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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