A Soul sighs

A Soul sighs.
 P K Routray

To achieve a milestone

in literary field of my own

with my fifteen hundredth poem

I searched from my heart’s bottom

for a befitting theme to dwell upon

for readers’ applause and appreciation

Peeped then a youth with tears in eye

I recollected him as Sagun soft spoken and shy

bulldozed to silence so far in my memory lane

with the incident of nineteen hundred seventy-seven.”

“Sir! Me, do you remember?

I am your Sagun the helper.”

Then suddenly my frame trembled remembering the incident

For the Lord’ss harsh decision, I acted only as an instrument.

It was a day forty years back

I was a junior level manager in rank

With twenty workmen working under my supervision

I was their boss and they had to obey my decision.

Sagune was tribal youth hardly twenty-one by age.

that day he begged for a half day leave to go to his village.

With a blush and silence breaking on repeated persuasion

he softly spoke of his marriage and on return the celebration.

The bride was the girl he loved from heart.

Tolerate he can no longer from her to stay apart..

He had given for a fortnight, leave application

which was granted to him and to all it was known.

Half a day ahead he pleaded to go

as the connectivity to his remote place was too low.

I deputed him to a division, not under my jurisdiction

as per workload we followed this system of deputation

and granted his leave and permitted him to go

after the job is complete which would take four hours or so.

The supervising engineer there had agreed to this decision

I sent him to the job wishing him the best for the occasion.

“Man proposes God dos poses” is the proverbial say

None knew it would be Sagun’s life’s last working day.

An accident occurred, Sagun suffered burn injury

later succumbed to it in hospital to end his mortal story.