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Life and Death

This life has so much left in store,
We think, a day gone by isn’t lost;
It’s made of hours that bear no cost,
A hundred gone, a thousand more

While each tomorrow brings its weight,
A list of things to be achieved,
The joys embraced and sorrows grieved
To go as far as led by Fate.

But what of when the hours cease,
The clocks stand still and all that’s left
To come plays victim to a theft?
The thief entered with chilling ease.

Who would have thought that Death could strike
In such obscure and dreadful blows?
From where he comes to where he goes,
His trail has footmarks all alike.

These heaps of men are shattered dreams,
The weeping stars across the sky
Descend to mourn their loss and sigh;
Though all in vain, in vain, it seems!

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Satyananda Sarangi is a young civil servant by profession. A graduate in electrical engineering from IGIT Sarang, his works have featured in the Society of Classical Poets, Shot Glass Journal, Snakeskin, WestWard Quarterly, Sparks of Calliope, Page & Spine, Glass: Facets of Poetry, The GreenSilk Journal and elsewhere. Currently, he resides in Odisha, India.

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17 Responses

  1. Allegra Silberstein

    Thanks for this great poem…I felt so much sadness when I read about this crash. Your words held much meaning.

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Greetings, Allegra ma’am.

      Many thanks for your words. The state is still immersed in sadness here.

      Best wishes to you.

      Reply
  2. Brian A Yapko

    A beautiful, poignant poem, Satyananda, which gracefully carries a great burden of sorrow and sad wisdom. I am so sorry that this disaster occurred and for the loss of life. Please know that the people of India have my deepest condolences.

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Hello Brian Sir.

      It is always satisfying to get your thoughts on my poems. It took me at least 3-4 days to gulp down the fact that this disaster has actually occurred.

      Thanks a lot!

      Reply
  3. Paddy Raghunathan

    Satyananda,

    It’s a blessing to have someone from the state of Odisha write about this tragedy. So heartfelt!

    Best regards,

    Paddy

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Greetings!

      Thanks a lot for your appreciation. I think someone had to write it – about the agony, about the loss, about the sorrow. In my opinion, people need poetry more in times of darkness than when things are smooth. Thank you.

      Warm Regards

      Reply
  4. Roy Eugene Peterson

    I remember reading about this train wreck in India. You have written such a beautiful poem with great depth of thought and reflection on death and our mortal status!

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Greetings!

      Grateful for such great words of appreciation. These keep me going.

      Best wishes.

      Reply
  5. Margaret Coats

    A fitting lament for such a tragedy so near you, Satyananda, that you must have felt called upon to make a poetic response, even if you had other civil service duties. The first stanza is a powerful reflection on the unexpectedness of death, and the tragic carelessness in which days may be spent. Also very good is line 12, “The thief entered with chilling ease.” Because of stress that naturally falls on even-numbered syllables in iambic meter, we can read, “The thief interred [that is, buried] with tragic ease.” Condolences to those who have suffered loss of loved ones, and much sympathy to those still suffering injuries. Thank you for this elegy mourning how vain it must all seem, whether the cause be equipment failure or lack of precaution on the part of railway personnel.

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Hello Margaret ma’am.

      A pleasure to get your valuable thoughts on this tragic poem. The whole country is in a state of shock. Hundreds have been dead and more injured. I felt I wasn’t able to address all the emotions people went through for this accident. Still I have tried to sum up.

      Gratitude for your insightful reflections on this.

      Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Greetings!

      I must have gone through a hundred thoughts before thinking of attempting a poem such as this.

      Grateful for your words!

      Reply
  8. Anissa C Gage

    This is so beautiful, so poignant and so eloquent! A magnificent illustration of the tragedy. To me that last stanza, those first two lines, are so magnificent that they help create the horrible reality of the loss. (Pen name Purrsanthema).

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Greetings!

      The tragedy has created tremors within me and perhaps these tremors vibrated together to helped me to write the poem.

      Thank you for your words of appreciation.

      Reply
      • Satyananda Sarangi

        *together and helped me to write the poem.

        Please ignore the typo error.

        Regards

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