Poetry

The Final Moments of the Acclaimed Duryodhan

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

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