23 October 2025

Transcendent Grief

When your father is 
Bedridden in the hospital 
And you can't stand his 
Suffering.

Sitting in the hallway 
Listening to the 
Heart monitor beep-
Every once in a while, 
Scared to a jump,
Thinking,
It has stopped. 

Do we have a word for 
That feeling? 

When he passes away,
And you gotta console 
Your mom, but the words 
Don't come out-

The blood thickens in 
Your veins, rushes into 
Eyes, but tears fail to
Come out.

When these languages 
Fail and the senses 
Give up-
When you feel like 
Stranded in your 
Mother tongue-

Where do the feelings go?

Do they transcend 
All these situations,
Compulsions and confines 
Of the words? Or
Do they keep lingering
And finding vents-

Till one day when you
Realise, you walk like him
And dress like him, and
Carry the same attitude-

And you wonder about 
The grief that never left 
But learned a quieter 
Language like empathy 
and gratitude.