My End

Today is my last day — prophesy
of the little man in the white coat, 
a steel serpent around his neck; I was
brought home last night, swaddled like 
a newborn, cradled in an ambulance.

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Tucked cozily in bed, I inhale the starch 
in the sheets, so crisp and fresh, shrouding 
my drooping self. A fan circles above noisily,
heedless of the humidity hanging heavy, 
like the silence in the house.

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My eyes dart around, looking for 
someone near, dear, familiar; I see — faces 
cupped in palms, bodies huddled close, 
heads down, tongues clicking, nails bitten 
fervently, awaiting the beginning of my end.

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I wish to slide out secretly one last time — 
smell the jasmine by the window, feed
the chicks in the backyard, feel the breeze 
in my hair, stroke the touch-me-not, and
watch the evening sky turn rouge.

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A little girl in a pale white frock whispers
“Paati, please have some milk,” in all 
earnest — a grandchild or an angel in disguise,
I wonder as moisture traverses my throat like
the wind whistling through the woods.

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I part my lips to ask for more, like 
young Oliver; The cup of elixir slips and
descends. “Paatiii!” screams the angel, panic
stricken; “Ammaaa!” shrieks someone; an acapella 
of “Ammaaa” and “Paatiii” fills the room.

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Doused with exotic scents from 
distant Egypt, I blush like Cleopatra
draped in the finest silk, purple orchids 
adorning my hair, I am lowered into the pit, 
delicate, like a pretty plume in a basket.

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Random lips converge on my 
forehead, sealing it with farewell kisses; 
They sprinkle dainty flowers and holy 
water on me; I sneeze — salty droplets on 
my face, no one bothers to wipe away.

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I reminisce about the day I was lodged in 
the lift alone, in darkness, gasping 
for a gush of breath. I try to stretch, turn
and roll over, in vain. Don’t they know I am 
but a stomach sleeper?

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I hum a melancholy tune, an old song
etched in my frozen heart. It drizzles.
The sky weeps softly one last time; “Petrichor!” 
I exclaim, as my lifeless head rests on 
the wet bosom of the earth.