Shoes Poem by Ravi Panamanna
Shoes
Ring is to finger,
Bangles are to arms.
Crown is to head
Dress is to body.
Pen is to page
Paint is to brush.
Ink is to pen
Canvas is to a painter.
Hot is to summer
Cold is to winter.
Spring is to vales
Rain is to fields.
This is the order of life
This is the beauty of life.
All have a place
All have a purpose.
If the moon is hot,
If the sun is very cold,
The purpose is lost
Life is lifeless.
Shoe serves a purpose,
It serves our feet.
Comfortable is our walk
Safe is our travel.
It gathers the dirt
Our feet are not hurt.
Thorns prick and stones bite
But our life is on the safest shores.
A walk on our barefoot
And we forfeit our life.
Shoes do not prick our life
But we misplace them now-a-days.
Shoe is becoming a strong weapon
Any moment it can happen.
They are the missiles of the day
They find a wrong place, sure to say.
Are we not after a bad cult?
Are we not rendering a thundering bolt?
Let our shoes be in their place
Let them serve their age old purpose.
Remember Ramayana*,
Remember the loyal Bharatha*.
Padukam* served here a noble theme,
People were peaceful under the regime.
Let us inhale the ancient air,
Let us cry for the lost treasure.
Padukam once happily ruled this land,
Let our shoes not rule our hearts now.
Is this the right way to protest?
Is this the commonsense of man?
Today’s Thrower can be tomorrow’s Thrown,
And remember, the law and reason cannot change.
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Ramayana* - An epic whose central characters are Rama and Seetha.
Bharatha* - Brother of Rama who ruled Ayodhya (literal meaning is 'A Place without any war') for 14 years during the exile of Rama in the forest, keeping the Padukam of Rama as the representive king of Rama. He did the consecration ceremony of the Padukam at Nandigram in Ayodhya which is known as ‘Paduka Pattabhiskekam’ in the annals of history, which means the Consecration Ceremony of Padukam. It was not Bharatha but the Padukam who ruled the kingdom for fourteen years. This is the Indian tradition.
Padukam* - The word meaning is Shoes or footwear.
Are you pointing at the upsurge in shoe throwing incidents to show ones rage? you are right about it then, let the shoes serve there correct purpose. good work
the theme of this poem is very nice. everything has a place and time. very correct.
Dear Ravi, It's a well crafted poem mixing up the ancient with the present. But too much is already said about this incident which is now happening every other day in India during the electioneering process. So I feel inclined to agree with our friend Subroto's opinion that time and values cannot be static and it has to change and it is changing. We, poets are to come out with clear cut voice in unison against bad and ugly and in support of good that can change the outlook of the world. Rajkumar
Contrast between the past and present is well depicted in your poem. Nice to read!
This is an interesting and very well written poem, Ravi, and one that tells both an ancient and very modern story. In the Arab world, it is considered a great insult when someone throws their shoe or shoes at you. I guess it is their way of carrying protest signs, though it seems silly to those of us in the West. Thank you for this fascinating poem. Carl.
Amazing written symbolic poem...on shoes...made me speechless for this...well said thanks! ! ! ! 10++++
You said: 'And remember, the law and reason cannot change....' No sir, times have changed, and are-a-changing... People have their reasons for throwing missiles like shoes at others. I appreciate 'the Padukam' aspect of our culture which you have brought out so carefully. Ram and Bharata have their place in the hearts of millions. May be the people ought not to throw anything at anyone. Nothing'will change (or will it?) - is the question. A symbolic way of protest with the 'flying footwear' phenomenon seems to have caught the fancy of many across the world. That's modern history, whether the throwers are aware of the Ramayan or not. But your main message is not lost: as Gandhi said...'an eye for an eye will make the world blind one day...' Cheers. Subroto
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/19/2024 4:17:13 PM # 1.0.0.1119
A good read for Mr.Geore Bush now in his retired life.10++