The
pen stand on my desk
as I sit
thinking of what to scribble -
well,
not scribble, but type
i write
with pen on paper
far less
these days
except
when I need to take notes
to list
points
to make
my shopping list
a things
to do list too
yes,
that sits on top
of a
pile of paper beside my laptop
in a
nice harmony
the
penstand is bursting
there
are many that have gone dry
still
there
i think
like many things
which we
still hold to
useless,
unwanted
yet
there
- things
need to be put in order
amid all
the disorder.
And
life goes on
i hear
his voice for some days now
outside
the gate waiting with his cart
vegetables
for sale
I reach
out from my window
look at
his wares
choose
what I need
he
smiles at me through his mask
tells
him his wares are good
he used
to deal in old newspapers
that is
closed now
like
most of the other things
in these
times
life, he
says, needs to go on
i smile
at him as we keep talking
he goes
his way.
Yellow
just
beside the window
of the
staffroom
is a
huge tree
that
turns a brilliant yellow
in the
hot summer sun
a flashy
bright radiant yellow
amaltas,
someone says
it is called
badorlathi in
bangla
tufts of
the yellow hang down
green
and yellow that shine beautifully
as I
look through older photographs
there it
is
it must
be shining bright even now
just a
few less pair of eyes
to exult
in its beauty.
Nishi
Pulugurtha is an academic and writes on travel, film, short stories, poetry
and on Alzheimer’s Disease. Her work has been published in The Statesman, Kolkata, Prosopisia,
The Punch Magazine (forthcoming), Kitaab, Caf├й Dissensus, Coldnoon,
Queen Mob’s Tea House, The Pangolin Review, MAD Asia Pacific, Prachya Review, The World
Literature Blog, Tranquil Muse and
Setu. She is the author of a monograph on Derozio (2010), guest edited the June 2018 Issue of Caf├й Dissensus and has a collection of
essays on travel, Out in the Open
(2019)). She is now working on her first volume of poems and is editing a
collection of essays on travel.
'The pen stand on my desk' is a poem that brings nostalgia to my mind, since pen was mightier than the sword, which got changed due to the technological advancements like computer and laptop. The end lines speak of the poet's determination in putting things seemingly useless in order amid all the disorder today.
ReplyDelete'And life goes on' is about the daily life of a vegetable vendor outside the gate waiting with his cart.Quite a simple and ordinary semantic idea, linguistically structured in the same way, depicting the altered ways to earn and live during these pandemic times, as the vegetable seller seen in mask, once who dealt in old newspaper business. As he says, life needs to go on, the readers realise the ultimate reality of human existence.
'Yellow' is a picturesque poem depicting the huge tree beside the staffroom window of the poet's persona, which is known as badorlathi in Bangla.Her sad realisation is beautifully captured in the conclusion:
Just a few less pair of eyes
to exult in its beauty.
Thank you so much
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