In the Cremains by Debasis Tripathy

of my memories remain       ashen tears of contrition
when I walk on the embers      of a purgatorial past
it hurts like death         a thousand time           only to live
yet another day a vicious cycle of karma           
no escaping that           endless loop         focus on
your actions     forget the result           I remind myself
and go with the grind       no plainsong            no prayer 
no self-promise of paradise       a rosary of  basil wood
goes round and round in a mechanical manner
to keep me alive           my human story           of blood
and bones        and bonding       vapid             vacant  
and invalid       I see others happy & sad          remember 
I was a plague upon your paradise       perished forever
here the sun rises         and grows hot enough to burn            
the looming shadows of my sins       of missed opportunities
at redemption       and sinks     with a repeated assurance 
to reappear                   I regenerate every day & rot

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Debasis Tripathy does a regular desk job in Bangalore. He also writes - poems and short fiction.  His recent work has been featured in Collidescope, Squawk Back, Turnpike, Kitaab , Punch Magazine & elsewhere. Occasionally, he tweets at @d_basis