Poem - Gathering in Silence

Gathering in Silence
Omatee Ann Marie Hansraj (Trinidad and Tobago)

Now all things fall silent,
The music fades,
The voices hush,
Even the wind holds its breath.

A moment of stillness,
Heavy with loss,
Where sorrow speaks
In the language of tears.

Embraces linger—
Some familiar, some distant,
Bound not by blood,
But by the one now gone.

Faces blur in the dim light,
Some names we know,
Others are strangers,
Yet tied to the same grief.

The scent of coffee rises,
Bread is buttered in quiet ritual,
Soft drinks chill, untouched.

And they gather,
From distant roads and close hearts,
Drawn by love, by memory,
By the weight of farewell.

©®Omatee Ann Marie Hansraj
*Collected from the poetess by Md Ejaj Ahamed*