Poetry 2018 Longlist, Arkadeep Sengupta

A Question for Death

Dearest Death,
Could you not have taken
The longest way to my gate,
To be a bit more late.
Or have postponed your arrival.
For I wished and hoped-
Life’s presence a bit more
And now that you stand on my very door
I wish to ask you a question
Asked once in a folklore-
“Will I ever again taste the sweetness
Of Life’s prosperity,
Or mix with the eternal eternity?”