A Silent Prayer Poem by Unnikrishnan Sivasankara Menon
A Silent Prayer
The room in the rear
A dirty bed
There he lies
Uncared for, unattended.
The chair he used to sit on
Lies abandoned
With broken arms and legs.
The setting sun
Covered his body
In a hurry
With a brand new cloth.
Hard to understand
That he is alive.
A smile dried up on his lips
Skewed face, arched limbs...
His soul hides
In the cage of bones.
In the fag end of his life
Time has rendered him
Ugly, abjectly miserable.
His sons and relatives nearby
Whispered
That he lost his memory
That he may not be able
To call anybody by name
That he may not
open his eyes anymore.
Impatience ruled:
Many left
A few came afresh
They Walked, sat, lay,
yawned.
A movement
A groan,
They prayed,
It should be the last.
He would have done the same
Had he discerned his state.
No!
He is still there
Lying on his dirty bed
As a silent prayer!
Covering the body (of a deceased person) with a brand new cloth is part of Hindu funeral rites.
Poet Olga Tinina writes " El final de la vida esta muy bien descrito - para algunos es Bello _pero para este pobre hombre es terrible" meaning, " The end of life is very well described - for some it is beautiful - but for this poor man it is terrible."
El final de la vida esta muy bien descrito - para algunos es Bello _pero para este pobre hombre es terrible
Just now I've read your poem sir you've expressed so nicely sir 😊
Thank you Srijoni, for your valuable time and for sharing your opinion on the poem.
You brought both pain of old age and uncaring services ee give to our old generation. Yhst dirty bed says everything.
Yes. The insensitivity of the onlookers is what I wanted to highlight, than the suffering of the old person.
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7/23/2025 11:20:01 PM # 1.0.0
Such a heartfelt drop. Enjoyed each stanza. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Anilji. Obliged. This is a translation of a poem in Malayalam by Mr Satheesan. All the credit is actually due to him. I would convey your words of appreciation to him. Thank you sir. Obliged.