The Embers of Hope

By Muhsina. K. Ismail

The days filled with laughs and happiness are gone forever.
“Do you have chocolate?” I used to ask whenever he came back home.
On that day too, I asked him the same,“ Do you have any chocolates?” He handed over me one, smiling, but his eyes were filled with tears,
He was angry at my mom whenever she asked him something, Irritated at me whenever I asked him to play with me,
With an empty stomach, I realized that it was my last chocolate and it was his last smile…
When the police officers came home, he didn’t object to going with them, wearing a metallic cuff whose jingles muffled my mom's wails,
I felt the warm tears rolling down the cheeks, which made some streaks that failed to disappear…
I knew that something was wrong but, was hesitant to enquire, I couldn’t associate his smile with rage,
But the truth, I was forced to accept it, the ‘pseudo’ reality was haunting me like nightmares, even worse was that,
The court had ordered a death sentence to my dad,
I knew that it was inevitable, but still, I felt the embers of hope kindling my heart, making an adrenaline surge which made me draw the picture—the wheels of the car are not just made of rubber,
But, carved out of my hope which helps to propel my days, I wish my days were colourful as before,
Please save my dad, let him come home, he might have saved a bar of chocolate for me…

 

Dr. Muhsina.K.Ismail from India has received special jury recommendation for her poem, The Sourness of Loneliness.' in the AIFEST poetry competition. Her poems have been published in the Delhi poetry slam e magazine and The Songs Of Peace, the world's biggest anthology of peace