THE TRAIN ACCIDENT

While the iron giant-on-wheels,

Was rushing towards its destination,

Tearing apart the darkness of the devilish night,

With the sharp ray of its headlight,

The commuters were resting,

Unconcerned in the spell of a sound sleep.

As ill-luck took its toll on the journey,

On a sudden jerk of the wheels,

The engine derailed from the track,

     Effecting derailment and collision of some bogies,

Stunning the unaware innocent inmates.

Horrible screaming of people replaced,

The raucous noise of the wheels and the whistle.

Chaos and rout echoed the ugly peal of the calamity.

Life fought with all its might to break free,

From the cruel grip of death amidst darkness.

Death waylaid life, time strangulated breaths,

Of some unfortunate commuters in their sleep,

While some became physically crippled, for the rest of their life,

But were granted another opportunity by their lady luck,

To live and struggle with their tough future ahead.

Some blessed with an escape, flashed towards every scream,

In search of their missing relatives from among the wreckage,

With hope and qualm reflected on their faces,

Crying for help from the souls on the surroundings,

Appealing for a grace from above their heads.

The tiny girl who was jumping all over the coach with a teddy bear,

Rushing from this uncle to that aunt the previous evening,

Sharing her excitement of reaching her grandma the next morning,

Was identified in parts among the debris by an eyewitness,

Holding tight her bloodstained doll in one of her fragmented hand.

No one was having a mind to care about the luggages,

Or the headgear of a bridegroom, a gold bangle set,

Scattered among the disintegrated human body parts,

Unfolding the true worth of material possessions,

In comparison to the horror of death and the human urge to survive.

Witnessing life and death on their toes,

The instances of life falling to its clutch or succeeding to evade,

Was just an eye-opener towards the grave realities,

Of the helplessness and debility of an individual human,

Uncertainty and unpredictability of his destiny.

 My heart numbs and sinks in deep sorrow,

Feels pain for those who are suffering from injuries.

My head bows before God praying for them,

Tears beg alms from Him for their early recovery;

After all, they all are souls like mine,

I feel pinch inside pondering over the departure,

Of some carrying shoulders, caring hearts,

Effecting nonrenewable losses to their families,

I tremble with the imagination of the shattered establishments

Of some families on the abrupt collapse of their resting pillars.

I condole their exit,

Pray god to back the jolted and grieved families,

And let the deceased souls rest in peace.