Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Something lost, Something missing

Far away in my village
A tree fell
Staked out from its roots…
Verdant Guardian since centuries
Simply down to dust
In a singular moment!
Steady, sturdy presence
Essence of the village persona
Now no more?

It came down with a deafening noise
Breaking thru the silence
Shook the villagers
The sight that met their eye
Of the Glory now prostrate
Chilled their hearts….

And yet the next morning
The sun rose
From the east
Like nothing was amiss!

They wanted to build a
Platform around it…
It was a bad omen
Some said

Today, when I close my eyes
I can still see the quivering leaves
I can still hear
Their ceaseless whispers…
But when I open my eyes
There is just the barren dust…
And some crisp, crumbly roots…

Something less, something missing
From my soul…
A piece of me was uprooted too
That day when the canopied splendour
Came crashing down
To meet the earth…


context:http://ardramaamsandhyakal.blogspot.com/2005/01/rustic-splendour.html

11 comments:

upsilamba said...

Ardra, I have seen you many times in comments section while I bloghopped. Some of your comments wowed me, some humored me and some made me think. And today, after all these years, I chanced upon your abode.
Loved your "ormakal"..(me a mallu too) - felt like a mini version of Madhavikutty/Kamaladas.
Great writing.

Anonymous said...

Pallipuram's lone banyan tree that stood like the pillar of the village centre, fell two years ago and ever since the palce seems alien to me everytime i go there. These trees do infact touch our lives unknowingly and we miss them only after they're gone.

Ardra lovely tribute to the fallen giant. Isn't it a Banyan tree too? The whistling noises welcomgin the wind, the banyan definitely looks like the strongest of trees. But...

Lovely post!

thoughtraker said...

Such poignance - beautiful!

ano

parikrama said...

Simple and heartfelt. Liked it Ardra.

Scarlett_OHara said...

This is so beautiful Ardra. We think uprooting is a one off process but it is not, is it?

Lovely one,
Scarlett

Priyamvada_K said...

Ardra,
Simply outstanding! Brings to mind some human "trees" I once knew.

"Today, when I close my eyes
I can still see the quivering leaves
I can still hear
Their ceaseless whispers…
But when I open my eyes
There is just the barren dust…
And some crisp, crumbly roots…"

Heartfelt, and wrenching.

Btw, have you heard the song "mera kuch saamaan tumhare paas pada hai" from Ijaazat? One of my all-time favorites. Has a line

"paththe ki voh shaakh abhi tak
kaamp rahi hai"

describing some autumn the heroine remembers.

Lovely!

Priyam.

Priya Sivan said...

Nice one, Ardra. Been a long time since I visited ur blog:) Reading your posts now to get myself updated ;)

Dev said...

Hi Ardra. The death of a tree is a sad event is it not? Thanks for visiting my blog else I would have missed seeing yr blog.

Movie Mazaa said...

Ardra

I am done reading the piece that u asked me to go through, and I am dumbstruck! Now I know for sure, why u had lost sleep over 'The Visitors'!

Priya said...

Continue writing your thoughts in poetry!!!

Clare Wilson said...

The sense of loss in this poem is extremely well conveyed. I think everyone experiences such a feeling, where in memory something or someone lingers, but in reality they are gone. Your poem really speaks to the reader, I think!