful.

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    1. Thanks Sudha, its the least I could do to honour the valiants

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