Painting by K C S Panicker
At the busy junction near my house
I espy the bitch – that mutt
Who used to be the clandestine lover
Of my Tommy, gone, two years hence.
She was never a pretty dog, black and mangy
Her swollen teats sweeping the street
Her rough coat coated with dirt –
Yet - she was my Tommy’s lover.
The dog has turned quite old –
She limps and is skinny
Her face has turned grey
And fur fallen off in patches.
It is midday; I wipe my bald head
I limp; my knees hurt lately
I sweat, I palpitate
In the glass windows of a shop I glimpse
An old man, dragging his feet.
The dog passes by me, turns right;
I turn left and head home.
*********** Balachandran V , Trivandrum, 19.04.2012
Tommy 1998- Apr 23, 2010
mr B - not much of a poem reader, i can't appreciate truly the beauty of the words.. the last line about "The dog passes by me, turns right;
ReplyDeleteI turn left and head home." made me remember the line about baggage from the movie, "up in the air"..
and am still confused with the question how much baggage would be the right choice to carry and care in life..
(i am sorry, if i got your poem all wrong and stuck on the last two lines, forgetting about a life in all the earlier lines)
Ousu, 'Up in the Air' is one of the best movies I saw in recent times. It was such a thriller, a high-speed expose' of contemporary times.
ReplyDeleteMy poem (?) is about ageing - the dog and I aren't much different. In fact, when I saw that dog passing by without being noticed by anyone, I wondered how similar is my own life. The dog, of course, isn't bothered about the metaphysics of life, though!
mr B - I got you better now :) and my youth made me ask how much should I notice and try share??
ReplyDeleteBut now the thoughts on metaphysics is what makes your life intriguing than the dogs :)
Ahhh,but you noticed the dog and wrote a poetry on her:):)
ReplyDeleteReflections on the window! And you relate.
ReplyDeleteWonder what feelings the dog had , now in its downhill slide.
Dey, the words conjoined in your poem gives a stark picture of life , man or beast.
The words are true reality. You writing a poem after noticing the dog is a proof that whatever life has to offer; you have to enjoy it as you go!
ReplyDeletewho else would have thought of the dog, who was once the lover of Tommy. its so curious that u carve a poem out of almost anything, everything
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ReplyDeleteKavithaji, Dog is an incomparable specie.
ReplyDeleteAnil, the dog would be having only one thought - about the next meal!
B,I am really running short of topics to blog! :-)
Sumi, That's true, I really scrape a poem out of anything! :-)
I guess I may not want to agree with your opinion. Do we for sure know what another creature feels?Perhaps are we not putting ourselves ahead and making a statement?
ReplyDeletePerhaps, again, when a dog wags its tail and look you in the eyes with everlasting and enchanting expression of gratitude, when it cuddles near you on the sofa and licks your face , place its head closer to you,whine miserably at your absence, can we still be the lord of all and think that it has no other feelings than the next meal?
I'm not sure , I think it is not.
@Anil: You sure are right, but in this case of the mongrel, with no home to go to, no one to cuddle, what else could be there in her mind? I can only presume so..
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