[Poem] Peace

There I was,
standing alone
amidst smoldering pyres

All the men of valor,
all their ambitions, dreams
allegiances and expectations
reaching up to the skies
as smoke-filled dark clouds

The hands of the clock had moved.
The hourglass had emptied itself.

They died.
For a promised land?
For me?
For their own ends?
Or was it merely fate?

Then it was dawn
The clouds attained a silver lining
and the downpour drenched me to the skin
Peace seeped into my pores.
Enlightenment.

But, peace, at what cost?

Vijay © 19th September, 2005
[Inspired by the story of Asoka, the great,
who embraced Buddhism after the battle of Kalinga]