Poetry

Prashant Godbole

By

Manjinder Kaur Wratch

The Ordinary One’s, Quest Extraordinaire

The depths of oceans not explored by savvy sailors only.

These appertain to Everyman, who bother-free

Fathoms the ‘bottomless pits’ for diet of pearls solely.

Ripping apart the bosom of sea, he fears not stings of scorpions, snakes,

Other venomous beings.

Like Gilgamesh, the Sumerian hero, he plunges into the depths of sea.

For procuring antidotes to end pain, suffering, untimely deaths of fellow beings.

Dodging the conspiring gods, he befriends the ‘beast man’ Enkidu,

To give mankind the trailblazers of compassion, love and friendship.

Akin to ‘the Enlightened one’ Siddhartha, he seeks nirvana under a Bodhi tree.

And enunciates the axiom of karma:

‘Reap as you sow’ to humanity.

“Smooth seas do not make good sailors,” he knows it well

 From his quotidian strivings.

An Orison

Doused in shades of life
I consecrate life force; yield to thy layout.

Sodden with delight sometimes; cascading with doubt, a little later.

Incensed at the brutishness of the world at times; damp with the uncertainties of aftertime.

I unhesitatingly show up my unhazy selves; and mooch words from Milton’s store,

In your abbey with an Orison oft-times:

“What in me is dark Illumine, what is low raise and support that…. I may assert eternal Providence, and justify the ways of God to men.”

Dad, Soon be Home

Don’t bemoan, they say

     “He lived a good life”

Too calculative, they time frame

       Relations and lives.

And fail to hear the little girl’s wails:

Doll or no doll, dad soon be home!!

With you around, the Exile had a home.

How can one have its fill?

    Of a persona so pristine

You amazed me with your many roles:

Simple, Charismatic, Humble, Humane,

     Intelligent, Innocent………

You were my God.

My worshipping not done

       Dad, soon be home!!

With you around, the Exile had a home.

Manjinder Kaur Wratch

Manjinder Kaur Wratch is working for her doctoral degree on Partition literature from University of Jammu. Recipient of Maulana Azad Fellowship by UGC, she has actively participated in various national and international conferences and has also contributed about twenty research papers for certain critical anthologies and reputed journals-national as well as international. Earlier she served as Faculty English Language and Literature in many institutes throughout the country. For her M.Phil dissertation she worked on the translated in English works of the legendary Punjabi and Hindi author, Amrita Pritam. Her study areas include Literary Criticism, Film Studies and Indian Writing in English and Translation with spotlight on Partition and Conflict Literature, Diasporic and Exile Literature and Literature of the Marginalised.