When Shadows Soften Poem by Ananta Madhavan

When Shadows Soften



February advances, the shortest month this leaping year.
The aroma of spring, but the same day can show
Winter and summer compacted in a change of mood.

But there is rhythm in this our sun-blessed land.
I have observed how the light plays on shadows.
When dawn segues into the day, through colours

Beyond the rainbow seven and chromatic shades
That cannot be separated, there are variations
Outside a spectrum apparent to optics.

I have observed the blaze of light reveal
The outline of trees upon the tarmac
In starker contour, stronger coal-black;

But later hours before dusk, there is a softening,
As if a milder hand is intent to blur
The certitude of what the eyes perceive.

In spring I await a different mood and voice,
Not to cry Doomsday, nor to rejoice
In dreamy paradise, but to avoid the choice.


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Mysuru, Karnataka, India

Monday, February 5, 2018
Topic(s) of this poem: season,shadows,spring,change
POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
The changes of starkness when light filters in through
branches close to the ground level are fascinating, as
on a dark night when one walks down a road and one's own
shadow seems to come up and meet one, but a few strides later,
the shadow is elongated.
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
A. Madhavan 08 February 2018

6/10 maybe, but feel free to choose your own marking

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A. Madhavan 08 February 2018

Some readers may have had this experience.

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A. Madhavan 08 February 2018

I want to look up a quote by a writer who observed the shadows he cast on the road under the streetlights. Fascinating.

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A. Madhavan 05 February 2018

My note at the end of the poem explains my mood changes.

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