The White Diamonds

A thundering above in the grey sky
a thundering below on the roof held so high
as hail crushes against the tin alloy
hail the hail
white diamonds
bursting on the stairs
the stairs bloodied red
with broken red roses
and pink geraniums
side by side.

splitter and splatter
it lay near my door–
like white pearls
spattered on ocean floor.

a phone call arrives
grim news
another colleague of his
gone back to mother nature.

the blackness of tired eyes
sieving through the hurried emotion
of the people it once knew
holding steadfastly on faith
regurgitating hope
from the depths of the scared soul
life after life
stroke after stroke
of sadness
chipping away mental strength
to then heal
with touch of a loved one
the smile of a loved one
fighting through a labyrinth of despair
to be at home
in one whole
to still be the shoulder
strong enough to carry the
weight of ravaged community
desperate friends
and expectations of family
to live through these times of despair
to love life passionately enough to survive these times of despair when he
lies on the bed
and closes his tired black eyes
I try to fix his mind on
hail
the white diamonds
splittering and splattering
near our door
absolving him of the guilt
as to why he is okay
and his friend is no more.

Latika Sehajpal is an administrator in Himachal Pradesh civil services, who has been passing her time painting and writing because of a spinal injury.

Featured image credit: Sina Katirachi/Unsplash