Saturday, May 07, 2005

Heaven beckoned

The war came to an end with a realization. A realization of the futility of the cause that was being fought for. As the dust separated the dead from the wounded, sunlight streaked across the horizon. The smell of war wafted through the battlefield. A lone figure stood at the edge of the river. Broken, bruised and battered. The dirty blood mixed water ran through, lapping at his feet. A lone tear traced its way down his cheek and fell in slow motion. Plop, it landed, mixing with the dirty blood water lapping at his feet. The war had ended. His realization was complete. Heaven beckoned.


15 comments:

gulnaz said...

i don't know whether to comment on how beautifully the sentiments are expressed or on the poignancy of the sentiments itself...
is his heaven his home, his family? is that not heaven on earth for most of us and is that not threatened by war? I wish this post were longer...much longer....excellent stufff.

DementedPhotographer said...

Heart-wrenchingly wonderful.

G Shrivastava said...

Echoing Gulnaz's sentiments and reactions to this post - this one hits you in the belly August. It's raw in it's emotion and tres powerful!

thoughts said...

smell of war.. or the stench of death?...as they say - no one ever wins in a war...

KJ said...

No one ever wins a war.

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy - Mahatma Gandhi"

Powerful & thought provoking....

Anonymous said...

at the end, this is what it is. Always. You should push this into a story. (Just an opinion...)

. : A : . said...

gulnaz, Phal - I wanted to write more on this, but somehow, I couldn't. So I chose to end it there.

Garrison Steelle, Geetanjali, Shanker - Thanks.

thoughts, johnny crash, KJ - Agree, no one does. Thanks.

S.L. Corsua said...

A realization of the futility of the cause that was being fought for.

One must deal with hindsight, granted that one survives the event and is not consumed by the aftermath. *sigh* Why must wisdom bloom the most amidst a garden of scars...

Need I mention how the beauty of your words, the expertise in how you evoke images... render me thoughtfully wistful? ^_^

small squirrel said...

wonderfully vague and pointed all at once... could be literal or metaphorical... once again you have wowed me.

Anonymous said...

I don't know...I just go back to something that I wanted to write more on but couldnt. Go back after a while maybe? That photograph awaits.

Elixir said...

reminds me of ashoka's kalinga war.its then when he adopted buddhism.
his realisation was complete....
*smiles*

musafir said...

Why the realization doesn't precede the madness, I will never understand.

. : A : . said...

Soulless, musafir - Yes, it all comes in hindsight sometimes. But then better late than never. Realization today can avoid a repeat tomorrow.

small squirrel - Many thanks.

Phal - Interesting. Maybe I shouldn't abandon it.

Elixir - Yes, it was. :-)

:..M..: said...

I like war movies. And this'll be the first time I liked it expressed in the written word. Wonderful.

. : A : . said...

:..M..: - Thanks and welcome back!