Poems

Last Tango?

Time marches on:

The people you loved are gone.

Look, listen, the last tango is on:

A show-stopper with a man and

A woman dancing vigorously to

The rhythm and beat of music,

The live band blazes with the

Azure hue of moods, colors, light:

The band is in the background playing

On, the last song, the swan song:

You can no longer hear the pitter-

Patter and tap-dancing of feet,

You see, the dancers are gone and

Time, as usual, marches on:

Picture this, you are the lone

Spectator waiting in the stands:

Later, even you are gone, time marches on.

– Archan Mehta

-----

The Diagnosis

Twelve years, 3 months and 7 days of fear.

Reached the point where I can no longer bear

The diagnosis came, a heavy crushing blow,

Bringing only pain and heartbreak down the street that I must go

How will I cross this fragile bridge with a ton of fear,

And who will walk beside me through the valleys of despair?

How will I do this? I do not know.

I am hanging on to life with every fiber of my being

For a fleeting moment, I wrapped myself in hope’s illusion.

But it was only denial keeping me warm,

For the house is as cold as the deep blue sea.

I stand alone in the cold and time is fleeting fast.

Only bitterness fill the space where dreams used to be

The clock has run out, standing at the final door,

Unprepared, yet forced to face this reality.

There is no turning back, no lingering on the shore,

I woke up today and finally saw through the lies,

The scales have dropped completely from my eyes.

I must say goodbye. I must leave. I must close that door.

“I gave a heart expecting a diamond but I got a spade.”

I built him into the man I wanted him to be,

I shed tears for him, I labored for him.

His creator choose for him another vessel to entertain

She did not care about my level of pain

Freedom from him and his creator is desperately needed here

The diagnosis is clear, this must end,

and maybe I’ll find peace elsewhere.

– Patree Gouldbourne- Haynes