Poem: Blink of an eye ( Cry me a river)
I came across a picture that deeply moved me, and I shared it with my friend Priya Patel. As I was getting ready to pack, she wrote a beautiful and profound poem about it. I felt inspired to add to her words. Here is the result.
Priya wrote:
Ashok Subramanian thank you for sending me this photograph, from the moment you sent it, even in the middle of the night and half asleep, my mind starting writing; but you probably knew that :)
Poem: Blink of an eye
I see you through kaleidoscopic eyes;
different colors and shapes,
but above all, a sadness;
all leading down to what looks like
an embankment at the edge
of where you used to live
I see you, standing on dirt and rocks,
alone, staring into the devastation
that goes far deeper then
an entire community wiped away
in the blink of an eye
Looking at you, a child alone
on the edge of sanity,
I can’t help but wonder
if the floods took more
than just your home away
I wonder where next
you will call your home~ ©️ Priya Patel, Aug 20, 23 🕉
I wrote my response early in the morning. Priya’s remark:
Ashok Subramanian's response of “Blink of an Eye”, as was originally inspired by a photo he found. He took the poem to whole new heights as only he could.
Poem: CRY ME A RIVER
If apathy was meant to be seen
Which your soulless eyes reflect
My tears wash away the lives that had been
The sufferings compounded by neglect
Broken roofs stand shoulder to shoulder
Held in place by bricks and boulders
Monsoon roars in its deep-throated thunder
Down there, a will to live and never to surrender
When life is down and out in the gutters
Even nature spits upon them and litters
The children of destiny shiver and hide
Their destinies, now swallowed by time and tide
An angry river and ravaging rains, they always dread
I search for some hope in the remnants of the flood
Like the lost rivers, tears have dried in their eyes
For just being born, should they pay such a price?- Ashok Subramanian © 2023
What a start for the week!
~Ashok Subramanian © 2023
