POEM: THE DAY I DIED WRITTEN ON 29th SEPTEMBER 2024

The Day I Died

 

The day I died; the sun rose again.

I didn’t.

I lay in my bed, in my blood, lifeless.

My father came to wake me up for school.

My room was dark.

My father finally noticed the stench coming from my room.

He was horrified.

He wailed.

My mother came rushing in.

She collapsed at the sight of me,

Realizing, her beloved daughter will never wake up again.

I was only twelve when I took my own life.

They found a note beside me, decorated beautifully.

My parents read it with shaky hands.

They felt sorry, for not realizing it before.

They felt guilty for not helping me.

They felt guilty for not being there for me when I needed them the most.

But of what use is the guilt now, that I am dead?

It was the first day, where they didn’t have to think twice before taking a day off.

Friends and family were called along with the police.

The police took my body to a hospital, where my autopsy was done.

The officials sighed after seeing yet another case.

My friends and sisters felt sorry for me, for my parents.

My grandparents were crushed that their sole granddaughter died.

My uncles cried at the news of the death of their favorite niece.

I was then sent for cremation,

My mother kept on crying.

It hurt to see her cry so much.

My father tried his best to maintain his composure, but tears kept flooding his eyes.

This was the second time I saw him cry after his mother passed away,

He lost his mother and daughter in the same year.

I felt bad but I really tried hard to live.

I fought but I lost.

I got tired.

Because I couldn’t simply just exist,

My existence had to mean something.

Even I wanted to live.

But there was nothing to live for.

At least, that’s what I thought at twelve.

Every day was just a reminder that I didn’t have anyone on my side.

And people would mock me for that.

I still wish, I lived another day, to see that there are other things in life.

I still wish, I saw how loved I was by the right people.

Because the day I died, my future just became a ‘what if’.

Because the day I died,

Every story I was a part of,

Also ended with me.                                

~Ashmita Acharyya