Zeroing Out
written by: Dilip Mohapatra
In pursuit of the ultimate zero
below which nothing exists
that is much below
the conventional absolute zero
I stumble across
a universal delete button
and sit down to delete
what has no reason to exist.
In my first list I start with
all that are around me
both movable and stationary
the vehicles are gone
then go the roads and streets
the buildings follow
then the bridges
the trees and mountains
the rivers and seas disappear
one by one
and then I start with the emotions—
Killing anger
envy and all other deadly sins
one after another
I switch off
smiles
sorrows
love and loathing
find myself in a black hole
floating in a vacuum
and then I delete my friends and foes
and wipe off all humanity
and the living world
and then I find myself
the sole soul.
Then I press the delete button
for the cosmos
and the whole of the universe
that includes me too—
and along with myself
and the button itself
extinguish the black hole—
while all the illusions
and illumination
sublimate
and the diffractions
dissolve into the dawn—
the dawn
into nothingness.
- Zeroing Out - August 1, 2026
- Lead Kindly Light - May 2, 2026
- Mind Those Gaps - January 30, 2026
