Tsunami

the tsunami that rocked the shores

of the andamans afar,

once upon a distant past,

and the message that struck lightning,

of your dear one missing,

had left me numbed,

as your fears ran deep,

and your tears rolled,

and you trusted me to your pain;

i shivered and shook,

anxious, restless and helpless,

as i lived your life,

and of those of your world,

breathed your short nervous breaths,

of the untraced,

as the several lives were shaken,

and the fears of uprooting

of families and the faith in god

engulfed me in flames,

and my prayers followed,

so did the tears,

that nobody noticed,

separated by a sea of distance,

unseen and unknown 

the tsunami that rocked the shores

of your world,

in not so distant past,

and you trusted me to your pain;

broke out a cold sweat on my brows, 

and a seething pain spread in me,

as i cried in pain,

and i lived your life,

and of the several lives

the ones you call your world,

as i hid myself in quiet corners, 

for days and weeks,

as i clasped my hands tight,

in prayers,

and the tears rose in my throat,

a thousand miles away,

unseen and unknown

the tsunami that rocked your shores,

several-upon-a-time,

when you'd trusted me to your pain,

and leaned on my shoulders,

dance before my eyes, still,

they play hide-and-seek before my eyes,

at the upwelling and downwelling

between my heart and my eyes,

as my tears wreak a tsunami,

as i live and relive,

the fears that tore me apart,

shattered my heart,

and leave the old bruises open,

and blood oozed from the new,

and the words -
spoken and held back,

fueled the flames
that charred my soul,

and i clasped my hands,

tight, in prayers,

my lips whispered a prayer,
for your healing,

and a quiet unrendered wish

surged violently in me

for you to be my rock,

live my life, 

and breathe my breaths,

away and afar,

and a deep longing,

that refuses to be washed away, 

unseen and unknown 

© sashikant mohanty