The Day that Ruined a Life of Promise Forever

The Car was stuck in the traffic snarl

waiting for the rows to move again

with so many other home-bound cars

heading towards their known and unknown destinations.

It was late in the evening

and the streetlights were already flooding

almost every stretch of the busy highway

creating an illuminated mystique haze

over the surrounding air

intoxicated by the vehicular emissions.

A Young Man was seated in the car

with other family members and friends

on a return journey to home

from a renowned city hospital

where he had to spend over a week

for medical treatments

carried out by reputed doctors

in failed efforts

to resuscitate his body once again

from a life-threatening neurological trauma

that ultimately left him crippled for life!

While others around him were engaged in odd chatters

he was completely silent

his vision dead still

even though his mind within

was trying to weather a violent storm

formed out of raging emotions

fired from the barrel of shards

of a completely destroyed world

that was once his Dear Life!

When life hits the hardest

it leaves even the strongest

utterly dumbfounded

not knowing where to look

for the broken pieces

scouring desperately for unique ways to fix them

and rekindle the snuffed out flame once again

in an effort to behold new enlightened paths

wading through endless darkness!

While support from others

can go a long way

in the healing process

but only the one suffering

is left alone somewhere

to deal with full extent of the jolt

rendered by Cruel Life!

As all of them finally reached home after some trouble

of being caught up in the traffic maze

for a while

the Young Man

was greeted by his new

Companion for life:

his Wheel Chair!

When one has been sunk

unto an immeasurable depth of Nothingness

from the Fall

that occurred

due to an unsuspecting sudden ruthless shove

by Wicked Life!

even Sadness

fails to conquer such a mind

left limp and vegetated!

The Young Man

thus set his immovable feet

with his companion

on an unknown journey

through roads

littered by voiceless chasms of Pain!

that was going to reveal

the world for him –

he thought he knew so well –

its real, apathetic, mean, exposed façade!

that he would be somehow

forced to bear in Silence!

That seemingly endless journey goes on still

even after long decades

as the Young Man is young no more

and neither are his humongous trials and tribulations

yet the first

and strongest ever

real Knock-out punch from life

that failed to knock him down completely

taken in by him on that fateful day

continues to linger on……….

––– This Poem is dedicated to my good old friend, whose real-life story is depicted here. It is a mere humble effort of mine to portray the day that changed his life forever!