& Homage To The Common Man

Step aside, Kings and princes- Hamlet, Lear and Othello, Fictional tragic heroes, For long You have kept us Mesmerised. Here comes the common man, Who watches in stupor As his family is burnt alive. The last time He heard his Dear wife’s voice Was on the mobile, Cinema hall is on fire, There is no way we can survive. So this is goodbye. He wondered, Is it first April? No she wouldn’t play Such a practical joke, He realised with shock He maniacally charged, And helplessly watched Flames leaping in the sky, Panic struck, people Jumping, just to die. Later, in the mortuary, He couldn’t find His son or wife Burnt beyond recognition, He walked out Like an apparition, Saying to no one, They are gone And I live Am overcome with guilt… Tragedy peeping Out of his eyes Those windows to the soul- Having aged overnight Unabashedly crying I couldn’t even Perform their last rites... Who wrote Their infernal destiny? Piteously he cried. He is the common man He survives. He doesn't have the luxury Of indulging in existential Soliloquies- To be or not to be Like Hamlet, And rises like a proverbial Phoenix, and finds A reason to live, And smile through his tears. This poem is dedicated to all those who lost their families to a cruel fate, in a fire that engulfed a cinema hall in Delhi, almost a decade ago and all everyday heroes who have lost loved ones in man made and natural disasters. They are the real heroes who reconstruct their lives, and stoically move on, even smile and rediscover laughter and joy. 23.09.08 Mamta