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by Kiran Jhamb
(Nagpur, Maharashtra., India)



You say you came to my home
Wrapped in your trousseau
- With a suitcase full of dreams.
I permitted you, not your dreams.
Dreams are cheap, I deal in facts
Cosseting costs a lot though
(Try earning a little dough!)
I did my best.

You had passive dreams
To be fulfilled by me.
You knew,
Active dreams spell struggle
And not mooning.
I needed a mate, my lady
To walk the hard concrete path,
For cooked meals and laundered clothes,
For sex, a kid or two thrown in good measure,
And not cater to your pleasure.

Through your dream distorted vision
Your old ideal self which peeps
And into a depression sweeps -
Is excess romantic baggage beneath my notice.
Tell me, aren't you fed, housed or clothed?
Don’t you shop and party?
There - I've fulfilled my duties.
Get rid of your dreams,
You opted for security,
Stifled dreams once,
Continue to do so,
If security has lost its glamour
I have nothing more to offer.
You may go.
I haven’t shaped you
You have shaped yourself.
Injured air, long faces, vague accusations
Cannot in me arouse guilt.
Wallow in self-pity
You are not the only victim of the so called spousal neglect
Today you are what you have built.


******


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May 04, 2013
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starstarstarstarstar 		Thanks
by: Kiran Jhamb

Thank you,ma'am.
May 03, 2013
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Well written
by: vimala ramu

Very well written, Kiran. but I am sure men also have dreams for their wives and they try to fulfil them to the best of their ablity. Your poem could be the anguished cry of a certain percentage.
Apr 30, 2013
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		A Real Poem But is it Always True?
by: Anonymous

Dear Kiran,
Let me first congratulate you on a well-crafted poem. Your entering the psyche of a stereotyped Indian/universal male/husband and the subtle treatment adds to its effectiveness. But I would like to confess that being an Indian/universal male/husband myself I felt naturally as well as predictably defensive about the general and exclusive authenticity of the voice. I wonder if all males/females wives/husbands do really fit into the stereotypes assigned by the opposite gender. Are you sure there are no husbands/wives who also allow spaces(read dreams to fulfil)for each other in order to grow and to be mutually enriched in the process? I'm not exactly a saintly husband/male but inspite of having all the attributes of the stereotyped male I think I've been enriched by giving my wife space enough to become what she was meant to be. Don't mistake me I don't have a fairy-tale marriage ...and the male chauvinist in me does rise up on occasion.......of course the ring of truth in my voice on this issue can only be confirmed by my wife's own voice...and I'll keep my fingers crossed while you hear her out...
Apr 29, 2013
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Beautiful
by: Niketa

Words-they take you to another world.
Neatly crafted and wonderfully expressed.
Apr 29, 2013
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Thank You
by: Kiran Jhamb

Thank you ma'am for your comment. Coming from you - it's valuable for me !
Apr 29, 2013
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Good
by: nuggehalli Pankaja

Subject matter very nice-humorous,though current conflict.

Well written.

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