Man, Poet, Novelist Poem by Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan

Man, Poet, Novelist

Rating: 3.8


While trying to write a novel, instead
he ended up with a poem:

     fresh fragrance of jasmines
               colours of butterflies
     madness of the sea
               invitation of the sky

And the solitary koel's sweet coo-coo-cooing -
can one hope to write a novel with this?

          *******

While trying to write a poem, instead
he ended up with a novel:

     younger daughter's marriage
               elder son's unemployedness
     association-members' threats
               house-owner's notice

And the chitter-chatter litany of the same old wife -
can one hope to write poetry with this?

          *******

In the spinning gyre of prose and poetry
he completely forgot life:

     mosque-mandir clashes
               Kalahandi's death shrieks
     skeletons of Nithari
               hulla-baloo of parliament

And the soaring prices of dal, salt and rice -
     everything he did forget:

While trying to write a novel, he became
     himself a novelette.

          *******

Man, Poet, Novelist
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Topic(s) of this poem: poet
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Geetha Jayakumar 28 August 2013

Fantastic write..one forget everything when it comes to the spiralling prices of daily meals... Very beautifully you have expressed. Loved reading it.

9 0 Reply
Roseann Shawiak 22 January 2014

Incredible poem! It matches with how my poetry came about in a way. First wrote a novel, then short stories, then poems, It's fascinating how close you come to writing of my beginnings. Poems of people abusing power, government, prices, political, events in the world. Will read more of your poetry as time permits. Thank you for sharing, RoseAnn

3 0 Reply
Marvin Brato 10 October 2013

Indeed, better things than expected sometimes come out of what we plan to do.... fate!

5 0 Reply
Sarah Jones 24 September 2013

I loved the line solitary koel's sweet coo-coo-cooing. The poem can have many layers of meaning. To me, the poem tells the life story of every man and woman. In your childhood however you try to be reasonable and to build a career, surging emotions distract you from your goals. In adulthood, when the career has been made, one tries to build emotional connect, but the bitter realities of the world make you powerless. In ripe old age, one reflects that he has failed to strike a balance between poetry (emotion) and novel (reason) . Thus in the end everybody's life actually becomes an unwritten novel....

4 0 Reply
Heather Wilkins 22 September 2013

excellent write. Sometime a writer gets so engrossed in his work he loses himself.

5 0 Reply
Patricia Grantham 05 September 2013

You became all three and thus in the end you showed yourself as a true Poet in his own right. I thought this was a very interesting write and was well thought out.

7 0 Reply
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan

Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan

Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Close
Error Success