Saturday, January 10, 2009

If she could fly


She wanted to defy gravity.
But nobody taught her how to fly.

One day she stepped out of her nest.
She fluttered her melancholy wings.
And left the sleeping earth behind.

The wind was cold, the clouds were lonely.
Twisted and bruised, but her pinions, finally glided through air.

Yes...she could fly.

The tiny world below inspired fear.
So, she locked her eyes and dreamt a dream.
A dream of floating highest in the sky.

Her soul soared. And so did her quest for the zenith.

She spread her arms more.
Restlessly, she flew and flew and flew.
Until the autumn spawned spring and the dawn and dusk enmeshed into unearthly colours.

She reached the acme, but did she?
She was lone.
Where was her home?

Could she have flied without leaving her ground?

The rain no longer quenched her, sunshine didn’t give her warmth.
She was tired.

End, she let go of her wings.

A moment of nothingness.
Except, a mouthful of sky. A morsel of earth. A sup of her blood.

14 comments:

Tanuj Solanki said...

some beautiful mixing of words

i like melancholy wings... sleeping earth... mouthful of sky...

not your best but :(

zigzagtrail said...

Hi .. Wish you a very HNY 2009. I am in Singapore like before . Just that a bit lost in work :).

Read all the very latest poems and posts. Very nice selection of words ,phrases, adjectives I must say :).

Hope you had a nice start this year and a wonderful vacation at home in India

Unknown said...

end could ve been as happier as the start..!!

Arpita said...

@Tanuj

No worries. I appreciate your honest opinion :)

Sometimes the intent is much stronger than the content itself, which the poet, howsoever deeply in earnest might not be able to express.

In principle one should/would quit the moment they have pen down their best…am glad not being satiated as yet

Arpita said...

@Praveen
Thank you :)
Wishing you a very happy new year as well!
Oh yes..I had a rocking start slaying off umpteen mice:(

Arpita said...

@Harish
I feel “She” was not map-questing her destination!!
So an end quite the cliché expected (happy as you suggested), would have been…hmmm.. unfair.What do you say?

BTW do you really think she was happy to begin with?

Unknown said...

i dunno how u meant this to be, but from my view, i feel 'she' wud ve been happier with whtever 'she's' achieved..!! like no one to teach her, nevertheless 'she' flew and she did defy gravity, which was 'her' intention and in a +ve manner, which would ve given her lot of happiness..!! whts more, she overcame cold winds..!! thr was a quest for zenith, which also brings in happiness..!! (similarly others..!!) but everything comes with a price, which is why, 'she' is alone..!!

but i didnt understand y did she let go of her wings..?? considering she was alone and wings were her only hope..!! (I knw this is deep analysis..!! but a thgt which crept up..!!)

and regarding my thgts about a happy ending here..!!thr was no destination, nevertheless an adventure was thr..!!

Arpita said...

@Harish

Dude, the greatest advantage of being optimistic is that one’s so much more likely to sound convincing….hell!! However, I still respect your point of view :)

I DO NOT propagate pessimism, I too believe in digging out beneath the rubble until I get it right. Just that I wish life would have been that much of sunshine.

Okiee..picture this. You got a goal in life..no fear or boundary makes you succumb and give up on it..You achieve it…Yipeeeeeeeee!!!

But life is not just one big high!

You have been running after something all your life, just to realize that finally when you reach to it; it no longer gives you so much happiness as it ought to. The blind rush to get to that one bloody destination has taken so much, your OWN SELF away from you!!!

And may be that’s the reason she gave up on her wings. The adversities didn’t kill her, but the hollowness inside rusted her passion for life…so much so that her achievement became infinitesimally insignificant. And that’s what I wish to convey.

Each one of us is lucky enough to find our own way of life..but not all have the courage to live through it. It sure gets dirty and lonley at the top.

Those who do, have dared and survived.Bravo! Everybody else is just putting up with a façade.

Tanuj Solanki said...

arpita,

u r right about the 'best' part... i just meant tat u had written better ones...

long debates... abt what?

should the poet really talk on the poem?? it took me rather long to find out, but my experience says the poet should be silent and let the work be perceived...

unless it is vilified badly though

Unknown said...

ofcourse.. coz optimism is something which drives everyone.. and when did i say tht u propagate pessimism. infact u r one of the optimistic ppl i ve met..!!

and talking about goals and achievements, they r meant to b sought after, to b worked for, else they dont get the importance, the only difference is some hav to slog it out for it (which generally works with me..!! :P) and for some its less work. and again it all depends on one's perspective, like u said, unless one doesnt give in, doesnt let go of one's self, even if it doesnt give u much happiness, one wud ve achieved the zenith.

and in my point, no achievement is small, its just tht the situation and realisation doesnt go in hand.

and life needs to get dirty, else whr's the taste of living (ofcourse thr r times when one feels y this has to happen)..!! i might b sounding like the elixir of optimism here, but i hope to walk the talk..!! :P

Arpita said...

@Tanuj
Hmm...You are correct.
If I validate my phrases and the intended thoughts behind them (which I invariably do) I put a constraint on the reader to look single dimensionally from only my perspective.
Well..I’m coveting the acuity of the reader..
But Tanuj,haven’t you ever come across that restlessness of a poet(or may be on a broader spectrum an artist) who is always searching for a reader who would relate to his creation likewise. The absence of whom imparts inertia to his creative thinking…

Arpita said...

@Harish
Objection sustained :)

Abhishek Agarwal said...

quite nice
:)

Arpita said...

Hey Abhishek!Thank you :)