Rachna Singh
The Spectre
I penned this poem when mankind was going through a very harrowing time, when the Corona pandemic had touched our lives and many of us had lost dear ones and friends to this rampaging beast.
I dreamed a dream, a dream that shocked me to the core,
I dreamed that death and disease were knocking at Mankind’s door.
In my dream I saw the shadow of a wild bird of prey,
I saw man cowering in fear, pallid and grey.
In my dream, I saw a hearse with the dead in its fold,
I saw the Grim Reaper taking a toll of both young and old.
I dreamed a dream, a dream that shocked me to the core,
I dreamed that death and disease were knocking at mankind’s door.
In my dream, I saw mankind, solitary and adrift,
I saw a demon affliction, insidiously creating a rift.
I dreamed a dream, a dream that shocked me to the core,
I dreamed that death and disease were knocking at mankind’s door.
In my dream, I saw Man impotent and torn,
Powerless to de-fang the monster that had taken the world by storm.
In my dream I saw Nature shaking her head in pain,
For Man had broken her realms asunder for his own petty gain.
And now Man stands denuded and shorn,
His arrogance and pride tattered and torn.
With a start I wake up to find,
The spectre of death had Mankind in a bind.
Death or reprieve, Man knows not his lot,
Will it be another losing battle, though well-fought.
Or will the world arise like a phoenix from its ashes,
Claim lost ground and fill in all the gashes.
A prayer, my trembling heart, chants with fervent force,
Return deadly fiend back to your venomous source.
I dreamed a dream, a dream that shocked me to the core,
I dreamed that death and disease were knocking at mankind’s door.