One withered hand
upon another. They walk
through the moving train.
Steadying each other
and Steadying themselves.
Unsteadying me.
Ye theeno behen - bhay kay jeevan |
Hands extended, a few coins
lie in that old skin.
A silent look and word
-passes through-
the nearby passengers.
Bhopal.
How many years have they
passed this way?
Eyes swollen, burnt
Shut.
Bhopal.
Voices,
reflecting
that which their eyes
cannot.
The Pain.
Ye theeno behen - bhay kay jeevan |
As I see a coin being dropped
into an outstretched hand
I wonder, how many coins
have fallen that way?
My eyes water...
And I can see,
in the back of my mind,
Three children with their eyes,
swollen, burnt, shut.
With the same outstretched hands,
And the same pained faces
but lacking,
The years of suffering.
My memory fades...
with their voices,
now so far away...
Ye theeno behen - bhay kay jeevan |
Author notes
" Ye theeno behen - bhay kay jeevan " is hindi and it means " these 3 sister - brother 's lives. "
Which means the life of these two sisters and a brother..
The reference to Bhopal is made because this poem is about Bhopal Gas Tragedy victims begging for alms on a train that i was on.
The Bhopal Gas Tragedy is one of the worst industrial disasters to ever occur.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster
A contest entry
- Poetry That Matters by Cupcrazy.
3500 points, ended February 6, 24 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - the biggest prewrite contest ever by serenity silvermoon.
900 points, ended January 18, 362 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Make me cry, make my heart hurt, show me your pain by starving-to-survive.
1900 points, ended February 9, 42 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 5 of 5
-
Brillaint...this is a genius write. The emotion and the power of your words is just fantastic. I felt like i was there, living every second of this as i read it. Brilliant. thank you for entering my contest
-
Lovely write here. Great imagery and the emotion is tangible. You have given a voice to such a tragedy, from here on in that voice will be heard by all those who read your piece. I did feel as well that some of the line breaks were a bit harsh, but feel that with a little editing this will flow together wonderfully, Great work! Hugs, Bunny
-
-
thank you
... yes i will work on the breaks when i get a little time. thanks again!
-
-
What a beautiful portrayal of such a tragic event. You have captured the suffering and the compassion well. I like how you took it to the next level to ask what of the implications of such a continued state. A question that many of the onlookers may have been numb to. Thank you for sharing this.
One point of suggestion: Some of your line breaks might have been more effective if you did not chose to end with "non-value words." Small words like "and, the, with, etc" usually leave your reader with out any point of emphasis lingering at the end of the line..no punch. Instead the line just kind of dwindles off. You might consider moving such words to the beginnings of the next line or breaking in a different spot that causes the readers thoughts to be more engaged during that small space between lines. It might sound insignificant, but what you say BETWEEN the spaces is a critical part of freeverse writing. It is a tool that you may use to your advantage in future writes. Just a suggestion.
-
-
thank you Thanks for the suggestions i will work on it
-
Adding your comment:
1 - 5 of 5
