It’s not that we don’t care
that we are not touched
by our system’s failure
that we are not haunted
for every woman
who we lost
to mad men and unspeakable horrors.
As if in the moon light
in a dark sky
the souls pained and drained of life
fly,
fly by,
staring right into our souls
as they circle the vast sky
asking us
where were we
when they were being treated
inhumanely
with no shame
those around them
stayed numb
as they kept on screaming.
It takes away
my breath and sways
my head as I question
myself again and again–
where was I ?
The bright light
snuffed out of the coal eyes
the pale cheeks
turned to stone.
I look up in the night sky
and I see people who went from
this hellish place we love
to a better place–
I hope.
I am sorry,
I say to them.
We are sorry,
I say to them.
We are not the ones
who deserve love
or God’s benevolence.
Fly by,
oh dear ones,
may peace come to you
in the afterlife
for once.
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: nini kvaratskhelia/Pixabay