The Rain-Clad Skies of Imphal
K. Radhakumar *
The children danced with joy
When a light rain began to fall
And they waited anxiously
Till it poured with rain.
They waited anxiously for
Mothers with their disciplined approach to life
Would arrive on the scene and call us,
'Don't go out in the rain.
You'll catch a cold.'
The children wanted to say,
'Stop mothering us'
But did not say anything.
Looking at the rainbow in the sky
Getting wet, getting dirty
It was all part of the game
To the children.
Not so to the grown-ups.
Nature does not take its course
With the grown-ups.
At school
The rainbow became
A curved bend of different colours
Violet Indigo Blue Green Yellow Orange Red
Usually abbreviated VIBGYOR
And I recited Wordsworth's poem
On the rainbow to the class.
The child is the father of the man.
What's with the grown-ups?
They haven't said a word all afternoon
When a rainbow appears in the sky.
The old boy next door says,
'A rainbow in the sky!
Yes, I see a rainbow in the sky.
What of it?'
And he continues,
'The sun shines through the rain
And sometimes it just appears.
It isn't all that beautiful and wonderful.'
Perhaps the old boy looks
But does not see anything
Let alone a rainbow in the sky.
The old boy next door
Sans teeth sans eyes sans ears
Says with a feeling of calmness
Deep in his soul,
'The sun sinks below the horizon
In no time.'
* Poem written by K. Radhakumar which was published at The Sangai Express
This poem was webcasted on June 17, 2019.
* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.