‘Conqueror’ – A poem by Dr Vedavati Bandyopadhyay

The Indian Association of Palliative Care celebrated this year’s World Poetry Day by publishing ‘A symphony of Words: A collection of poems‘ penned by our very own friends from the palliative care community.

Over the last few months, we shared several poems from this collection, which we hoped you enjoyed. We present to you the last poem from the series. The poem for this week, Poem #24 of 24..

‘Conqueror’ – A poem by Dr Vedavati Bandyopadhyay, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India

Just hold out your loving hand—
Before my eyes become clouded
Before your face becomes blurred
Before my mind gets shrouded!

Let not my frail body fool you—
My brain is still sharp as ever,
The time bomb within me is ticking
So, my friend I want a big favour…

Give me the dignity in death
Even if my mood hits the trough,
You are the keeper of my comfort
So my dear, I want you to be tough!

Remember me as I was—
The Firebrand, the Lover, the Rebel,
The outspoken, fun-loving friend
Not the one who cares for drivel.

Remember my days of strength—
I don’t want the pity in your eyes.

My body may writhe in pain,
The morphine syringe might be in vain
The cancer might have me in a jam
Yet treat me like the conqueror I am!

About the poet:

Dr Vedavati Bandyopadhyay is a Junior Resident (Academic) at the Department of Community Medicine, AIIMS, Nagpur. Dr Vedavati developed an interest in palliative care during her undergraduate training at Christian Medical College, Vellore, where the Department of Palliative Care had sensitized her towards the concept of quality of life and the importance of dignity in death.

To read poems from the entire collection, please click here.