A Poem to Revisit

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Today I 'm here to share an old poem of mine, the one I included in my book of poems "In Harness" ISBN-81-8517-183-5 [Published by Writers Workshop, Kolkata, in 2004]. This blog of mine has adopted an address "ramblingnanda" and the poem I'm going to post here is entitled "A Ramble". So, by posting this, what am I going to underscore? Is it that the the blog is my pursuit in rambling? Um, I'm not sure... . Be it as it may, I view modern poetry more as rambling than overflow of muse--where pleasure is to be had even before getting the meaning of the words, lines and stanzas. So says my poem "A Ramble"....

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A Ramble

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Really?

Shouldn’t I have a moment’s respite?

To chart a course, different from those

Of your ordained circuit?

At the permanent set

In the monotonous drama

Enacted every day

For those stultifying hours,

I stand to play a trivial bit

Before the audience captive

And the involved critics.

Now I ponder restlessly: Aren't these--

The robe with its cushion padding,

The spongy flooring, and the felt ceiling —

Keeping me miles away from me?

Under the glare

Of the high-wattage drama,

I’ve been dancing restless

For these countless hours,

Grasping little and realising none

Whose revelry did I join?

How long these twirls, and what for these gambols?

A dream

Has finally descended on me in that hour soporific

A jasmine of distance, swinging in her grace

Chanting the hymns from the freedom epic.

Her poignant look

With its instinctive appeal

Hints at the trail

To a sequestered alley,

My fatigued person simmering inside

Collects a few strands of my spirit,

I just wish to ramble away alone.

I have understood

The sweet whispers of the dreamy woods

Its inviting signals, distinct from miles

Stirs me now to rise in revolt.

Thus I start my escape

On the heels of my unsure steps

Very hesitatingly

In my timid moments;

But going there so close as one would wish―

It needs no petty sidling but giant strides,

I’m sure I can’t ramble my way up to it.

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By

A. N. Nanda

Bhubaneswar

15-07-2008

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