Tag: #Englishpoetry

Melody

Since long some music floats in air
Unknowingly, my eyes get filled with tears.

Relationships long lost, remember me today.
Nostalgia of bygone times hum a tune in the head.

The voices of childhood woven in my dreams.
The ice-cream vendor’s voice and the induced craving.

Why have the raindrops lost their mellifluous voice?
Does your absence make them so listless?  

The journey continues, some more miles before I rest.
May strains of some happy music be my journey’s mate. 



PS : The picture brought about a whirlwind of thoughts inside my head, which refused to be subjugated into some sort of rhythmic flow. The original of the lines produced here came to me in the form of a ghazal in Hindi.  I have translated them.

Poetry copyright @ Goutam Dutta

https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2021/05/31/what-do-you-see-84-may-31st-2021/

A Friend of Trees

On 21st May 2021, India lost a personality who would probably rank as one among many of its great sons. Sundarlal Bahuguna was a visionary who understood the value of a trees and how preventing their mindless felling would go a long way to improve the environment at large.

His unique movement was named “Chipko”, literally meaning “Glued”, in which he inspired ordinary women from the villages of India to hug a tree each, thereby preventing men from cutting down the tree. A true believer in Gandhian principles of non-violence, this was a peaceful way to protest the mindless felling of trees. 

We certainly need more such “friends of trees” in today’s world. 

Mission to save trees-
Simple folks inspired to act
Peaceful protest.

Copyright @ Goutam Dutta

https://onewomansquest.org/2021/05/24/vjs-weekly-challenge-trees/

This Veil of Smog

Doomsday! Doomsday!! Doomsday!!!
This is what every blob of cloud seemed to say.
Mankind was on its way.
Advancing slowly, but certainly towards doom’s way!

Not a single tree now survived.
In a land that was once lush green.
As mankind aimed to propel itself towards the sky.
A jungle of concrete, on land grew up to thrive. 

Pollution poisoned the air making it toxic.
No longer did it retain its freshness.
Smoke from the factories and vehicles
Hung heavy everywhere, static.

Spewing at a rate, beyond any speculation.
Tall columns of smoke presided, hardly any respite.
They burned the eyes and clogged the lungs
The days grew dark, the thick smog shut out the sun. 

Uncontrollable now, doom seemed the only prediction.
Humanity’s death knell seemed to have been rung.
Slowly but steadily advancing each day.
Mankind kept pushing itself towards its own extinction.

Poetry Copyright @ Goutam Dutta

https://fivedotoh.com/2021/05/10/fandangos-flash-fiction-challenge-117/

Crow

Warmth of spring season

Memory of my past life….

I hear them beckon.

PS : In Hindu religion, a crow is considered to be a carrier of the soul of a dead relative. When the dead relatives wish to visit the earth, they come in the form of crows. A reason why crows are sought during a funeral rituals and provided offerings; by that it is hoped that the dead soul also gets the offering. This haiku is a derivation from this ritual.

Copyright @ Goutam Dutta

Thursday photo prompt: Appointed #writephoto

Unending

 Through the centuries
 Human endeavour to
 Expose! Expose!!
 Scale up the peaks.
 Tear down forests.
 Dive into depths.
 Shoot into space
 And seek.
 Seek all that is unknown,
 Unheard,
 Mysterious,
 Let nothing remain a secret
 From the hungry, inquisitive mind.

 So the race continues.
 Everyone seems to be running
 In their own direction
 Busy
 The knowledge gained however
 Seems to be of no avail.
 The smaller mysteries-
 The anguish of a fellow person’s heart
 The cause of someone’s tear
 A silent scream 
 Emanating from a grieved heart
 Its causes not yet deciphered.
 Neither does the world seem to care
 On breaking down individual walls.
 No time to stop and ponder
 About nature-the silent sufferer.
 On individual tracks,
 Cocooned in a world of one’s own creation,
 Humans keep going,
 Know not where!

Copyright @ Goutam Dutta

Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #96

An Illusory Journey

 This world is a maya,
 An illusion,
 A creation, magical,
 To lure and entice
 With pleasures, 
 suited for the mankind.
 Stimuli that caresses in various ways
 Provocations entice and endeavour to deviate.
 Mind weaves dreams of comfort and ease.
 Safety of a haven 
 We forever strive to achieve.
  
 With our limited foresight,
 Not knowing what lies ahead
 We move along blindly;
 Balancing ourselves,
 Lured by the promises
 The illusions, magnificent.
  
 Then one day we reach the end
 Unanticipated distress
 When the obstacle is insurmountable
 The pleasures of life
 Have gnawed and chiseled away
 The resolve to brave the odds.
  
 Walking on a narrow strip, 
 one realises
 There is no going back.
What do you see # 55 – 9 November ’20

Bubbly Tale

 A bubble am I.
 Born from confluence 
 Of water and air;
 Instantaneous in birth.
 Wearing a sheen of light
 I let go of my roots
 And float about.
 Perhaps of no use to anyone,
 Except that little girl
 Whose face lights up in smile,
 On seeing me dance
 In the barmy breeze.
  
 A bubble am I.
 Carried by my brethren,
 Savouring my moments;
 Of my brief existence.
 Nothing to lose nor gain
 From the vagabond existence.
 When its time,
 I leave not a trace,
 Before merging with my brethren.

Copyright @ Goutam Dutta

https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/11/05/tale-weaver-300-bubbles-november-5th/