Two Curses Poem by Sunil Gangopadhyay

Two Curses

Rating: 5.0


I once spat into the sea:
no one saw me, no one knew—
The froth of the impassioned waves
swept away my spit.
Yet sometimes I am embarrassed, after so many years I can hear
the sea curse me.

On the mail train's body I once chalked
a woman's profile:
no one saw me, no one knew—
in fact even the stars in her eyes were not there.
Before the train could cross a single station, impassioned rains came—
perhaps my sketch was washed away.
Yet sometimes I am embarrassed, after so many years I can hear
the mail train curse me.

When I walk the road every day, do I trample its heart?
When I catch a woman's nipple with my teeth, am I brutalising her?
Sipping wine on wintry mornings
do I represent an exploitative class interest?
Is it a sin to embrace Saraswati's idol in the first flush of adolescence?
I am still not sure about such things.
Yet I can distinctly hear
the sea and the mail train curse me.


Translated by Pritish Nandy.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM

A very good poem on the confusion between the right and the wrong

2 0 Reply
Dr.Yogesh Sharma 14 March 2019

Sick communist writer. No beauty in the poem, only perversion like communist society.

1 0 Reply
Anil Kumar Panda 14 March 2019

A masterpiece. Like to read again and again.

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Edward Kofi Louis 14 March 2019

Impassioned waves of life! ! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.

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Jayatissa K.Liyanage 14 March 2019

Looks like a conversation with his own conscience. At the time one commits a wrong, its the passion that takes the upper hand. Later only one tends to think over it in a more fair manner. Very impressively presented poem. Thanks for sharing.x

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Mahtab Bangalee 15 March 2020

When I catch a woman's nipple with my teeth, am I brutalising her? Sipping wine on wintry mornings do I represent an exploitative class interest? Is it a sin to embrace Saraswati's idol in the first flush of adolescence? .../// greatly expressed; awesome poem penned greatest 10+++

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Bernard Snyder 14 March 2020

Very unique poem indeed. Glad I happen to have read it. Interesting!

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Dr Antony Theodore 14 March 2020

Is it a sin to embrace Saraswati's idol in the first flush of adolescence? I am still not sure about such things. Yet I can distinctly hear the sea and the mail train curse me. wonderful thoughts and questions.. tony

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Rocky 14 March 2020

Guilt is haunting the poet

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The Muse 14 March 2020

A very unique poem. Totally unexpected genre combination

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Sunil Gangopadhyay

Sunil Gangopadhyay

Faridpur / Bangladesh (British India)
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