BURNT HOUSE
Remember
several decades ago,
I
feared the sight of the place,
Blackened
in time, broken walls,
Collapsed
a portion and the roof,
Outgrowth
covered the ground,
Chest
high bush and wild creepers,
Feared
snakes present poisonous,
It
was a dangerous place, hunted,
As
a child believed ghosts, present,
Never
visit that place after evening,
Found
birds used to chirp at night,
There
was a beautiful story learned,
Grandmother
told, it was beautiful,
An
old couple with six sons daughter,
They
were rich and living with family,
A
few dozen of children women stayed,
Magnificently
decorated and crowded,
Prosperous
business minted gold,
The
old Woman was donating gifts,
Poor
people used to gather to collect,
Rice,
corn, clothes, and silver coins,
Touching
her feet, narrating owes,
She
used to listen on a chair patiently,
Loved
children were given food, dresses,
The
person built a temple, worshipping,
A
kind and considerate couple were famous,
People
loved them the house visited,
From
miles away, people knew the place,
Most
favorite place for the poor to powerful,
Grew
up their children big established,
Separated
and consequently moved away,
Separated,
built their houses in time,
Parents
their daughter was staying,
A
fight erupted for gold property,
Gradual
but bitter quarrels to courts,
Crestfallen,
the person succumbed,
Mother
and daughter were sick,
Looted
furniture assets by the sons,
The
big mansion was empty and lonely,
Collapsing
boundary wall cows grazed,
Thieves
visit at odd hours for safety,
Poor
and starved helpless women,
Demise
was only a grace both quit,
The
house was stolen to door windows,
The
place had become dilapidated,
A
businessman acquired the house,
Converted
to a warehouse and stored,
The
house was packed with jute bags,
Groceries
were stored guard watched,
Fights
began between brothers to sell,
Distributing
equally the cost of the house,
The
businessman emptied grains,
Ignited
the house one night heard only,
Nobody
could see the culprit desert,
It
was the site of a few murders,
Rumors
turned into widespread gossip,
Less
truth, succulent lies, did color,
Named
the big palatial house hunted,
In
our childhood feared the place,
Twilight
years once visited the house,
Silently
stood I was looking at the walls,
Crumbling,
gradually, silence killed,
I
imagined the glorious time of the past,
It
was whispering families grew up,
Flowed
here happiness, love, and care,
Saw
greed, envy turned to jealousy,
If
resulted to unfounded anger ignited,
The
burnt house, time etched a storybook.
@
Bijayananda Mishra
Theme:
A fiction time tested.
