MAY BE
Do you see what I see?
What is that light?
Ah, it is a brown-faced barbet,
holding in its beak an ignited twig,
in the light of which it hopes to locate
its disappeared mate and also the shards
of its nest from which it was hurled out
by some rapacious beast. [Ah, avian naiveté!]
Or is it a candle - the lone survivor
of a candle light march, keeping vigil valiantly,
when all around it, what remains is darkness,
desolate and bleak?
Or maybe, it is the tiny fire
that an impoverished shepherd’s emaciated wife
has built in her hut,
on which she heats yesterday’s leftovers
for her whimpering kids.
Or maybe it is that flaming torch
that will once again
ignite compassion
in hearts, burning down
bigotry,
jingoism,
hatred
injustice
sectarianism
prejudice
discrimination
Communalism
fanaticism
Jim Crowism?
Do you think that this tiny light
can ever become a jungle fire
destroying all negativities of this crooked world?
Come on, tell me, do you?
Do you see what I see?
What is that light?
Ah, it is a brown-faced barbet,
holding in its beak an ignited twig,
in the light of which it hopes to locate
its disappeared mate and also the shards
of its nest from which it was hurled out
by some rapacious beast. [Ah, avian naiveté!]
Or is it a candle - the lone survivor
of a candle light march, keeping vigil valiantly,
when all around it, what remains is darkness,
desolate and bleak?
Or maybe, it is the tiny fire
that an impoverished shepherd’s emaciated wife
has built in her hut,
on which she heats yesterday’s leftovers
for her whimpering kids.
Or maybe it is that flaming torch
that will once again
ignite compassion
in hearts, burning down
bigotry,
jingoism,
hatred
injustice
sectarianism
prejudice
discrimination
Communalism
fanaticism
Jim Crowism?
Do you think that this tiny light
can ever become a jungle fire
destroying all negativities of this crooked world?
Come on, tell me, do you?
The Sisters of Phaethon -- Duncan Barker
Homeros used "Phaeton" ("the shining") as an epithet for the sun god Helios, but the name was later attached to his son. Helios allowed Phaeton to drive the solar chariot across the sky but his recklessness caused Zeus to kill him with a lightning blast before he burned the Earth up. His sisters were turned into poplars because they had yoked the horses to the chariot. Their tears oozed out as amber, the stone of light ("electron" -- amber -- was verbally associated with "electôr" -- the beaming sun. After killing the fire-breathing giant cannibal Kakos, Herakles was depicted with a poplar crown, indicating victory and heroism; the tree was often associated with fertility, promise, youthfulness, abundance, protection, divination, success, remembrance, endurance, honesty, and decency.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this detailed note.
ReplyDeleteExcellent.
ReplyDeleteWow a very strong poem Ma'am...the description of the bird, the candie and the shepherd's wife was truly amazing. The question in the end about the tiny fire has added more depth to the poem .
ReplyDeleteSorry that was candle ...typo
ReplyDelete