FOUR POEMS ON LOCKDOWN DAYS

1.

BEING AT HOME

Remember it. Wall on the hill. In 2019

I travelled near Rajgir, with a search

For natural heart in scorched daily life.

I feel a challenge to find a place with valve

That changes mind, as it is turned to stone

So long with my burdened shoulders, not

To respond to love, and to flourish it, by

Going at a place outside the crowed that

Created a stony dictum amongst us, it is

To be cracked by a little social distance.

Today it is a reverse plight, four walls

Confined me, flattered by bricks, and

A virus crosses all limits many times faster,

Rocking us to shift at home, not sparing

A single moment to find ourselves own

Outside home, driving me to stay on

Home-stage to perform, sharing and

Breathing with people of own relations,

Not to escape from own cradle of early sky

That created love at the very time of birth.

© Asim Kumar Paul

 2.

THIS WAVE BELONGS TO SAME OCEAN BEYOND THE HORIZON

He wants to find a cure

Not through Burning Ghats,

But through the bright blue horizon

Of hope with blessings of God,

And in a most photogenic way,

The announcement was made.

He made huge arrangements

For peaceful passages to a cured

Journey at right point of

Tall words, no confusion,

Silver images do astonish eyes,

Streets to home, mirrors besieged.

Then a pale blue wave danced down

On the sea beach, nothing can help it,

Down with dream, a new story arrives,

Bringing all things in a line is insulting,

The wave has a belly,

It cannot be glued with head, all is shut.

Air is locked, whisper is bounced

With the lobby, and the wave roars:

“You are strong, love is everywhere.

Look at the wave in front of you.

It tells something beyond you.

Think about another part of the

Same ocean beyond the horizon.”

© Asim Kumar Paul

3.

SONGS OF HOME FRONT

For days long

On city along

One poet writes

Loneliness bites,

And longing strives,

Grey pages thrives,

Another poet sings

Rabindra Sangit.

For home alone,

On living stone,

One friend thinks,

The brighter side blinks,

Wants to go away

As finger tips sway,

To live separately

In a cave remotely,

Home is succinct,

Living is precinct,

Not to go away

To a tea-stall far away,

To a Adda with friends

At regular days’ end,

At a road crossing bend.

A friend thinks so.

On the home front

Some news comes up front,

One friend reads

Available research bids

On virus and makes

Friends aware of new marks.

© Asim Kumar Paul

4.

BEHEMOTH

They tell all to remain locked in home,

To keep up four-mitre distance between

One and another while moving outside

Home in urgency. A long journey, unfamiliar,

Roots and cause of virus shock everyone so long,

Fear begets fear, pain brings smoke, half-killing.

Smear gives the mood that detaches all,

All those episodes try to reveal a truth that

It has some wake up call for change where

There is some link of desire of acquiring

The huge left over assets those are denied

For those who never think of such vast treasure.

These are not adventures of people in

Burning Ghats or of gravediggers, but some

Sort of mischievous space between civilizations

And human control saga, motivated with

Luster of steering wheels of management and win

Over all resources of the earth that has to be proud of.  

It is time now for commons who are victims of it

To work for their benefit by the core of heart, benevolent

Research work under minus 100 degree Celsius lab

To combat hand-in-hand to throw out those who

Pervade peaceful region of common man and the nature.  

After then will begin simple living with food and shelter,

That will be movable and immovable assets, and dream

With blessings of God with air and water, without fear of

Mind, pronouncing everyone is the form of other one.

© Asim Kumar Paul