See You Tomorrow

The covid pandemic hit us like a storm and overturned our world upside down. For overworked resident doctors in the fragile healthcare system, it meant worrying that each shift could be the last time they see a patient.

“See You Tomorrow” by Manognya Bethapudi is a plea by one such resident doctor begging her patients to hang in there while they try to figure out how to keep their patients alive for the next twenty-four hours.

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Cover Photo by Krishna Guttikonda

I masked my emotions

like I masked my face

My glasses fogged

with sweat or was it tears?

Day in and day out

I said to my patients

See you tomorrow

See you tomorrow

Every day I said

Just one more needle

Just one more machine

You will get better

And I’ll see you tomorrow

Every day I did some

And tried some more

Like a raft on choppy waves

I kept going

Just to be able to say

See you tomorrow

See you tomorrow

I took home with me

The virus and its friends

Anxiety, insomnia

And a background score of beeps

Before leaving I always said

See you tomorrow

See you tomorrow

The beeps, they fumbled

So I rushed to your side

I gave my everything

and then some more

But then they fell silent

And now I won’t

See you ever again.

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Credits

This contribution is proofread by Sreekar Ayyagari & photographed by Krishna Guttikonda.

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Product

This poem is available in paperback & ebook.

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