Shall I Wait Till I Understand Pablo Neruda Poem by Bharati Nayak

Shall I Wait Till I Understand Pablo Neruda

Rating: 4.9


Perchance I happened to meet
One editor of a newspaper big
In conversation I told him
About my interest in writing
In Odia and in English do I write
And conveyed my wish
To get them published.

Asked he me some questions
To gauge my knowledge depth
Ma'm! Have you read
Jayanta Mohapatra and Pablo Neruda?

I am a casual writer
Not a person who has read much
Limited is my knowledge in literature
Yes, Great Poems one or two I have read
From Jayanta Mohapatra and Pablo Neruda
To be frank
I could not fully comprehend

Then he recited with all right intonations
Some stanza's from Neruda's poems
And some of his own creations
I heard in amazement
How to the ears they sound so sweet

After he left
I questioned myself
Questioned my knowledge limited
How I dare to venture to this world
A world full of Jayanta Mohapatra, Ramakanta Ratha
Shakespeare and Wordsworth
Above all Pablo Neruda

Restless was I
Restless were my days
As a voice in me always tormented
'I do want to come out', the voice implored
I want to see the light
Oh Mother, Bring me out

Notwithstanding
What the great minds say of me
I brought her to the fore
And looked at her
Eyes, face and forehead
What the future
Written there
I know not, I know not
Am I not beautiful, my baby asked
Oh! You are beautiful, very beautiful
You are my sweet child
I would not compare you
With that of Pablo Neruda
Or never that with Jayanta Mohapatra.

I blew a kiss on her forehead
And in whisper i said
Oh my child
Always, always feel blessed.

Friday, March 27, 2015
Topic(s) of this poem: writing
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Kee Thampi 27 March 2015

Eyes, face and forehead What the future Written there I know not, I know not Am I not beautiful, my baby asked Oh! You are beautiful, very beautiful You are my sweet child I would not compare you With that of Pablo Neruda Or never that with Jayanta Mohapatra. Really worth to read this we send poems to publd. but we never know what we are.......

4 0 Reply
Bharati Nayak 27 March 2015

Oh I really feel blessed to hear such nice comments.Thank you.

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Me Poet Yeps Poet 18 June 2017

I read any 20 just to compose one needn't be NERUDA or important some one your poetry itself is inspirational I have a similar one composed many said well done depends on the readers mind we are all equal and one. continue lady you alone are extraordinary one

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Me Poet Yeps Poet 11 September 2017

thanks but please read and comment on 25 or more of my poetry I want to publish 31 poems worthy p PM me if u have a querry very difficult to get to ones poetry

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Bharati Nayak 11 September 2017

Many thanks the Poet Poet.I agree, one need not be Neruda or important some one to compose poetry.All budding and new poets might be feeling the way I felt initially.

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Saroj Gautam 16 October 2023

Very wee said mam! So relatable, some time peope do ask, why do you write, simple because we love to write.

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Sylvia Frances Chan 11 February 2023

I concur with Nosheen, truly you wrote a brilliant poem, dear Bharati with a meaningful message. Top Marks and thank you for sharing these worthy poetic words

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Jim McGill 13 January 2023

You do not need Pablo Neruda or Jayanta Mohapatra to bring out what is inside you. You seem to be doing quite well without them. Excellent work.

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PREMKUMAR C N 05 October 2022

This beautiful poem deserves an appreciation. Yes, people compare each other. And that is the tragedy of creativity. In fact every person is a masterpiece and every poem is a masterpiece too. But comparison spoils the creativity and substrates the perception to enjoy a masterpiece/

1 0 Reply
Kim Barney 18 January 2022

No, don't wait until you understand Pablo Neruda. Nobody understands him! Ha! That's not true, but Pablo wrote in Spanish, and some of the translations that have been done on his poems are not the best!

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