Far from the land of the alive,

I try to withstand the wind and tide,

As the salty air scars my memories,

my tear mingles with a fear

the fear of the deep blue infinity.

As seagulls cry in union

And as the water swells like a heaving bosoms

of mourning mothers,

who lost her son in the futile wars

I feel as death still beckons me

I feel my escape has failed

Like a beautiful mermaid,

It welcomes me into its deadly embrace,

suffocating and reeking of deception.

I am hungry like a beggar in a palatial buffet

I am thirsty like a bird of the sea.

Lonely as a grown up child,

I regret my dreams and decisions

I weep like a crocodile at my fate

But still a part of me puts on a brave face

whispering in the wind, torturous and vain.

That far from the land of the dead,

I sail alive, lonely and free.

                                                              ~Uddipan Sarkar

                                                                Pune, India