Farewell To The Rubber Board Poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

I take leave of you, the Rubber Board,
With the Rubber Board, Kerala
And with Kerala its subjects, flora and fauna
Much in relief, I leave the alien land;
Much in grief, I leave all the queens.
Good buy to the rubber trees I never loved
Goodbye to planters met and left,
To the colleagues awaiting my exit,
To them in who I had lived,
To them I loved as my beloved,
To them I mated not but in dreams.
Goodbye to the humid climate and
The hygienic sense, neatness, decency
And appearance alertness of the people.
Bye to those self centered men and Passionate women.
Along with curvaceous beauty,
To the tapioca and fish curry too, bye.
10.11.2002