At the dawn of a new year,
aftershocks of her death
reverberated through
a tranquil neighborhood.
An eighty-one-year-old neighbor,
aloof widow seen at the temple
offering flowers to Lord Buddha
chatting with a few on her way back,
mere hours before —
now found murdered
inside her home.
A vicious tale of violence:
of broken bones and bruised limbs,
a face swollen
trampled to death.
Hushed whispers are heard
on traces of desecration
left afterwards
staining her pious white cloth.
A heinous crime by
an addict, a sadist, a necrophile—
rumors spark pity and horror.
Within days, necrophilia sensationalized
titillates a salivating crowd,
obsessing over embellished details
of a gory crime scene.
To justify unspeakable cruelty,
gossip mongers busy themselves
unearthing a harem of alleged lovers
from her distant past
violating her lifeless body
all over again.
Nimna Edirisinghe