Friday, March 8, 2013

Terror

Hyderabad blasts

Morning has flashed a new pile full of limbs
That gawk at with unnatural stare.

Often I've faced such images and more
That singe our eyes and leave us as mad,
In these our carnivorous days.
Topspun with fingers that tear through the seams,
I've sunk as if loadstone in pool full of mud
With no sign of divers in sight.

How to now drag our selves to those banks
That fade beyond cognizable ramparts of faith?

Tottering with feet that've lost their soles
I've stumbled on sharp little shingles that pierce
And tear up my nails to their bits.

Trudging along lanes where explosions lurk
I'm startled by faces of those who are blown
And mourn the more nameless that wait.

Punctuated now with funereal smoke,
We breathe our sighs among ash-smeared days
That ooze out with tears smelling blood.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Once again, I must go on like a broken record to praise a singularly fantastic piece. You managed a tone that does not suffer from fake ennui nor fake detachment, which is quite a feat. Excellent work, vastly moving.

aelfbee said...

Terrifying to have to "mourn the more nameless that wait."

Susan said...

One scene among many, the morning leavings of the nightly massacre to one who can never right them off as merely habitual. I am envisioning a gallery of these images, gruesome and terrible but beautifully wrought in words.

Panchali said...

Abin, Sad we live in a world where violence is the end of all. the poem is heartbreaking and deeply touching. Exquisite!

Kerry O'Connor said...

Abin, this is a singular poem - I don't think I have read its like in recent times. You take us down to the blast site, and show us the uncompromising face of modern man and his works: the shattered face, the lurking bomber. Your imagery is stellar, and raises the content above morbid to art.

Kimolisa said...

Amazing in both your imagery and choice of words. well written.

Mary said...

Oh Abin, this is a painful read; but an important one.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

You take us straight to the images behind our eyelids from the nightly news...........and they become grittily real.

Anonymous said...

A heartbreaking piece.
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Jennifer Wagner said...

So hard not to cry out 'why?!' A gripping read Abin.

Rosemary Nissen-Wade said...

Telling it like it is!

Mixi said...

A painful, gut-twisting picture that is unfortunately all too true. It is an increasingly terror-stricken world we're living in :(

Grace said...

A powerful write, full of heartbreak and broken dreams ~ The stench must have been unimaginable ~

Ella said...

Wow Abin
You really took me there in the eye of the storm~
Beautifully haunting and well done!
I agree this is art

Unknown said...

Not maudlin or flinching, you create the scene as deftly as a good photo journalist. One of the days best.

Timoteo said...

Excellent work! The battle cry of all the misguided, pitiable souls in our world: The end justifies the means.

Kay L. Davies said...

Terrifying, but a fabulous write, Abin. From the safety of a small Canadian town, I can barely imagine the horror of such an event. You have shown me how fortunate I am.
K

Marian said...

bravo, Abin! carnivorous. yes, that's exactly right.

Margaret said...

Gritty and heart wrenching...

Herotomost said...

Fuck....sorry I rarely start a review with a curse word like that but the strength in tone and sharpness of image are all consuming and sadder than almost any I can recall. You describe life unraveled as well as anyone, and I have to commend you for your head on confrontation of reality. Great writing Abin...