He came home dripping wet, to a mother’s happy sigh.
Relieved to see her family back in her coop,
Safe from the pelting rain and the howling squall,
Though, bringing much-needed relief to the scorching land.
And just as suddenly, he found himself pinned to the ground,
With the wet raincoat half-wrapped around him.
He just about turned his head,
To see life, ebb from his mother’s eyes.
Unbeknownst to him, the illegal hoarding shook from its moorings,
Coming crashing down on homes’ housing dreams.
Killing fifteen and injuring dozens
Of those innocent victims one of too many
Who is to blame? The questions came..
The media agency that broke rules?
Or the storm that struck suddenly?
The civic- authorities for their systemic failure?
Or the politicians with their deep-rooted corruption?
To all those who were injured or worse
They never did envision a date with their cruel fate.
This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.
This was originally published in Spillwords
Sometimes, there is no one to nail the result on. It’s sad when things collapse without seemingly a reason. Sad, but true. A sensitive verse.
A powerful, hearttouching and meaningful verse. Fate sometimes play such a cruel game with us without notice… either we dont get time to ask our fate or if we get chance to question fate …. Fate remains MUM as perhaps he/she also dont know what to say.
I totally vibed with your poem. It felt like I was on my own secret date with fate!
There’s no way escaping your date with the fate! It will happen even if the hording is legal, safe and maintained properly. Storms always reek havoc in their way!
This gave me goosebumps! Such a powerful and heartbreaking piece. It really makes you think about how fate can change in an instant and how the real blame often gets lost in the system.
Heart broken verse. No one can know what is written in fate and no one can deny the date with fate. Fate can change everything in a blink and you wonder why ?
This poem deeply moved me with vivid imagery and a stirring narrative. Its unique blend of personal loss and societal critique awakens empathy and reflection on responsibility, fate, and vulnerability.
Short and so powerful! This verse raises such a relevant but unanswerable question. We may be born with a lot of celebration but death can come silent and unannounced. It is a final call that is not in anyones control.
oh damn, that was so heartbreaking and what makes it more tragic is that such incidents are becoming more and more frequent. Truly, it does make us question, who is to blame? We can now add one more to that list, the citizens who despite such incidents, remain mute?
Like a huge nail on the head (nay, it pierced my heart!), you have so wonderfully articulated the agony of people who have lost to mindlessness! Gut-wrenching narrative!
This is a sad reality. Who is to blame? Everyone has a hand in the pie and refuses to take responsibility. The real victims are families that lose lives and even the shaky roof over their heads.
This is a powerful and heart-wrenching verse! I wish we could hold accountable, all those who are responsible. There should be justice to the lives lost.
Heart twisting and raises important questions.
That’s a sad reality. We cannot run away from fate but such incidents cannot be left to fate. Lack of accountability makes such incidents just a piece of news and the world simply moves on.
Even though it was heartrending to read this , I also commend the brilliance of telling such a touching story that also evokes so many questions , all in so few words.
Short and Sweet! As usual, fantastic!
This poem hit me hard. The contrast between relief and tragedy is heartbreaking. It’s a powerful reminder of how fragile life is and how negligence can turn fate into devastation.
The questions really made a difference to the post. It became so much more relatable to the readers. But things should change for the better.
Wow, this hit hard. The way you’ve portrayed the harsh reality is just heartbreaking.It’s scary how a moment of relief can turn into a nightmare because of someone’s negligence.
Feels so real, so raw. Brilliantly written
I loved this powerful yet harsh reality poem. It really hit hard, and I can’t describe how helpless I was feeling while reading this post. As a society, we might be able to do a lot instead of playing the blame game and avoiding disaster.
It was heartful to read this. there is always the blame that is put on one another. loved reading this
I remember that hoarding accident – how awful it was…