Eulogy

A poem by Achuthan Panikath

Tue Mar 24 2026

He was vengeance.
Donned in black in broad daylight,
He was the shadow of the Bat
Disappearing in the glow of the Dame-
The one who towered for four score years:
As fierce as Lincoln’s America.

Black her mane and gold her heart
But dare you speak ill of her fam,
Red her eyes and sharp her tongue,
You’d wish she was your grandma too.

From throwing fits in waiting rooms
For a faster call from her grandson’s doc,
To searching stores in the two-mile Round
For a raincoat wish from a silly boy
To frothy coffees, sneaky ears, doting hugs
And Kitkat treats to Appu’s 2 Perk yearning days;
To tales of old Machad and gang,
To a grin when Ashwin asked for an ‘ass’,
To the fall she took trying to save lil me
From Abhaya’s evil hibiscus juice trap;
To fiery words of distaste when
Mom’s first book showed her imperfect dad.
All is fair -- she’ll love you true but
All else pales in one small snap
When her eyes dart through her lovely past
To see once more her ol’ communist.

First to fill my heart with god,
First to ban my bikes post fall
First to fight through all my wars
First to buy me snacks just so
First to knock when anyone cries
First to pick me as her fav
(till Arja by proxy to fav son, won -_-)
First to forgive, first to forgo
First to call Hanuman to debug my code
First to fuck caste and dare to love
First to spot love and fuck religion.
Never first to back out of her fights.
Never too proud to show them who's boss.

Head of our clan, queen of our world,
Of course she bid adieu first too.

Reconnecting…

Donned in white on a dim-lit night
A shadow slept on the glowing Dame.
Hundreds came for one last bow,
As the lamp slowly burned out bright.
She was love.