Like every child
I used to follow the moon
Maundering in the sky
And wonder what he's doing
All through the lonely nights
all alone in the skies
With all those fireflies
Winking around.
When I grew up
And left my home
And my loved ones
In search of a livelihood,
I started to sing
With Jagjit Singh,
"I have left my home,
But, in my place
The moon would have risen;
In his nightly abode
How lonely would he be feeling!
(Without me to keep him company) ! "
In the school
We had learned that
The moon would be
Older by over a second
By the time I see him.
But in the case of sun
It is eight minutes.
For, light travels at
three hundred thousand
Kilometres a second.
If only I could ride light!
My bus to the school
Traveled at forty kilometres an hour.
Very fast for those days
And the roads we had.
I wondered, if the bus were
To take us to the moon,
How long would it take?
We made the calculations:
It takes four hundred days!
Then came Luna Nine and Luna Ten
The unmanned Russian satellites
That softlanded on the moon
and sent us its photographs.
More news - newspapers
Suddenly were in high demand.
At home, we sat around the radio
With our ears glued to it.
Pele and Billie Jean King
Were pushed to the back seats.
In the school,
the science teacher
Gave us more information
On the Apollo lunar expeditions.
I had just turned twelve
When Apollo Eleven
Blasted off from Florida
Kennedy Space Center.
And four days later
Neil Armstrong set
His foot on the moon.
World was not the same
Thereafter. Nor was the moon.
A lovely poem that I have read before but you left a comment on my poem and I thought that meant you were back but I don't see a new poem. Where are you, my friend? We need your wise voice here.
Such a nice poem, U. E. S. You may like to read my poem, Love And Iust. Thank you.
Moon holds a special significance in our hearts.From a child to our adulthood, in every stage our perspective changes vis-a-vis Moon. Moon is very dear to us like a close family member or a lover.When we leave a place we may feel how lonely would be moon without me! Now after man's landing on moon, the mystery, the dreamy fairy tale feelings we may miss. 'Neil Armstrong set His foot on the moon. World was not the same Thereafter. Nor was the moon.'
I started to sing With Jagjit Singh, " I have left my home, But, in my place The moon would have risen; In his nightly abode How lonely would he be feeling! (Without me to keep him company) ! " - - -What a wonderful poem ! (Part-1)
My apologies for delay in responding to your post. Much obliged for the second visit to this poem. And all the nice words, very good analysis. Loved it.
Thanks to Susie and Geeta for their words of appreciation. My apologies to both of them for the delay in responding
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
This is the loveliest poem I have ever read on PH. I join you in your childhood thoughts, I too grew up and wondered about the moon and its science yet longed for its fantasies And oh how that last couplet touched my heart and soul, dear poet! A trillion billion starry-eyed 10's and onto my fav poem list@
Thank you Susie. Thank you so much for the wonderful observations. When I started to pen this poem, I remembered my love for Pele and his thousandth goal, Billy Jean King, Bobby Fischer and dozens of their contemporary sportspersons. And some details I could muster from my old treasured diaries. And then google helped me with more details.
And so happy I am to see you often on ph.
my computer doesn't like PH or PH doesn't like me- -the site flips so much it takes 2 hours to write two comments and rate two poems- - so I spend a lot more time on writing on my books! but I do miss my friends so I am trying to find a time the computer works better!