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George Tooker- Self Portrait |
must not listen to the whispers
travelling the insides of a conch
nor feel the softness of his cotton sheets
no cool water should flow over his feet
he shall not have the pleasure of deseeding a grape in his mouth
or gaze into the green of the paddy fields
not for him the scent of the coral flowers
or exult in the sight and sound of children laughing
for the moment is merely a pause,
a poet now, a soldier next.
A soldier now,
his conch lows the call for war
© 2015 Padmavani Karkera
In response to the Magpie Tales prompt at http://magpietales.blogspot.in/2015/10/mag-289.html . Thank you Tess Kincaid.
Beautiful write - but I don't quite understand the close.
ReplyDeleteKind regards
Anna :o]
Thank you for reading and leaving your comment Anna. In ancient times the sound of the conch shell was used to signal the start of a battle or even other significant events.
DeleteThe sound produced in like that of the lowing of a cow. I hope this helps. :)
Lovely write..I hear the call of the conch horn...
ReplyDeleteThank you Tess. :)
Deletethat is so deep and lovely!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ankita :)
DeleteBeautiful work. Enjoyed this very much. :-)
ReplyDeleteFascinating:
ReplyDelete"poet now a soldier next
Now a soldier,"
Ah ... now we can enjoy the conch shell for it's beauty instead of it's call to war ... an interesting epic feel to this poem! Bastet
ReplyDeleteThank you Elena, Kathleen and Georgia. Appreciate your kind comments. :)
ReplyDelete