Robben Island Poem by Deepa Agarwal

Robben Island

Rating: 5.0


Another place of the skull
Another Golgotha
Clean neat bleached to the bare
necessities of existence
belying the flagrant thrust
of arum lilies
blooming in random clusters.
Extravagant trumpets
large, full blown, secure in their whiteness
rooting themselves where they will
unlike the baby penguins
huddling in bushes
before our alien onslaught

The wind outlines the bleakness of the sun
as a silent prison
willingly unlocks doors
and secrets flutter free.
Dues paid
the toiler in freedom’s mill
is now permitted the luxury
of endlessly reliving hunger and pain
anger and hate.
While courteous hordes
listen
wrestling with what and why
and who and which
and right and wrong
wondering how deep
they might inser their
delicate probes
beneath the armour of calluses
How deep burrow
before their dentist’s drill
encounters the unguarded nerve

In the end
one thinks
he has a tale to tell at least
and eloquently too.
If not would hasty bank notes pile
up on the dignified palm
eager to repay someone else’s debt?
To buy absolution for another’s crime?


In the end
what remains
but the naked skull of truth
even a free man needs to eat
and the heat of youthful rage
cannot flame far enough
to disperse the chill of age.

The wind is curiously dry
as we sidle away from the limestone quarry
thanking God for the good karma
that kept us secure in distant climes
for the screen of designer glasses
that saves our eyes
for the watered milk of human kindness
that did spurt at last from skull dry breasts
while the black coated penguins
carefully measure their mincing strides
earnest as lawyers arguing a case
lost long before they crawled out of their eggs.

The ocean shimmers all the way to the mainland.
There are drinks to be sipped on the ferry
the wonderful wildness of wind on your face
the curio shops beckon
and Mandela’s smile soothes.

But somewhere we know
a man waits
smoking a quiet cigarette
outside the dispossessed prison
waits for the next bus load
for the guilty caress of notes
on the expressionless palm
whose lines have bound him to Robben Island.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Ratnakar Mandlik 10 February 2016

Marvelous narration style and encompassing minute details too. Thanks for sharing a speedily flowing poem just like a rivulet flowing through mountainous terrain. Enjoyed the meaningful and thought provoking contents of the poem.10 points.

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Deepa Agarwal

Deepa Agarwal

Almora, Uttarakhand, India
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