To Death Poem by Madathil Rajendran Nair
To Death
I lay unconscious
For a fortnight
Throwing my entrails out
On a forlorn hospital bed
Down with enteric fever
All that I remember hearing then
Through slits
Of my sinking awareness
Were the North East January winds
Violently rustling the banyan trees
I never feared you then
You didn't matter to me
For I was primitive
In my still nascent innocence
I survived and grew up
Later to be poetic
I was worried
I would lose the beauty
Of the east winds
And the Monsoon rains
If you pounced on me unwawares
I spent sleepless nights
Rolled on my bed
Feared you were there
In the dark
Outside my hut
With a noose
To squeeze my fragile neck
Idiot I was
Till I knew
That I knew you
That you were always with me
Nibbling at my corpus
That isn't really me
Like a rat
Inching towards its last savored gulp
What does it matter rat
You have always been there
To feast on what I mistook I was?
You always needed me
To acknowledge and validate
Your own flimsy existence
A silly mongrel you are
Tamed to the very hilt
The next time your food is ready
I will call you, till then wait
My backyard is your home
As it is
For the mango tree
Mewing cat, the evening sky
I will ever remain
Lighting your eccentricities
And absurdities
To the ignorant world around me
Wait and pant
That is all
What you are supposed to do
Till I have another errand for you
1 – IF your " entrails" were truly being thrown out, you'd need surgery ASAP! ! i've heard the expression " puking my/your guts out" , meaning vomiting one’s stomach contents, so maybe yours is another 'expression'. Yikes!
This one is great! Enjoyed reading it and have voted it a ten. Thanks for inviting me to read it!
...... I knew you That you were always with me Nibbling at my corpus That isn't really me Like a rat Inching towards its last savored gulp In nascent innocence, you feared that you would miss the beauty of the East winds and the Monsoon rains if death pounced on you unawares, but with age you come to realize that it is a constant companion, but like a rat it can only nibble at your body mass and should wait like a tamed mongrel to have his final gulp until called and invited! Great write!
Beautiful poem and fantastic flow of words..I loved the beautiful lines.... I will ever remain Lighting your eccentricities And absurdities To the ignorant world around me Wait and pant That is all What you are supposed to do Till I have another errand for you Loved reading it.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/25/2024 2:05:10 AM # 1.0.0.1119
2 – i like " slits of..awareness" . i got a bit 'lost' around stanza 6. are you speaking to Death, i wonder. " The next time your food is ready I will call you, till then wait" sounds like my wife barking! bri ;)