Cancer Poem by Sankhajit Bhattacharjee

I
The moon and stars faded from the night sky,
without natural light she was looking very dangerous.
In midst of electric lights,
a light was fading in a hospital room.
No sooner had I heard the news
I left my dinner for the hospital.
As the animals, birds and insects get afraid
when night suddenly appears during daytime
due to the approach of a total solar eclipse,
I became afraid.
As the turbulent time swallows a beautiful palace
into ruins of an archaeological evidence,
the ferocity of cancer engulfed one forever.
My eyes wept as I was witnessing a slow poisoning;
my heart wept as I witnessed the first death.
My paternal grandfather breathed his last-
I never thought it was his last day.
The death not only engulfed him
but also swallowed a child's imagination.

II
Again, another moonless and starless night reappeared.
I was sitting beside a dying man-
an invisible demon was sucking him for months.
As soon as I went out for a minute,
the demon pounced on him,
I hurried to fetch the last drop
but he failed to swallow.
I witnessed the death of my maternal grandfather.
This time the child's imagination was chewed.
I never know how many moonless and starless nights
I have to witness in future. An adult has nothing to imagine,
so, nothing will be swallowed or chewed.