His Wish

Today I jumped from the table,

See I am fine: His wish

said mother but don't do it.

 

I jumped from my school balcony

only a few scratches : His wish

said mother but never again.

 

Today I topped in the class

Good: His wish said mother

a broad smile lighting her face.

 

Today father died, who will

support my studies: His wish

said mother, her eyes belching tears.

 

Mother is now gone, was it also

His wish to make me fight alone?

 

I am now a pilot - not of a ship

I fly a fighter plane deep into

enemy territory, blasting bridges

making orphans at will,

my love was ruined by his

disapproval of my career,

I am homeless: I live

in a barrack, greying

I sleep fitfully, search for

certainties  I don't know of what kind.

 

Is it all His Wish?

To send me to orphanages

from town to town facing faces

all strange grim and stern

training to fly in the dark

to rain fire on homes

to return nowhere?

 

My body is steel

mind is blank

I move by my strong willpower

determined  not to defy the life

given to me in time and space.

 

Is it all His Wish??

Sabita Sahu.