Tuesday, September 21, 2010

poetry in unlikely places

Poetry is sometimes discovered in the most non-poetic of places
Like in big English text boks--

In between catchy colourful captions
simplified prose and photographs
Lucid lines leap out
And a surprised child feels prickles down her spine
Looks up to see if others feel the same

Faces around her show in turn, polite interest,
studious intent, suppressed boredom
The teacher in her plaited cotton adjusts her glasses
She glances at her coldly not exactly saying, "I dare you to think!"
The pupil bends down quickly, finding none to share the thrill

As the woman scribbles on in a shady space
Trying to ignore the cigarette smoke
A menial supplying tea asks,"Writing a poem about the rain?"
Too surprised to share the truth, she wonders
how poetry is sometimes recognized
by the most non-poetic of people

5 comments:

BALA said...

'The teacher in her plaited cotton adjusts her glasses', Is that you?

BALA said...

I like the picture very much. It does not mean that i do not like your poem.

Raji said...

Do you consider me to be as staid as the picture i painted?

BALA said...

The picture does not look to me staid.

Raji said...

cotton pleats and thick black glasses don't seem staid to you?