Grassy Tongue Poem by Aftab Alam

Grassy Tongue

Rating: 4.8


Busy road, everybody is busy
To destination, home, office,
With set mind, nothing is seen
Except their goal, this is the story
About modern civilisation and
I am witnessing curiously to them
Standing on the pavement.
Suddenly, my eyes stuck up
At my astonishment, can't be told;
A lady with a suckling unmoved
Child was crying at full throat
Unaware, the mother was;
I think the cry was for the milk
And the lady, a mother, half naked
Careless with the careless world
Fleshless, full Skelton like a x-ray report
A girl, might be of age ten, twelve or so
Came by running and started feeding,
Baby was silent for a moment
And then started beating the breast
'A hopeless effort from the hopeful desire'
Concluded. Lady was dyeing with starvation
And the girl, the angel, who took care, was
Unable to help, I witnessed everything, then
I moved further ahead and there was
A marriage ceremony, dancing and singing
Half eaten food everywhere scattered
I shouted with the high shrill,
'Please don't waste the food'
Nobody took notice of my entreaties
And I lost within my shout shivering
And out of my dream I was
Still I remember my dream and
Since then never wasted
Even a single grain
'A tongue full of taste and
The other a grassy tongue'
This is a puzzle and I am puzzled with//

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Tim Stensloff 18 March 2012

I love the somewhat confused nature of this poem. You truly do sense the feeling of puzzlement throughout. Also, what a quote at the end. A tongue full of taste and/ The other a grassy tongue. It's so surreal, yet the imagine beams through so clearly.

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