Withering Away
Alone
A white page
So blank and virgin
An empty box
No contents or possessions
A dry river
Barren and longing for rain
A clear sky
Looking for clouds to fill it
An autumn tree
Bereft of its leaves
An empty house
Devoid of motion or life
A rusted blade
Unused yet so overused
An unanswered heart
Longing and calling out
An empty face
All the smile and grace forgotten
An empty coffin
Yet buried inside to fill the grave
A blank gravestone
Unknown, unowned, orphaned
The unattended funeral
No onlookers, no kith, no kin
The white fear
So cold yet burning
So hot yet chilling
So dead yet alive
So alive, yet withering away.
S. Narayanswamy
