The Last of the Romantics
K. Radhakumar *
I am not the man I wish I was.
Where is that fool of a boy?
The boy with romantic ideas of becoming a poet;
A lover of immortal stature
The modern incarnation of Mark Antony -
'Kingdoms are clay';
A wonderful father in a peaceful homestead
A beautiful house with tin roofing
A garden with the sun shinning
Birds singing
And a light breeze blowing;
Ah, everything in the garden is rosy.
I pity the boy with full of ideas
And his suffering arouses my compassion.
Reality is a poor imitation of the dream.
I had an accident
On my way home
And I became a member
Of the differently able in society -
I was in college then.
I worked for 35 years
In a banking house
And I retired as an accountant.
I am 65 now.
My wife died ten years ago.
Our only son died at 19 -
He was a good looking
And bright young man.
It shattered our lives.
And his poor mother!
She could not fully recover
From the stab in her heart.
Remembrance of the past -
That's my life.
I smile at the remembrance
Of our first night after marriage.
A wonderful life I have had
I do not regret a thing -
Innocence or experience.
Perhaps, I am the last of the romantics
For that fool of a boy
That fool of a boy is still alive and kicking -
I am still alive.
I have romantic ideas of death
And see youth in age.
* Poem written by K. Radhakumar which was published at The Sangai Express
This poem was webcasted on August 05, 2018.
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