The Road Between

I walked among the quiet, measured breath

To mourn my friend’s mother, bowed by grace,

Where words fell short before the weight of death,

And silence stood to take their place.

 

Across the road, a truth too clear to hide,

Necropolis facing acropolis high,

The city of the dead, the living side,

Two worlds beneath a single sky.

 

Once, tombs lay far from daily human tread,

At edges where the ancient cities end,

But now cities build them within instead,

Where life and loss no longer bend.

 

Smoke rose slowly, prayers dissolved in air,

While horns and footsteps claimed the street,

Death waited in bier, calm, patient and fair,

As life flowed past on hurried, restless feet.

 

~ Dr Intaj Malek

(Written at Thaltej crematorium on the funeral of Hasumati Kamdar)