Political poem by Bhargavi
The light in the dark
..and so I thought
How mere is this existence
which craves fight and flight
only to envelop or dismiss light.
The saturated beliefs
leaving trails behind
coloring the phases, dark and light
why dark, why light?
why not unified?
For it's so easy
to voice the words with meaning
yet so difficult
to even think, let alone term
that which lies formless.
What would you call it, then?
void? what colour would you assign it?
Most say black
and the ever-plaguing
darkness
however entrenching
however engulfing
its beauties remain inspiring.
Black is me
black is infinite
where all light attracts
and how is it that
minds believe it to be dark
And motionless?
Its powers you wouldn't know
until you witness remnants
of what you believe to be existence
since existence is light, light to your eyes.
Treading destruction? You'd say
...of mind, of attraction
much like individuals
who seek gore, and non-conformism?
Oh! Don't try
to colour me like you
since my trails are invisible
for you cease to see
The Light in the Dark .
..and so I thought
How mere is this existence
which craves fight and flight
only to envelop or dismiss light.
The saturated beliefs
leaving trails behind
coloring the phases, dark and light
why dark, why light?
why not unified?
For it's so easy
to voice the words with meaning
yet so difficult
to even think, let alone term
that which lies formless.
What would you call it, then?
void? what colour would you assign it?
Most say black
and the ever-plaguing
darkness
however entrenching
however engulfing
its beauties remain inspiring.
Black is me
black is infinite
where all light attracts
and how is it that
minds believe it to be dark
And motionless?
Its powers you wouldn't know
until you witness remnants
of what you believe to be existence
since existence is light, light to your eyes.
Treading destruction? You'd say
...of mind, of attraction
much like individuals
who seek gore, and non-conformism?
Oh! Don't try
to colour me like you
since my trails are invisible
for you cease to see
The Light in the Dark .
Sudden start with a reveal about the darkness in the end. I liked the way you question your darkness with the juggling of words like fight and flight, black is mine black is infinite, why dark, why light and why not unified? like why not everything come to a singularity?
ReplyDeleteThank you Dhiman, and I am glad you were able to grasp the gist of it perfectly. With the cultural and social negotiations of the day, people tend to put every identity in boxes. An identity which might not belong to the 'majority' or align with their ideals are said to be dark and are often sidelined, leaving them at the margins. How beautiful would it be to actually accept and believe in universalism.
DeleteWow, it's really such a powerful poem. I dont have particular suggestions for this but there is one thing you can do. There are many imageries you can add to this and make it a really big poem. It's just amazing.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan! I will definitely work more on attaching imageries to my future poems. Thanky you so much.
DeleteHello Bhargavi!
ReplyDeleteThis is Amazing!
ग़ालिब चचा का एक शेर याद आ गया--
निकलना ख़ुल्द_ (paradise) से आदम का सुनते आए हैं लेकिन
बहुत बे-आबरू हो कर तेरे कूचे_ (street) से हम निकले
Truely Bhargavi, this is wonderful!
Congratulations!
Cheers!
Jesus Loves You!
Thank you Shubham. It is great to know you enjoyed it. I wonder what your take on 'darkness' and identity crisis in this chaotic world is?
DeleteHello Bhargavi!
DeleteI wanted to say this in my comment but held myself, but since you've asked me, let me share this with you--
Once a friend of mine asked me as to what perception of color do I have? Indeed it was a tricky question for me, and I tried to put off the question, but as she insisted, I gave it a thought and replied: "how would you perceive greenery without the green color? Well, things without colors for you is the same as removing the surface of an object or take away sound of a voice." This is why I quoted Ghalib's sher in response to your poem. Here's one Ghazal by my friend Rajeev Sahir: this one looks a romatic one, but it is a sensory poem, and have layers of meanings the way shers have been arranged in the Ghazal, interpret and read 'ख़ुशबू' differently in every sher in the light of your poem--
ये मेरी रूह मेरा जिस्म तड़पता क्यूं है
ख़ुदा ये वो है या उस के शबाब की ख़ुशबू
बदन तराशा हुआ जैसे संगमरमर हो
बदन से आने लगी माहताब की ख़ुशबू
वो नींद में है या वो नींद में नहीं भी है
बता रही है ये उस के हिजाब की ख़ुशबू
वो रूठ जाए तो मुश्किल है मनाना उस को
वो जल रही है लिए आफ़ताब की ख़ुशबू
वो नायिका है मेरे गीत और ग़ज़लों की
मुझे वो कहने लगी अपने ख़्वाब की ख़ुशबू
सवाल पूछे बिना मोजज़ा हुआ ऐसा
ज़ेहन में फैल गई है जवाब की ख़ुशबू
~~राजीव साहिर
Word meanings--
इंक़िलाब= revolution
शबाब= youth, prime of life
तराश= shape, form, fashion, carver
संग= with (he's with me), stone; संगमरमर/संग-ए-मरमर= marble
माहताब= moon
हिजाब= veil, curtain, modesty, bashfulness
आफ़ताब= sun
मोजज़ा= miracle
ज़ेहन= mind
Cheers!
Jesus Loves You!