From California Poem by Vikram Seth
From California
Sunday night in the house.
The blinds drawn, the phone dead.
The sound of the kettle, the rain.
Supper: cheese, celery, bread.
For company, old letters
In the same disjointed script.
Old love wells up again,
All that I thought had slipped
Through the sieve of long absence
Is here with me again:
The long stone walls, the green
Hillsides renewed with rain.
The way you would lick your finger
And touch your forehead, the way
You hummed a phrase from the flute
Sonatas, or turned to say,
"Larches--the only conifers
That honestly blend with Wales."
I walk with you again
Along these settled trails.
It seems I started this poem
So many years ago
I cannt follow its ending
And must begin anew.
Blame, some bitterness,
I recall there were these.
Yet what survives is Bach
And a few blackberries
Something of the "falling starlight",
In the phrase of Wang Wei,
Falls on my shadowed self.
I thank you that today
His words are open to me.
How much you have inspired
You cannot know. The end
Left much to be desired.
"There is a comfort in
The strength of love." I quote
Another favourite
You vouchsafed me. Please note
The lack of hope or faith:
Neither is justified.
I have closed out the night.
The random rain outside
Rejuvenates the parched
Foothills along the Bay.
Anaesthetised by years
I think of you today
Not with impassionedness
So much as half a smile
To see the weathered past
Still worth my present while.
Charmed by this- the frayed letters- the new light yet to come and respect for the past
There is comfort In the strength of love. Great write and truth too. Thanks for sharing.
Blame, some bitterness, I recall there were these. Yet what survives is Bach And a few blackberries....................../// excellent poetic expression
" My present while" ! ! ! ! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.
It seems I started this poem So many years ago I cannt follow its ending And must begin anew. a great poetic experience. thank you dear poet. tony
There is a comfort in The strength of love." I quote Another favourite You vouchsafed me. Please note.....touching expression. Beautiful poem. Thanks and congratulations for being chosen this poem as the modern poem of the day.
'The lack of hope or faith: Neither is justified. I have closed out the night. The random rain outside' - loved these lines!
This poem has deeper meaning than it seems from the surface. The poet thinking of the past and his life Remembering all things, most in the past, I cite one of his lines: Old love wells up again, All that I thought had slipped This is not with a woman the words are suited for a man-to-man attitude CONGRATULATIONS for the Modern Poem Of The Day.
Why does he prefer to be alone? Why does he not take somebody else for to chat? Why did he not hold the hand in firm grip? It is just the result of wavering in one's own belief. He himself has digressed and deviated from. That love is not love if it materializes it not.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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10/15/2024 7:05:10 AM # 1.0.0
Even though the relationship is over, I like how this poet still can be tender about the love that was. Extraordinary heart in this awesome piece.