Awaiting Freedom

Thin long toes, dark and dry,
The toerings, shining, sized like a rye,
She trudged with a weight,
To get to the haveli, when it was light.
Slim sillouette moved gracefully,
Her eyes looking up ruefully,
The evening sun gleed upon her dusky skin,
Tired rays piercing her like a pin.
Long, narrow fingers clutched the shawl,
Screening her features from stranger?s prowl,
Straight stick arms groped pots of water,
Colourful clays, the craft of a rustic potter.
Red bangles chimming on her arms,
As she hurried with sweat inside her palms,
Her sick husband on his rickety bed,
Would otherwise slap, if he was not fed.
The women behind cackled with laughter,
The sound of anklets following after.
Her hasty footsteps slowed its pace,
Head tilting towards the dessert space.
Her sharp ears caught the deep voice,
The young widow singing with poise,
Was it a cry of loss and pain,
A husky song letting vent without vain.
The song was ancient, as old as their race,
A tradition more perplexed than a maze.
They, women cannot sing,laugh or even pout,
When their sturdy husbands were about.
Yet when he departs to worlds apart ,
The women mourn, with songs to support.
She cries alone hiding from the rest,
But a tinge of freedom at her behest.
Now she must hurry before the sky turns black,
When the jackals comes out in a larger pack.
Her man at home, she cannot let him wait,
Inspite he in anger catches another bait,
Tomorrow, she will return to hear the widow?s song,
Because she too will sing, before long,
Sitting by the tree on lonely days,
Her freedom, a token of her mourning days. S. Krithiga

In an evocative manner, the poet portrays the common plight of Asian life. However, one cannot generalise the plight of a woman in Asia as it by and largely depends on ?her? social status. Through a portrayal of an old woman at the tail end of her life, the poet tries to depict the plight of a generation. The dependency of women in Asian society, though differs in degree from one class to another, is a still prevalent phenomenon. In this narrative poem, the poet portrays it skilfully. -Indeewara

All over it?s dark?.

It?s dark,
more than it ought to be.
It?s dark,
a darkness I?ve never seen.
It?s dark,
with no brightness at all.
It?s dark,
a darkness which gives a
mystic and a gloomy feeling.
It?s dark,
more than when it?s night,
more than when all the lights are turned off,
more than a starless sky,
more than in a prison.

No companion around,
No magical powers,
No fairy with a magic stick.
And I?m left alone in a deep dark desert.

I try to wait patiently,
I try to show that I?m fearless.
I try to gather every bit of courage.
I try to find a hope in darkness.

Far away I see a flickering flame; a ray of hope!
It appears,
and disappears in the next moment.
I try to find out my way,
where there is hope,
where there is life?

D.M.D. Kanchana
University of Kelaniya.

The poem is about darkness in life. It seems that the narrator?s life is covered in darkness without companionship. In a way, it is a lamentation on the part of a girl who is left alone as if in a desert. However, towards the end of the poem, hope flickers in the horizon and the poet says that the flickering ?light? is hope and also the life. The poet has used repetition to drive home the intense feeling of loneliness. The poet uses a simple diction. -Indeewara