Personal and Narrative Poems
by Amrita Kumari Shaw
(India)
The House
Dilapidated and tumbled down,
In ruins it stood:
Upholding its decrepit state and decaying memory
That wears out slowly with time.
Its very foundation was devoured with love:
Laughter painted its walls;
Sweet smell of innocence was in its every brick;
With dreams and hope and aspiration it was moulded.
Life was born and blossomed here,
Passing from childhood to maturity,
It silently stood and saw the generation rolling,
And mourned when they passed away.
Once colors adorned these walls
Colors of mirth and elation and sadness- colors of every emotion
Seen everything remembered everyone
Stood pledge to every memory.
Yesterday here were voices and laughter
Now it is all silence and dull
Its wall cries for the comfort of people
And it stand stoic as a hermit waiting for its owner return.
Now: The touch of the mother is missing
The care of the father is gone
The play of the children is gone
And it just long for their cover
The umbrella of family enveloping it.
An empty void is created here now which is hard to fill:
For days have rolled and not a soul has come to its keep.
**
Hurt
I cut myself deeper, today
The red liquid fusing out,
Overwhelming my senses.
I don’t feel hurt
I don’t feel the pain
A sense of numbness grows
Enveloping me within itself
I lay there observing the blood flow
The blood which once rose at slightest instigation
Now lay frozen, dead in my veins
The wounds will manifest
No bouts if healing will help
For I am dissolving within
There was a time when there was sun
There was warmth and light
Now it’s cold and winter and dark
I cannot fight my demons anymore
So I should escape
Escape from this mortal cloak
And find my peace.
**
Imperfection
I am little short, a little less tall
They sometimes call me imp
I say my ideals are taller:
Than your tallest dream.
I am little healthy, a little on the plus size
They sometimes call me fat
I ask does my weight hinder my ability
I don’t starve, and feel guilty when I eat.
I am little dark, a little not fair
They sometimes call me black
I ask does my color take away my dignity
My right to live my honesty.
These cover page model don’t appeal to me
That skin lightening treatment irritates me
Those higher than higher beauty standard just fall apart
For my imperfection is my adorned jewel
That makes me taller, lighter and beautiful
**
Plight and Flight
Stood on a crossroad
Can’t go back, can’t move forward
For forward lies unknown land
And backwards lays known fear.
Fear of being persecuted, by my own kin
Oppressed and tormented for my beliefs
Victimized for my race
It’s like tyranny all over again.
I see myself and many like me
Abused on a daily basis
Physically maimed and mentally deranged
Withering in agony
Trying to escape- move forward to an unknown land
Where we hope to seek shelter
Instead called downcast and made outright immigrant
Classified as an object- with no country
Here separated from my acquaintance
Across the border fenced like animals
In poverty each one of us lay, in rugged condition
They say behind every soul a single body breathe
We all are alike in every aspect
They why are we tormented?
Behind the curtains
While we suffer game of politics is played
And humanity is shielded in veils.
***