I Am No Longer An Adibasi Poem by Shamik Kumar Bose

One day
When I was busy in shooting a sparrow
With my bows and my arrow
A man whispered in my ears
His eyes blinked with a greenish twinkle
He gave me an arrow that made a roar
An arrow that made a fire
And a red wine that I found intoxicating
Sweetening than the earthy taste of my own wine
He whispered with a blow of an arrow.

He tells me

That striking a human's heart
Gives a better pleasure
Gives an adim rendezvous
Better than striking a sparrow

That the green notes in his hands
More gratifying for a flesh to trade
More intoxicating than the beat of the drums
More gratifying!


His magic spelled over me
I have lost my identity and acquired a status
Which I do not understand.

Adibasi - Tribal

Copyright: Shamik Bose 2009