In the unnamed valley that reeked of death I met a man who couldn't die. A hundred decades he had seen, they said, And still death wasn't kind to him. I found him weeping as the sun set, Under a tree younger than him And when he heard me, he said, "Another man with a treasure." The pain in his voice hit me Harder than the lifeless wind And I asked, "What treasure Do you think I carry?" "Oh no, nothing that sparkles," he said Trying, and failing, to laugh, "But your ability to die." I sat by his side and said "People fear death On the other side of this valley, And eternal life is a fantasy." He held my hand and said, "Such a twisted dream perpetuity is; Can fool even the wisest of the wise. Things that are deathless Are the farthest from peace." I picked a dry leaf and asked, "Do you feel lonely? Every thing around you dies. You see death every day, Wishing somebody could see yours.
~ Poems by Krishnasish Jana