Pills and tunes
in the night's deep dark,
my life seems so stark,
and being awake a curse,
but silence stills all my cries,
i hear tunes from the past
when my life was a blast,
sunlight a happy surprise.
now i grope for my friend,
a tiny chemical blend
(it knows to oblivion coerce).
while the medicine takes hold,
loving lines hold my hand,
as if my past to rehearse.
faint, familiar, lyrics repair
the frenzy of late night's stir,
and i sleep in the peace of reprise.
pill, not song, to close my eyes,
but no, not my ears
to left-behind years,
and strains of treasured lullabies.
Sanjib Basu 