When I Shall Be Dead, My Dearest
And they would be readying
To put me off
And my eyes like lamps
Would be fathoming down the Ocean
Down the thickness
Of the Sea of Sorrow
That was divided –
Between you and me;
And none but you and me, my dearest.
For you knew so well
The thickness of the Scale –
The Scale of Sorrow –
And many a time, you did
Transform it into a smile
To just see me smile, I confess
And concocted the two
Which was just for me, my dearest.
And my eyes like lamps
Would seek you out –
Across the remotest length
And want you to kneel down
To kneel down along the length
Of the so-called, The Dead
And ask you, one last time, to weep for me
For that is how it should be, my dearest.
And, do look at my eyes, the lamps
That might not have lighted –
Your world.
And, do not forget to expel the sorrow
The sorrow, you might have forgotten
To divide between you and me.
And, do not forget to look at the pallor
The pallor on my lips –
For you might still hear a word,
A word to bless you forever –
Till after you go past your grave, my dearest
And do not forget to peep
To peep into my heart,
For you might find your soul
Inside there, beautifully enshrined
Enshrined in the softest tissue
And fed-alive through nerve and sinew.
And do not tell the world, this;
For let it remain a secret, my dearest.
And, do not forget to fold my hands
And fold them in the cup –
The cup of your hands
And join me in my last prayer –
My prayer to Almighty,
So, he might descend –
And deliver, like blossoms
Upon
Humankind, His Kiss, my dearest !
Damanjit Kaur