By Pravat Kumar Padhy
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He is driven to a world of different
In the isolation ward.
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He contours yesterday’s rainbow of life:
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With twin kids and his better half
Strolling in the park, swinging in the seesaw
Running after the colourful butterflies
Searching the ball in the bushes
And the spark of smiles in each step.
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Today he dwells in the past
As if the clock stops for a while.
In the quarantine ward
In between the beds:
The sun sets for someone
And awaits
To enter into another darkness.
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Like a tree
Struggling with the stormy wind,
Still, he dreams
The world is alive outside.
One day he will walk again
And greet his family
In the fresh morning sunshine.
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Pravat Kumar Padhy has obtained his Masters of Science and Technology and a Ph.D from Indian Institute of Technology, ISM Dhanbad. His poetry has been featured in many journals and anthologies. His poems received many awards, honours and commendations including the Editors’ Choice Award at Writers Guild of India, Sketchbook, Asian American Poetry, Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival International Haiku Honourable Mention, UNESCO International Year Award of Water Co-operation, The Kloštar Ivanić International Haiku Award, IAFOR Vladimir Devide Haiku Award, and others. His work is showcased in the exhibition “Haiku Wall”, Historic Liberty Theatre Gallery in Bend, Oregon, USA. His tanka, ‘I mingle’ is published in the “Kudo Resource Guide”, University of California, Berkeley. His poem, “How Beautiful” is included in the Undergraduate English Curriculum at the university level. His haiku, tanka and other poems on Corona pandemic have been published in Country Roads, Covid 19 Haiku Anthology, Lockdown 2020, Penning The Covid,The Alipore Post, and others.
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