RAIL COACH

 

RAIL COACH

 

Unforgettable journey well remember,

Years passed, the memory hunts often,

When alone, sit in silence, surprises,

Floats automatic, a question speechless,

The train coach, a common boggy crowded,

I was traveling for a pilgrimage, a distant city,

Two days journey from home town exhaustive,

Traveling alone noticed co-passengers,

An old couple, two families, children moving,

A young lady felt to be a student, a businessman,

All are strangers packed in seats,

Destination, origins, thought differences,

Their food, cloth, and languages spoken, I realize,

Unknown places, a few will get down,

The senior person I introduced smiled,

Before I enquired, faced questions,

A hundred questions baffled get silent,

Nothing I could know where moving,

A day passed on a train, and at dawn, I saw,

The lady was greeted by her parents, got down,

The businessman I could not find,

Must have reached his station in the night,

A few college students boarded,

They were gossiping, joking, making fun,

I borrowed a thriller book read,

Sleeping on the upper berth, comfortable,

The senior person shouted lost all,

His belongings were missing yelling,

The train was moving very fast, crowded,

The couple lost their tickets purse,

The onlookers gossiped discussions many,

Guess, in the night, goods were stolen,

Penniless, clueless, called ticket collector,

Arranged tickets for them, paid the cost,

They told me they were going to the city,

The city I was traveling to visit a holy place,

Socked to know they lost the ash pot,

That was that of their son died,

Died after an accident they were moving,

To immerse the urn in the sacred river,

The lady was crying inconsolably,

I introduced myself and invited them,

To visit the city together, stay at a hotel,

The story changed after we left the train,

A monk received this couple at the platform,

I left soon and stayed at a hotel,

The sacred river hundreds of pilgrims,

Saved, in the orange color, I met the couple,

No more sad, calm, and quiet greeted me,

I got surprised and enquired them,

They intimated me, renounced from the world,

The wealthiest couple own millions,

Lost their only son, donated everything,

Only to the holy ashram, the hermitage,

Decided to pass their life here, ascetic,

Fixed firmness of both calmness unreal,

Bathed in early morning meditated,

Roaming at the bank of the river happily,

Happily! how come both lost their child,

Loosen all property of millions willfully,

Still happy with life in the twilight years,

What changes this orange robe renounces,

I caught the hands of his senior person,

How come, sir, forgotten the urn lost,

Came a reply crisp immersed ours this life,

The train coach just two days I stayed,

Pushing me for a decision is answerless.

 

Pen: Bijayananda Mishra

Title of Poem: Rail coach (Fiction)

Theme: Met a renounced couple

Date: 2nd January 2023, Cuttack

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