Quo Vadis

By Rupa Anand
New Delhi, India

a dahlia in full bloom lifts its face to the sun

Whatever is born, dies. Over the years I’ve buried koels, squirrels, bulbuls and doves. I’ve lost beloved pets and nursed dying ones.

I’ve seen friends fall to covid, ill health and disease, relatives with Alzheimer’s, friends with dementia, and batch-mates dead. I’ve struggled with relationships and ended fruitless ones. It’s when Death comes riding close, that we realise our physical mortality.

Yet through it all, one thing sustains me, this sense of eternal Existence, of being truly alive through the ages. I’m alive and always will be and I bow to that.

rain on the river . . .
the many lives i live
mere ripples