A wolf proceeded menacingly close;
Its yellow eyes smoldering;
Saliva dripping from its maws.
The canine teeth were bared;
Bloodlust exposed, and ravenous.
The dying warrior tried to fend it off;
But unable he was;
For he could not move.
Broken and ruptured were his thighs;
His body being drained of blood.
The wolf took pleasure;
In licking off his gore.
But the maimed warrior was afraid no more.
For he told himself;
“Beloved Karna, dear friend of mine;
Reunited in heaven we shall be;
So wait for me.”
***
A jackal crept surreptitiously near;
Its small stature concealed by the giant trees.
The dim moonlight;
Faintly silhouetted its profile;
Making the moribund warrior;
Notice its spine-chilling approach.
He endeavoured to repel it;
But his abdomen was fragmented;
Body exsanguinated; face losing colour.
Inching forward; the jackal skulked;
Its teeth sank into the warrior’s arms;
Masticating, vicious and savage.
But the maimed warrior was afraid no more.
For he told himself;
“Beloved Karna, dear friend of mine;
Reunited in heaven we shall be;
So wait for me.”
***
A vulture descended swiftly;
Pouncing on its prey with alacrity.
The raptor, with its curved beak;
Bereft of feathers, hideous and grim;
Moving carefully towards its quarry;
Deeming the victim a carcass-to-be.
The fading warrior sought to retreat;
But powerless he was of even drawing his breath.
Nipping ceaselessly at the torso the vulture began;
His flesh unprotected and vulnerable.
But the maimed warrior was afraid no more;
For he reminded himself;
“He who injured me;
Is but a lowlife;
Who will live on;
Being engulfed in misery.”
He told himself too;
“Beloved Karna, dear friend of mine;
Reunited in heaven we shall be;
So wait for me.”
~ Dibyasree Nandy
Kolkata, India