A boy
Hardly five
Threw a tomato at me
On a crowded Tamil street
It hit my chest and splashed
A constellation of yellow stars
On my blue T-shirt
His mother admonished
And chided him in harsh words
She poured herself on me
With profuse apology
I told her not to worry
Her ward didn’t do anything wrong
He might bowl for the country
In the future and bring laurels
In international cricket
Or rather he will pick cudgels
And hit out against injustice
When a mother or sister
Or the weak or underprivileged
Is violated on our uncertain land
Keep him hurling mom
And let him grow
So that our weaknesses
And unjust excesses
Never go unopposed
Or unanswered
Let the spark in him
Be a brilliant flame
And guide us ahead
With its splashy glow
l can appreciate the child's childish pranks and your benevolent attitude towards him. However, the boy's mother has done the right thing by admonishing him.
Only a kind heart could show the magnanimity and it is a well thought out hope about the child. May it blossom in good sense and make the child for an after thought.
What a peaceful person you must be! I'm afraid I would have probably acted differently, although with a five-year-old I wouldn't have been too harsh, I hope.
Such lofty insight! Your reaction to the boy's (inadvertent) act is so ennobling and fatherly! If we can see such acts in the way you took it, how different the world would have been! He might bowl for the country In the future and bring laurels In international cricket This light hearted and humorous reaction to life and its situations is a such welcome thing! Enjoyed!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
cudg·el ˈkəjəl/ noun noun: cudgel; plural noun: cudgels 1. a short thick stick used as a weapon. synonyms: club, bludgeon, stick, truncheon, baton, mace, blackjack, billy club, nightstick, shillelagh a thick wooden cudgel verb verb: cudgel; 3rd person present: cudgels; past tense: cudgelled; past participle: cudgelled; gerund or present participle: cudgelling; past tense: cudgeled; past participle: cudgeled; gerund or present participle: cudgeling 1. beat with a cudgel. synonyms: bludgeon, club, beat, batter, bash the victim was cudgeled to death Origin Old English cycgel, of unknown origin. Translate cudgel to Use over time for: cudgel - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - it's been a LONG time since i heard the word. are you promoting taking the law into one's own hands? ? self-defense........ok, if police are not forthcoming.............perhaps, but, if not, you are flirting with 'mob rule'. BUT i have read the Poet's Notes; thanks for them. i'd have to judge each situation on its own merits. and i know the legal/police system does not always work perfectly. ============================== overall, i too will condemn the thrust of the poem, and agree that such behavior of allowing and encouraging such behavior in a youth (or anybody) is absurd and could lead directly to unjust excesses on the hurler's part. you could have expressed your hope in another way! maybe the kid is crazy or retarded, OR just plain nasty! ! nip it in the bud, i say! bri ;)
Bri. To take up cudgels is an expression which means to strongly support. This can be found in Cambridge dictionary and in all dictionaries of idioms. Thanks for reading and commenting.