Woods Poem by KATOCH P C K PREM

WOODS

You promised to come in dreams
on a silent moonlit night
and weave your tender feelings
into a happy home
with flower filled bridal chamber
and vibrant youth
embellishing with the beauty
that God bestowed
in plenty that hour.

But it remained a thought
a brittle dream
in a disturbed land
for I was a novice
to fulfill a condition
of a modern father
who wished to pray
for a blissful material life
of his daughter.

And I was a miserable pauper
and imbecile
to fight back like Admetus
to yoke a wild boar and a lion
to the Chariot of Pelias
for I can't become an Apollo
and the lord of wealth is strong.

Word was hollow in substance
and it slipped from the flushing lips
like the first flying kiss
in a wet night under a tree
when I loitered about
along the thick woods.

In the moonlit tranquil it was
calm it looked
soothing it appeared
and I craved for you
in dense woods emitting odour
wince pledges you made to meet
when dust laden body I carried
to have a glimpse of your face.

Your eyes spoke
lips quivered to form words
and I caught the meaning
that you would come to me
for I had woken up from inertia
in a forlorn past
to awaken to glory dark
of life and love
but it all proved a fatal vow
of a life always fleeting
with uncertain moves
to a definite end.

(Oracles of the Last Decade 1998)