Misplaced Objects Poem by Koyamparambath Satchidanandan

Misplaced Objects

Rating: 4.5


In a flash I recall all the
misplaced objects of my life:
the ten lambent marbles
forgotten under the dry leaves
beneath the mango tree,
the umbrella left behind in Apu's saloon
the day rain failed to turn up,
the pen that dived from the pocket
while climbing the cashewnut tree
on the way back from the village school,
the sky-blue shirt remaining
in a hotel wardrobe in Riga,
the long list of books lent, never returned,
some unredeemed debts, a few unrequited loves.

Forgetfulness alone never forgot me.
As I fell in love I began misplacing my heart,
metaphors as I began to scribble poetry.
Later, looking at the hills, I began to feel
the sky had misplaced them and
the clouds had misplaced the rainbow.

I have recently begun to suspect
this very earth with us on it
has been misplaced by God.
In the order He recalls, He claims back:
woods, rivers, us.
2006
(Translated from the Malayalam by the poet)

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Bijay Kant Dubey 26 October 2018

The poet while trying to remember, search for misplaced things and objects, locate the dislocated stuff sin frustration says it that the world is itself a dislocated creation of the Almighty as He keeps recalling it all one by one. Glaciers are melting, Antarctica too is under danger.Uncle Podger's case is here and the uncle chiding the boys for the misplaced handkerchief and the watch which he as himself. Packing by Jerome K.Jerome may also be noted in here for a comparison.

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Pravin Nair 18 September 2014

A beautiful poem that exclaims the preciousness of what we leave behind or rather the unforgiving memories of what we leave behind. We remember those the most that we have lost, isn't it? The final thought where the poet philosophizes without lapsing into melancholy-that we are all products perhaps, of an absent and absent-minded god? Gravity, irony all woven into this image-rich poem

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Koyamparambath Satchidanandan

Koyamparambath Satchidanandan

Pulloot, Thrissur district, Kerala, India
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