Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The father I lost..


All wrapped up, he lay…

My Papa in sheaths of unbleached cotton

And plugs in the ear

Not wanting to hear

The harshness of crying any more

Where would he go I wondered-?

All packed and done…


In grains of rice and burning wicks

In coconut halves and burning twigs

This was no pitter patter of a journey..

Only an endless calm it seemed


How would he make it I thought

With a face so pale & eyes so shut-

Perhaps that’s how this journey is done,

The child within me thought


“You are a fool”- A voice within me said,

Soon they shall burn him

And the stench of the HE shall be,

Mixed then forever into eternity,


Of twigs from mango trees in the backyard

And coconut shells lying amiss

He shall perhaps smell

And then perhaps he shall waft

Into the North –Eastern breeze

And to his land blend….

© 2011 Maitreyee Bhattacharjee Chowdhury


( Image courtesy Google)


15 comments:

Maxwell Mead Williams Robinson Barry said...

how sad, well expressed lost.

bless your papa.
stay strong.

Anonymous said...

Excellent.

Anonymous said...

Very moving. I too lost my father. Thank you for sharing.

My entry: http://wp.me/s1LMFk-668

Rahul Bhatia said...

Poignant! This is the final destination

D2 said...

Death is never the end. Lovely poem.

Upasana said...

Thats hard hitting yet beautiful.Not easy to forget.It will stay with me for a long time.

The Unknowngnome said...

Very thoughtful, moving and touching.

KP said...

So very touching!! grievance and pain is felt in each line..!

My heart felt regards.. be strong!

umashankar said...

Cathartic. Bless your soul.

The Orange Tree said...

touching words.
beautiful thoughts..

Ashwini Sane said...

Such touching expressions of loss and death. My heart felt regards.

Anonymous said...

God bless your father.

It is always hard to write about the loss of loved one. But you have shown strength in penning it all down, the ordeal.

God bless.

Sad yet a lovely poem.

Abu said...

I wish to extend my heartfelt condolences Maitreyee…
May Lord grant you all the patience and strength to endure the loss and overcome the grief…

Tigerbrite said...

I know the loss of a loved father. Your poem speaks of another culture than mine. So personal an experience of the death pire. Blessings.

Liz Rice-Sosne said...

I found your sentiments to be tender and loving, those of a child for the father. The journey that you took us upon a simple and inevitable poem of love. Thank you.