Last Flight

                                       by Ranjan Mathews (Published in Asian Age, Nov-20000

                   Long have I stayed buried deep

                   Under drooping willows that never weep

                   Entombed in fate's own vaulted crypt--

                   I still survived the doomed script.

                   Long have I lain in pyres

                   Lit by destiny's same wild fires

                   Scarred and burnt a sienna rare--

                   I still survived the unholy scare.

                   Long have I heard this threnody

                   That mocked my music in melody

                    With veiled women all wailing along--

                    I still survived Death's swift swan-song.

                    Leaving shores of misery far behind

                    I rip open a burdened mind

                    And hitch aboard a mystic flight--

                    Soaring high to that kindly light.