At last you came to me
Covered in a white shroud;
Just a body with a number tag.
And as you lay
on that stainless steel autopsy table.
Your once sparkling eyes
Are peacefully closed as in sleep.
Your once rosy cheeks
Are drained of all colors.
Your lips are tightly drawn
And a deathly blue too.
I trembled, as I put on
those thick rubber gloves.
As the attendant handed
the steel scalpel,
My mind combated;
Between emotions and duty.
As I cut through your scalp,
I remembered your silky hair,
Which was once your crowning glory.
Then came the saw;
With every thrust, it went
deeper into your cranium.
My bones ached at the grating sounds.
I woke up from my stupor,
When the attendant
Cracked open your skull;
With the old chisel and mallet.
Then came the dreaded moment;
I made an incision,
From your dimpled chin
Through the center
of your perfectly sculpted body.
Down to the pubis.
Neatly slicing through skin, muscle and fascia.
Your ribs were cut like
They prune roses.
And then lay your heart;
Which was the fountain of so much love.
Removed and sealed,
in a clear polythene bag.
That heart was then weighed;
Wondered if I was sane,
To cut and weigh the heart
Of the one I loved.
Liver, spleen, kidney,,,
Followed the same fate.
Finally came the sutures.
After which they dressed you up,
As if you were a bride,
on her wedding day.
You lay there in that coffin,
Covered in a new shroud.
Waiting for the eternal flames,
to engulf you and become one.
I closed the door of the washroom,
snapped open the gloves and,
wiped the few drops of tears;
That I failed to stop.
Rest in peace my love.
(Written on 4th of April 1995 around 1:20 p.m. in one of those endless
classes in Medicine)
--- Dr.Nelson Loitongbam ---
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