Picture Impact Poetry Challenge July Entries

Picture Impact Challenge July Entries

Winning Entry by Vibhavari Bhushan

It was a pitch-dark night
Lying supine with open eyes
Almighty decided to paint
With colours beyond benign.
He summoned his folks
To bring the colours
Of virtues, vivacity, desire and dignity.
Day and night
He mixed and matched
And colours danced in shapes and shades.
The work was almost done
Suddenly he felt enormous pain
In his right hand.
“Oh those few left strokes”, he moaned
And thus the healers were born.

Entry by K. Prashanth

White Clad Beacons.

Spent bodies & fatigued minds,

On the toes days and sleepless nights,

Everyday Waving away nightmarish WHYs

They rise and face you with smiling eyes,

Sometimes they seem angels to people,

Sometimes they’re seen as demons too,

Though concealed but they too are pained,

You may not care, but they’re humans too,

One which try to sooth your pains,

A tremble is veiled in that assuring voice,

A smiling cured patient is beyond wordly gains,

To serve isn’t obligation,but a well thought choice

They’re White Clad beacons in  stygian night,

Let’s bolster their hands in the ongoing fight.

Entry by Sudeshna Mukherjee

Let your light eradicate

the shadows that lurk

the darkness that suffocates

In the suit you remain trapped

heat mounting as sweat trickles

your erect spine standing upright

Caring and Giving:

Healers fighting dearly

deadly death on other’s behalf

flailing falling succumbing

always a giver of life and hope

Shine on brightly

irrespective of the deference

irrespective of indifference

Walking on the dedicated thorny path ..

Entry by Sweta Papaiyawala

It was twelve midnight when I received a phone call,

An emergency shouted the petrified nurse on,

The eight-year kid is breathless and you are desired,

The nurse broke, while she spoke,

Please, doctor, he has contracted the virus, she bespoke.

Half asleep, I was off duty,

Wanted to have off, time with my family,

My dearest wife patted me slowly

Overheard me and strutted bravely

You are my warrior, people need you

Don’t think of us, you better give a move

Duty comes first and family later

Proud of her words, I moved further

Leaving behind my beautiful wife and eight-year-old

Headed hospital to treat the other child on hold.

Entry by Chandra Sundeep

A tribute to the Gods in White.

Alone I stood on the brink of death, an unknown virus gnawing me deep within

Gasping for breath, longing for my loved ones,

Every living moment spent painfully in hell.

While the contagion pushed my body into isolation, my heart prayed for freedom

God sent you, His divine loving child. A beacon of devotion and dedication,

Tirelessly you worked looking after the ailing, at times forgetting your loved ones

In a ward echoing with painful cries, your kindness and compassion was the soothing balm

The face hidden behind the mask, was of a selfless hero engaged in a war

Fighting an invisible enemy, you bravely took me across the battlefield

Six decades of life I spent searching for the almighty invisible God

A fortnight is all it took to realise, and my search ended.

He is right here. Cloaked in white, you are my guardian angel.

Words fail me as I try to convey my deepest gratitude and love

I bow my head and kneel down in prayer,

No way less than the Creator himself, dear Doctor, you are my God, my saviour.

Entry by Snigdha Agrawal

PULSATING LIVES

They were stoned, they were spat on, beaten black and blue,

profusely bleeding, yet continued healing the sick,

risking their own; unfailingly upholding Hippocrates oath

Did they backtrack?  Did they throw up their hands?

Did they refuse to treat patients infected with Covid 19?

“Stay at home”, “Stay Safe”, was not for this band of men/women

They worked, like their wicks would never burn out

Holding the candle of light, in a dismal, very dismal world

Saving lives, extending kindness, in an unkindly world

In such an environment, with priestly like dedication

they in white coats, sometimes stained red, lost themselves

engaged in resuscitating those infected; their sole mission

They pulse through this pandemic bravely, stoically, uncomplainingly

Fingers on the pulse; some stopping, some reviving,

never giving up; do they not deserve better treatment, words of praise?

Entry by Chandrika R Krishnan

Unsaid words from our Life Savers

Days blur so do nights

We remain awake and allow you to sleep

Work from home is not an option

For us to be

But for us, the virus would have free rein.

We save life, you thank God

The treatment fails despite our best

You beat us up!

Is that fair, we ask?

Alas, the answers are not for us.

Gritty eyes with over work

We advise regular meals but have no time for a bite

We face the virus with ill-equipped clothes

But many times we have no home to go to.

Sometimes we wonder what it would be

If we put our stethoscope down

Would you prefer the darkness to;  

The light we bring?

We leave but with a

Bit of advice

Remember, your God does help

But most times he works through us.