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Alone

by Aruna Kiran J
(Bhopal, India)

I was at the bottom of a dark sea,
I couldn't see anything.
I couldn't hear anything.
The vast, gloomy black space frightened me.

I was like a bird in cage,
A cage that resembled the endless, infinite space of darkness.
My hands flailed against the murk,
Longing to escape, to breathe the fresh air waiting to meet me above.
But my efforts were all in vain, I could not break free.

Not a glimmer of light, not a glimmer of hope.
Hours passed way.
Was I trapped in for days or for weeks?
Or were they years?
I fretted...

On a brazen attempt, I cried for help.
Aghast I was, I could not hear my own voice.
The acrid water filled my lungs,
Choking me, engulfing me in its morbid darkness.

I went deeper down the sea,
Until my feet touched the earth.
Not a life in sight, I closed my eyes in despair.
I thought, with the last inkling of hope in me,
That someone will save me.
Hours passed away.
But no one came.

Darkness became my ally, my salvation,
My murderer.
Not a glimmer of light, not a glimmer of hope,
I gave up.
I took in my last breath and I waited.
Willing myself into a long, long slumber.

The ebony space comforted me,
For it was a familiar sight.
I thought to myself,
As I drifted along the murky depths,
I was all alone,
At the bottom of the dark sea.