“His optic nerves are severed. I am afraid he has suffered permanent visual impairment.”
Just like that ! Fate's iron hammer knocked the sun out of his life forever.
The doctor looked embarrassed. Faced with the enormity of his inability.
The red poppies which lined the dew soaked lawn had snapped -shut its colours.
They now bloomed forever in the shut-eyed privacy of Rajan’s mind.
Kiran plucked a poppy. Squeezing it between her fingers she crushed its soft velvety petals. Her hands trembled.
“No darling.” She sighed.
“But I want to see them.”
“Be patient, we must wait for spring.”
Roopali Sircar Gaur, Ph.D. is a poet, writer, academic and social justice activist. She taught English and Creative Writing at Delhi University. She has featured in peer-reviewed journals, and served on academic panels around the world.
Her poetry is archived in the Stanford University Pandemic digital archives. Co founder of Saraswati e-zine for Literature and Arts and Poetry Editor for AWS e-zine, a columnist for E Journal Different Truths. She is consulting editor for Different Truths and Director of The Backyard Book Club.
She lives in Meerut, India with her Veteran military spouse and three rescued dogs.