From the Past

Four years and three hundred

Forty one days

After I was born,

I witnessed a calamity

So severe, I still remember

Events from twenty three years ago -

The infamous super cyclone of 1999

That razed half the state

And left the other half

In absolute shambles;

I remember sitting with my sister

And staring outside the window,

Watching Parida Uncle

Fix the titled asbestos sheet

That covered his garage,

Injuring his index finger in the process;

I remember trying to peek

Out of the skylight in the attic,

Huddled together with my sister

And the Didi upstairs,

Trying to get a look at the

Monstrous intensity of the

Rains and the winds outside;

I remember taking a walk

In the neighborhood with Papa

After the shitshow had ended,

Spotting someone's pet parrot

That lay dead amongst the

Pile of debris that adorned the road;

I remember the crying faces

Of the people who lost -

Homes, families, belongings;

I remember it all like it was

A still from yesterday,

Yet it all feels like a distant dream

Too nightmarish to be true.

- NaPoWriMo, Day 20