A GAZE FROM THE SKY - S. Shreya - 2020 batch

Soaring high and proud, I fly,

Grappling for air with the sky;

As the mist clouds my eyes

My heart chokes and my throat throbs;

Drown I, in the fumes of agony

With red painting the walls of Punjab

The Jallianwala Bagh echoing dolefully;

Screams and screeches haunts my heart

Being replaced by deafening silence;

As each life stops, I bleed, bleed, bleed.

Lost I was, in the eerie melody

Sung oh-so-gleefully by the crown thieves

Oblivious of the impending glory

Yearning to unleash itself - in all majesty!

As tiny steps became victory marches

I saw the horizon – brighter than ever;

From ahimsa to blood sheds

From salt to grenades – I saw it all;

I saw them stand against my men

And oh! My cheeky men,

Tall with bravery and humble with love

Bitten by the very hands that fed them –

The fall of Gandhi and the rise of anger

With masses flooding the haven of India

To conquer back what was once ours;

The wrath of my anger no longer controlled

Broke I, into a full wave of movement

Washing away every uninvited guest

That stepped on my soil – with no rights of their own;

As the final moments ticked

The pact was made and hands shook

Lord Mountbatten dethroned from the victorious throne

And the skies glittered as the night set in;

When the veils of the darkness draped

I – WAS – RAISED – flying abreast in my land

The air whispering their cheers

And tears trickling down their eyes –

As drops of rain joined for the merry!

I now open my eyes, feeling the familiar feel

Of rising up to the sounds of the uniform;

As hands went up in salutation,

I bowed humbly – for it was the 15th of August, 2022

- S. Shreya

2020 batch

(On the theme – If the Indian flag had a voice)