NEMESIS

 

NEMESIS

 

The roof is strong and protects,

Observed attentively, it stood,

Seven decades my lifetime,

I have taken shelter under it,

Forgotten memories born here,

Passed childhood, myriad events,

Countless memorable moments,

Have seen parents demised,

One by one departed true,

Left me siblings, a brother, and a sister,

I have seen their marriages,

Migrated to overseas abodes,

Grew with their families bigger,

Visited parental home pilgrimage,

Still attending festivals at home,

Periodic but blood attracts,

Their root, children never forget,

Parents' bedroom unspoiled,

The wall frame of duo oil paint,

Fresh flowers and scented sticks,

Children and grandkids offer flowers,

Sit there a few minutes silently,

Love these moments, remember,

Reminds infinite care and love,

Apparently, living through them,

This feeling is overwhelming present,

I preferred my city and our home,

Maintains faithfully, life has seen,

The arrival of kin departure times,

Recorded every year pictures frozen,

Watch occasionally them think,

They, each of them, grew here,

The home touching a century,

Mesmerize its presence duly,

I stayed here, preferred my place,

Coaxed for lucrative career and city,

Opportunities one should not leave,

Life waits for travel, distant town,

New home, neighbors are thrilling,

Significant sights, temple, parks,

Notable zoo, the university is famous,

Wider  shopping mall communication,

Traveling to scenic places, pilgrimage,

Electric sock listening to children,

My wife alerted watches me, confused,

I cry out to kids, my pilgrimage,

My home is the most sacred place,

I can't find enough courage to leave,

In my youth, seeking a future elsewhere,

The invisible power I felt pulled back,

Opened parents' bedroom and looked,

Little sadness, tears, felt calmness,

Hardly can tell a peace experienced,

Unearthly, a feeling, don't desert,

Life never means earning gold,

Limbs need luxury, pleasure surely,

It is only the mind a culprit plays,

Seduced your brother and sister,

A thousand miles away made livelihood,

Their children lost connections,

The old town where forefathers lived,

Cremated here and dust vibrates,

Our family history, roots, branches,

A tree huge, centuries-old, relatives,

Home links to all migrated in time,

Precious link of blood still connects,

Diwali occasion home is crowded,

Three generations a hundred arrive,

Celebrate blood unites unearthly,

Stream of thought flow in that room,

Felt listen to my heart pleading,

Don't leave your parents to quit home,

Never think of selling an ancient house,

Intact, beautiful, proud influences,

Friend, my nemesis, happy, I failed.

  

Title of Poem: Nemesis

Pen: Bijayananda Mishra

Date: 3rd November 2022, Cuttack

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