“through the act of living, the discovery of oneself is made concurrently with the discovery of the world around us. . ."

Friday, November 25, 2011

Smt Kunjamma Wd/o Late Sep Joseph




Cheques, neatly printed, issued in favour of
Smt Kunjamma Wd/o Late Sepoy Joseph
Smt Nalini Pavithran Wd/o Late Sepoy Pavithran
Smt Chandramathy Wd/o of Late Swr Gopalan  and so on and so forth
Cheques of the Army Welfare Board,
Doles, for the survivors.

Scrawling my signature over them, ticking, rapidly glancing
Back and forth at the PC and cheques
At the amounts, dates, and other details
I flip through the leaves
Cursing inwardly at the mounting work
And my aching eyes and having
To fix a glassy smile on my face – suddenly - 

Before my eyes appear the mountains, the deserts
The gullies and ravines
I feel the numbing cold of the snows
And the searing heat of the sands
I see blood and gore and hear
The booming of cannons
And the sharp barking of rifles
And men shattered and blown to smithereens
I see Joseph and Pavithran and Gopalan.

I slow down the speed of my scrawl, pause
And consign the cheques gently into the basket.

**********  Balachandran V, Alappuzha, 23.11.2011

5 comments:

  1. This reminds me of two familiar scenes I can relate to:

    * In Titanic movie towards the end when the officers are looking for survivors but only find the dead floating around one says, "easy, go easy on them..."

    * Taking part in the Holy Communion I try not to chew the bread as I feel I have already done enough to Him at the cross...

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  2. wise post.






    Aloha from Honolulu

    Comfort Spiral

    > < } } ( ° >

    ><}}(°>

    < ° ) } } > <

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  3. To save your world you asked this man to die:
    Would this man, could he see you now, ask why?

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  4. Worth reading..what a perfect blend of reality and emotions..

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  5. What makes them give up their lives for the people they don't even know.Touching !

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