Little Death

by

The wise ones often say
When one faces death –
The eternal oblivion,
The shared experience
That makes us all kin –
One sees with clarity
The life that one lived
With moments bitter-sweet
Savoured once more,
In a flash of a moment,
In the blink of an eye…
What I’d like to believe
Is that we’d only see
Some cherished memories:
Passionate colour splatters
Of careless brushstrokes
That my mind once made
Sloppily, on my rough,
Rugged and grey canvas,
Hanging on some wall
Of a favourite hidden room,
A secret trove of treasure
In some recess of my soul…

Memories like…

How the lashes of your eyes
Jingled like autumn leaves;
How your giggle resonated
With the babbling of a brook;
Or, how the wind came to comb
Your long and thick mane;
Made willows green with envy.
In the fall, they could barely
Match its crimson luster…
Or how radiant is your smile,
With a single mark of beauty,
Like a spot on the sun,
A subtle signature
Of a proud mother nature
On her finest work of art…
If death really brought,
Sensations that sweet,
I really wouldn’t mind dying a little bit,
Every moment, of every day,
As in French we like to say :
Une petite mort,
A little death,
A happy little decay…

Image credit: Feature image generated with DALL·E using a prompt based on this poem and its themes.
If this piece resonates with you and you’re a visual artist, I’d love to feature your own soul-crafted work in place of the AI image.

From the poetry compilation

Happy Hallucinations

More Poems

Dear Alchemist

Dear Alchemist

What do you do When you wake up One fine morning, Discovering What you thought To be your darkness Was your light all along? When you find that Your frigid heart Has been guarding Kindlings for you And has been Gracefully striking Your hardened Regret and misery To...

Rise

Rise

Just riseFrom the abyssOf possibilities infinite;Where countless worldsWere sacrificedIn the Red SeaOf divine hemorrhage:Blood offerings to Selene.And feel… Just feelBygone ashes that makeYour body and mind;Every butterfly wingsOr a simple blade of grassRemnants of...

Happy Hallucinations

Happy Hallucinations

I hopeTo find myselfIn your happy hallucinations,Where you could gazeAt the butterflies inside my stomachJittering at your sightFluttering purple kisses,Sometimes teal, or pink…To contrast your inner worldOf a thousand shades of grey,To remind you of a worldFull of...

Worms on my lips

Worms on my lips

When I’ll cease to be,And the worms will throw a feastOn these lips that you loved so,Know that they will sayCould they say anything at all:“In his last moment,He sighed your name.”Image credit: Feature image generated with DALL·E using a prompt based on this poem and...

Let it Break a Little

Let it Break a Little

Let your heart break a little. Let the light enter That stale room. Let birds make their nest And mushrooms enroot In those caves. Let ivies crawl up your heartstrings. Let the caterpillars Eat through your pain, Slumber, then Cocoon in your cavity. Let them wake up...

Vinyl Ribs

Vinyl Ribs

Far away from homeThere’s a graveI’m looking forTo chill my warm bonesWith your cold embrace.Fireflies would light candlesTo my final memoriesOf your laughterThat’s etchedDeep within my bonesRusty scythe of deathWould rattle bitter-sweet musicOf your engraved memoryOn...

Keep in Touch

YouTube

Become a Subscriber

LinkedIn

For professional purposes

TikTok

Follow me!

It’s a Rik Life

Rik Bhattacharja © 2023

All Rights Reserved