Devi!

I rarely sought to really enjoy

The natural comforts of the Indian bus,

Let them be blessed who call I destiny,

But this day chose to be a different one.

Wary of the clitter clatter of the panes,

The disturbing howls of the anxious crew

I preferred to wonder at the green paradise

The fields and the trees that waived as I passed by.

Early in the day, the sun still halfway its course,

I had trudged along the shades,

Shied from the sun, and melted into the crowds.

For hours I had been traveling, and waiting;

The way I have been all through my mortal existence.

I took circles of the galleries, and of the lanes,

For I lacked what I needed the most, a purpose.

My eyes caught the pearls, the beads and the dolls,

The curses and the chatters, the poor in their tatters.

But then they caught her, in all her glory,

And I found my purpose, the one I sought the most.

She was the divine temptress, a long lost beauty.

An apostle of unworldly strength and valour,

Though beauty studded every inch of her flesh.

She beckoned me with her large curved eyes,

And I, the stunned prey, fell into the trap.

I wasn't sure if it was a trap at all,

The charm of her person was too great to resist;

For she was nothing but an image on a paper

A paper that was to be my companion for life.

The bus now entered a winding route,

The shrieks and the howls were long gone.

For this was the highway, where no one lived.

The pleasant wind had now given way to a tempest.

The sun was long gone, but still some light remained,

And all I could see was a storm looming ahead.

I held my breath as the monster approached,

Its arms spread wide to engulf all life.

It soon reached us, and the panes went crashing,

The bus seemed possessed, and devoid of all life.

The storm roared through the machine,

Throwing mere mortals out in the wild.

I held on to a bar, denying the monster its due.

I could taste the sand in my tongue,

And the danger that now loomed.

The tempest was in all her glory,

And I could feel it rise…

My eyes were squeezed shut, my ears had gone wild.

I felt myself in the center f the storm, as if

It only waited for me to let go of the hold.

The bus had taken quite a hammering,

It rolled around in the dust, battered and beaten.

I quizzed myself why I still held on,

My arms were bleeding, the nail went white,

Didn't have a reason why I yearned to survive.

'Stop! Bala!' I heard an inner voice.

Though it was smooth, it prevailed over the vice.

And I felt the blood in my hands return to life.

As if some divine strength pursed my fists to the metal bar.

'Bala!' I heard it again, though much louder this time.

'Spare the boy. Fight your own battles! Face me!'

There was a lightening bolt this time

One that I was too powerless to resist.

My struggle faded off, and I felt myself hurled away.

My frame hit a tree, and I fell dead at its foot.

It was early dawn when I felt my limbs stir.

I had cuts all over. The flesh screamed in pain,

But I was too weak to utter a word.

The storm seemed to have died down,

But it had already taken its toll.

The ground lay strewn with human carcass,

And occasional chunks of twisted metal.

Of the trees, the leaves wee all gone,

The highway now looked like a pale desert.

Te silence was deadly, and I could hear myself breathe.

I could now feel the blood returning to my limbs,

As reason slowly dawned over my senses.

I opened my eyes wider, for my vision was still blurred,

And my jaws dropped in awe for what my eyes did behold.

Beyond the twisted remains of the monster bus,

The mangled faces still staring in dead shock,

I saw a tall figure in the hazy distance.

I could sense it walking towards me.

The figure grew larger as it approached me,

And I saw the shiny black amour perched on her skin.

Her hair reached to her knees, and lay disheveled,

Like she had been through quite a struggle.

But there was no cut on her, and no sign of a limp.

Her costume left untouched by the surrounding smoke.

Her elegant steps brought her closer, and I saw her eyes,

And I instantly recognized the divine beauty.

She had victory written all over her,

And I could notice her sparkling eyes and the curves around her lips.

I saw blinding strips of white light emanate from her arms,

And the obvious white strip on her forehead.

She was nothing but divinity personified.

She came nearer, and finally stopped at a distance,

So I could behold her superior harm and magnificence.

She was the one who fought the tempest, and had devoured it.

The one who saved me from certain death.

She was the purpose I yearned for all my life,

The lone candle that could stand all darkness.

She of the healing touch, and of divine love.

She, was Devi.