I remain after the destruction
and deaths.
I am what the end of the wars looks like.
When stale corpses transfix themselves
at the calamities,

I breathe slowly.

I remain at the edge of your loneliness
and suicidal thoughts.
When you look for ways to lessen your screams,
I creep into your void to dissolve your thoughts.
I am the hidden reflection in the mirror, you fail to notice.

I walk slowly.

I remain when your world comes to a standstill
over a pair of her eyes that overfill your voids
with dreams and desire and sometimes spaces
between your shadow and the soul.
I am what you forget when you are in love.

I disappear slowly.

I am the beginning of the world,
I am its end.
I am what you crave as well as fear
on the nights, alone.
I am the Wine that caresses your veins
and eats your liver.
Have enough of me, but carefully.
For, I die with you.

I die slowly.

© Shashank Bhardwaj

Pic Credits –  Jean Claude Berens