Few days back the
students at my college approached me with an odd request. They wanted me to
give them topics for poetry, short story and essay writing competitions to be held
at the college in eve of the arts day celebrations. Even us the ones at medical
side have arts day where we show cases our literature, dance, music skills
among others. In my student life I used to participate in some of them with a
bit of success. This time I will not be a participant but a judge. For the poetry
writing I gave them the topic ‘Twilight of dreams’. Cliché; still it sounded
good in my head. Back at home while I was idling on FB, I thought, well why don’t
I write a poem on that topic? After it’s been a while since I flexed my poetry
muscle. Well here it is.
Last of the dreams have
withered and fallen,
Like the yellow leaves
from a desolate oak in fall
Thought the tree hopes
for its life back in spring
None is reserved for me
after this twilight.
Born from an acorn of
lust in the womb of love,
Weaned on the warm milk
sweet as nectar
I grew up to stature
that made my father proud
Even when I never saw
him grow old as I grew strong.
The world was mine
oyster which I with sword did open,
My conquests shadowed
the little things in life like joy
The man in me died a
slow death and was born a spector
An empty being filled with
things that coins would buy.
On the crest of my rise
I found my fairer half
Who gifted me the crown
of fatherhood that swelled my self
I raced and raged to
make more shiny bits of silver
Showering on my son
missing the scent of tears in them.
With great pride I saw
him grow like a nurtured tree
Proud, Strong and sure
like myself of the old
As I felt my bones
crack while I drifted down the stairs
I saw him swell and
smile in the spoils of his victories.
Today as I spy my grand kids
play by the falling leaves
Finding joy in things
as little as its golden shower in breeze
I wonder what I have
missed in my long lost youth
All those memories just for a bag of dead coins.
PS: The pics are random ones from the net to create an ambiance, credits the owners. Please done sue me :)
Hi Sarath! Such wonderful lines. They are lucky to have you as a judge, indeed.
ReplyDeleteWould you be amenable to reading and reviewing a collection of short stories? Author Sharat Kumar has a collection of short stories coming out this time in January. In each of the 13 stories, uncovers the New Age woman and the chemistry between men and women in contemporary India. Whether spinning a yarn about an Army romance, or the affection between two divorcees; Kumar holds a mirror to how sparks fly.
If you're interested, I'd love to provide a PDF of the upcoming book to be reviewed in your particular fun, free and fearless way. Just ping me back at the email address hritvick.dv(@)gmail dot com.
Cheers, and keep blogging.
Hritvick