Soliloquy

Goodbye, Norma Jean, though I never knew you at all

You had the grace to hold yourself while those around you crawled.

They crawled out of the woodwork and they whispered into your brain,

They set you on the treadmill and they made you change your name.

Goodbye, Kolkata’s rose, may you ever grow in our hearts

When lives were torn apart, you called out to our country.

You whispered to those in pain, now you belong to heaven,

And, let the stars spell out your name.

And it seems to me that you lived your life like a candle in the wind,

Never fading with the sunset when the rain set in.

Your footsteps will always fall along India’s greenest hills,

The candle burned out long before your legend ever will.

Postscript:

I am sorry, Nani but apart from trying to score hundreds, this was the best that I could do for you. May your soul rest in peace. Please forgive my misgivings.