When The Day Dawned Poem by Rafiq Sandeelvi

When The Day Dawned

Rating: 4.7


The day was yet to dawn.
From the warmth of my cosy bed,
as I stepped out of the house,
the entire town slept;
a gigantic cocoon,
in its depth,
the silkiness of existence,
folded in the mystique of darkness,
in the aura of a wasteland from ancient times,
as if the roads, fields, houses and trees cast by a magic spell;
time, to its core drunk with antiquity,
environs perpetuating colour.
In the timelessness of eternity,
in the mute fog,
people in their bed-chambers crouched in sleep,
the radiant moonlight in the sky paled.
A deathly silence,
flames in clay-lamps dwindling to their end.
A probable rain ahead.
Right above the street, chunks of clouds coursed the sky.
Shivering in the wintry wind adjusting the folds of the dark shawl around my body,
wiping away from the canopy of tearful eyes,
images of children serenely asleep,
mumbling to myself,
I reached the riverside,
got into the boat.

The day was yet to dawn.
Yearning for the other shore,
my boat moved with the rushing waves.
The morning star winked.
The boat, water,
the sail, the oars, the darkness and my drowsy self,
all elements converged into one:
a long lost memory flowered in the heart.
Then the day dawned.
The sun took over at noon,
shadows crawled in the descending light,
evening fell,
then darkness cloaked all.
A journey of several hundred nights at last touched the shore.

When the next day dawned,
my house was draped in mourning.


(Translated by Yasmin Hameed)

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Hazel Durham 27 September 2012

A beautiful haunting poem full of wonderful imagery creating an atmosphere of pending foreboding! Great write!

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Margaret Haig 26 September 2012

Different but good, you let the picture of what you were saying flow thru your oems well done. All the best in future

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Linda May Fox 24 June 2012

I really loved this. Sad but beautiful. The words you used just flow with the meaning of the poem!

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Supriya Prathapan 17 January 2012

Gr8 imagery. The serenity and silence of the early morning hours. Scary and lonely because there are very few people who are awake and at the same time very peaceful. Death described beautifully in the last four lines.10++

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Amazing..! ! ! I was completely engrossed in your poetry until the end... speechless sir i am..! !

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Colonel Muhamad Khalid Khan 05 December 2014

The sun took over at noon, shadows crawled in the descending light, evening fell, A poem on beautiful description of dawn in its entirety.Well expressed Well done.I enjoyed it. Col Muhammad Khalid Khan

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Jasbir Chatterjee 04 April 2014

it's a beautiful poem, Rafiq, thanks for sharing...The last 2 lines make it all the more poignant and touching...

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Shania K. Younce 26 December 2013

I would like very much to read more. That is if you have any more. I like this most. Well done!

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Dinesan Madathil 25 December 2013

Well expressed and aptly worded. You have talent and enough wherewithal to make innings. Go ahead.

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Saiom Shriver 24 April 2013

We are indebted to Yasmin for translating your beautiful poem... of all the powerful lines my favorite is 'a long lost memory flowered in the heart' For the sake of all of us please keep writing

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