The mountains reverberated with the thundering sound of guns.
The conflict had begun some days ago.
Dressed like shepherds they had come across the line of control
pretending to graze sheep.
Guns and ammunition hidden in bags hanging on the saddle of ponies.
The snowy peaks had watched in silence.
Capt Vijayant crept slowly up the ragged hills
his elbows and knees grazed followed by his men.
Intercepted telephone conversations had located
the intruders behind the peak.
It was point 5012. He had to recapture the peak.
He was determined to finish
The enemy.
He had taken an oath. Not too long ago.
Stand back he shouted as a sudden of burst of gun fire
shattered the rocks into splinters
splashing blood into the blue sky.
His face froze with anger
He was not going to give up
He must not allow even one of his comrades to die.
He would go alone. Fortitude and Courage his only companions!
Vijayant threw the grenade like an arrow
in the direction of the intruders.
The explosion silenced the gun which spluttered and fell dead.
The Tri-Colour flag fluttered in the smoke-filled sky,
his comrade in arms sobbed and cheered the Braveheart.
Later from his inert body
a letter written to his mother said,
“I will be home soon. If I don’t walk in
I will still be there for sure. Wrapped in the tri-colour.”
Each year his ageing father
climbs the peak where his martyred son once
laid down his life for the land he loved.
Footsteps of courage frozen in the ice.
Often I wonder what moves a man to serve
above and beyond the call of duty?
Bio
Roopali Sircar Gaur, PhD is a published poet, travel writer, social activist and academic. She has edited a number of anthologies. As consulting editor for e-journal Different Truths, she mentors writers and poets. As a veteran spouse she writes and works with military families. Her recent anthology, The Force is With Us : An International Anthology Celebrating the Armed Forces has received much attention.
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