The Early Morning Sirens

The early morning sirens

Are shrill to somnolent ears

And hit my heart with fists

Memories of a morning dash

Grip my chest mercilessly

This is the way we had taken

A dear child to the hospital

One morn hours ere sunrise!

The vigil through midnight

The wait for the grey light

To call for the ambulance

Getting into the vehicle

Unwashed, unfreshened

Speeding to the hospital

With hearts benumbed with fears

Unspoken grip of unusual feelings

The nurses at the government hospital

Are irritated; their rest disturbed

The night doctor comes yawning

They can’t make it any faster

This is the way they do; you keep quiet

While the child suffers on

The cold emergency cot.

It was after half an hour and more

The child was formally admitted

And assigned a bed in the children’s ward

Mother stayed with the child

I return to make arrangements for

Medicines, food, care shifts

For the mother must come home too

For a wash and a breakfast!

After three days the child returned

Home fine and free of ailment

But the morning ambulance sirens

Still send a gripping shrill down my heart

Many a time those vehicles of care

Return enveloped in silent grief!

Xavier Bage

Thurs, September 28, 2017