Dedicated to the memory of Irrfan Khan

Written by Pratyush Parashar Das

I woke up at the crack of dawn and saw that you had gone,

Incomprehensible did I find your sudden departure, which left me numb with disbelief and shock, directionless and lost feel did I, like a bird without its flock,

Too soon did it seem that you should have passed beyond my reach forever, alas, for it was God’s will, and thus was turned the divine lever,

As the memory of your eyes and your smiling face flew before my eyes, did I want to silence those who spoke of your passing, and condemn them as blatant lies,

And thus, the world peopled by cameras and lights and other paraphernalia plunged into darkness, for it could not believe that you had left its fastness,

Though my grief be too deep to describe in words, alas, for I woke up at the crack of dawn, and saw that you had gone...