Wind In The Afternoon Poem by Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan
Wind In The Afternoon
An assault of cabbage leaves on the pavement
Tries vainly to cover up the manholes;
Splattered egg yolk on the serrated kerb:
Two men look from the window. Wind blows.
A young girl throws a loose bundle
Of waste material from the upper balcony -
The red one is an empty tea carton;
And anything spongy white, thin and long
Could be a woman's sanitary napkin.
I said, maybe!
More winds; howlings; frightened cows scurrying.
Unseasonal winds might lead to Sandstorm.
SAND STORM! You must close that window now, dear friends!
The empty tea carton rises in the air.
The two men watch it pass by, silently -
Shall it reach the balcony? the gable? roof top?
They are n-o-w closing the window.
They have shut it at last! Never mind!
The tea carton fails to reach the roof top.
The wind smells of cabbage soup.
No howling. No face in the window.
They must've had a glimpse of the stray dog
Nibbling nervously at the stained sanitary napkin.
The two men behind the window represent the majority of mankind who are afraid of taking part in the world's affairs, and are unsure of their own manhood. Instead of looking directly at the lovely young girl on the balcony, they vaguely follow the movements of the empty tea carton. The tea carton symbolizes 'vague hope' that has no direction.
The balcony, gable and rooftop symbolically represent the three higher Chakras (spiritual energy centres) Anahata, Vishuddha and Ajna in the human body as per Yoga philosophy. Instead of the sexual desire or spiritual aspirations of the two men getting sublimated at Ajna or Sahasrara Chakra, it peters out into worldly distractions.
Winds and 'howlings' represent public opinion and peer pressure, cabbage leaves represent old decadent ideas (sub-conscious mind) and man-hole represents one's own consciousness. The young girl represents noble human aspiration or a desire for Samādhi, while the sanitary napkin represents base sexual desire, which draws away human aspiration from sublime goals.
In the final stanza of the poem, the two men have abandoned their aspirations, as base desires have taken over in the form of vicarious pleasure of other people (stray dogs) .
Powerful pieces that put the puzzle into poetic perspective. Well done my friend!
A very interesting poem indeed Dr. Pradham. Your observation of some of the things that happens in life is full of details. Your poem has a lot of sense of humor in it. But underneath it all there lies a truth in the human existence and its downfall. Another womans trash is another mans treasure. (smile) . Enjoyed this write.
The poem made me think. rather disturbed me a lot. More than poem, I read notes given by the poet. Symbolism behind poem is extraordinary. It is almost a spiritual poem (?) although describes mundane things like tea cartons and that thing....
Superbly crafted poem. Loved the poet's comments on the symbolism and the imagery. Surprising to see the poem has hidden meaning in yoga theory. I do not understand yoga. But poem in itself is quite captivating and extremely original. From first line to last, poem creates suspense. Ending surprising and unpredictable. Poet is able to compose a poem out of a stained sanitary napkin! Hats off, Dr! !
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/24/2024 2:21:12 AM # 1.0.0.1119
....very interesting....somehow a deep poem...which requires you to read between the lines.......an incident, beautifully, n a bit humorously described....great wrk...