The King's Shadow (Week 7: Storytelling)

There were two brothers—

Together they flowed,

Together they travelled,

On the same road.

One was the king,

The other his shadow,

Behind his radiant half,

Forever aglow.

With the king he remained true,

With the king he stuck fierce,

Like a silent shadow,

The king’s enemies he did pierce.

And in all their time together,

He never faltered nor did he fade,

For his loyalty was unrivaled,

Till his last moment came.

My brother, the king thought,

It may not often appear,

How much you mean to me,

How much I hold you dear.

Like when I was exiled,

You need not have done so,

But without any hesitation,

You, too, said you’d go.

And leaving the comforts

Of our family, our home,

For fourteen long years,

With me, you would roam.

You think I’d not noticed?

I may not have shown.

But on that dark day,

My love for you had grown.

My brother, we’ve been through

Many hurdles and tests,

And sometimes what feels

Like never-ending quests.

That one time, for example,

Where Ravana came,

And took my sweet wife,

With no care and no shame.

It was then I felt lost,

But wasn’t consumed by fear,

For through those restless nights,

You were always near.

And with me you were,

As we stormed through the lands,

Till the very moment,

She returned safe into my hands.

My brother, your loyalty

Always leaves me inspired.

No matter what I ask,

You never grow tired.

Even the hardest of tasks,

Like Sita’s exile to the river,

Had you conflicted,

But you did deliver.

All that way you took her,

And with her, I’m sure you wanted to stay,

For you have a good heart,

One that does not sway.

I’m sorry for the pain

I may have caused you,

But my faith and my trust

Have multiplied by two.

My brother, the king smiled,

Your spirit I admire.

In you there burns

A passionate fire.

Your strength held steady,

Even on your last day,

When Time came to visit,

And made you his prey.

I wish you looked back,

After I dealt you the news,

That you’d entered our meeting,

So through death pay your dues.

But silently you left,

Without a single protest.

I’ll never forget you;

You were the best.

Lakshmana, the shadow,

Knew all this in heart.

He felt all that his brother thought,

When they both did forever part.

And with his last breath,

Lakshmana lay beside the water,

And peacefully rested,

And let his mind wander.

And slowly death's arms took him,

Leaving only memories of his face,

The king’s brother, his shadow,

Now gone without a trace.

Author's Note: I just wanted to write a poem to commemorate Lakshmana's death at the end of Buck's Narayana. Time had come to see Rama and requested to have a meeting with him. He had told Rama not to let anyone interrupt their meeting otherwise that person would die, so Rama told Lakshmana to guard the door. In that time, a sage came and threatened Lakshmana to let him see Rama or else he would destroy the city. Lakshmana then had to interrupt the meeting and as a result, die.  

I always had an appreciation for the love Lakshmana had for Rama and how much he cared for his brother. It was something I admired and so felt it fitting to have my final story for the Ramayana be one to show how much Lakshmana meant to me. The first and last paragraph of this poem is just a beginning and a closing not from anyone's perspective, but all the paragraphs in between I wrote from Rama's perspective. This poem was one I wanted to write from Rama to Lakshmana to show that Rama, too, appreciated all that his brother did for him. This is what I felt Rama wanted to say as Lakshmana was walking away towards his death after entering Rama's conference with Time. When Rama told Lakshmana, he didn't say a word and left but I wanted to convey his feelings and this is what I thought might have been running through his head at the time. His ending is one I was the most sad about; his loyalty and love for his brother really touched me.

I didn't change anything about the story; I basically just wrote out all the main scenes Lakshmana played a part in a poem format. 

Bibliography: Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.

Lakshmana: the great warrior

Source: Blogspot