Skip to main content

Ophelia's Mistakes

 


I see people, 

People intoxicated by the pictures and paintings of Ophelia's 

Flowery death. 

Her death image gives them aesthetic pleasure, 

As controlled women always gave them. 

Her hairs afloat, start to sleep on to the water, 

Flowers shrouding her body, 

Eyes open to a world of her own, 

Singing songs of despair.

But little did she realize the danger, 

The danger of clinging on to a hopeless end, 

Like the bough that broke beneath her. 

She was beneath the procrastinated love, 

That demanded her to leave for a nunnery, 

Where she could have grown out of love, 

Leaving a dull yet moving life in her, 

Under the orders of others. 

Little did she understand the fleeting 

Feelings inside men, 

The constant tribulations of mind, 

That demand their essence and 

Drink off the sanity. 

She mistook the words and its soul, 

She made her life revolve around one improper love, 

She didn't realize the wonders in life beyond romantic love, 

Or no one helped her. 

Deaths made her mourn, 

It took over her fragile mind, 

Making garlands of wildflowers, 

Climbing into a willow tree, 

She left her soul in the tree

And made her body floating in the water, 

To be the talk of the country, 

To teach young girls of love and chained lives. 

Yet her silk garments trapped air to stay afloat, 

But her body decided to sink, 

Deep down,

Turning herself an image for

Fighter of dignity, 

And a symbol of women lost in social chains. 

Oh, Ophelia, these are your mistakes. 

A. C

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Grendels

Horror is lurking behind every moment of darkness, Seeming to be human, we cannot distinguish you from Grendel. We see no Beowulfs coming to rip off your arms that aid you well. When every closed door warns us, Every stare seems to map our bodies, Every vehicle appears to follow us, Every touch seems to warn us, You, cultured and well behaved, You are the light of the day, You are the Lord of the people, Who metamorphose into damned dangers  At the end of the day. Your venomous fangs go in search of  Prey, You wait in the darkness with twinkling eyes, Admiring the power of your hands, That can open up hearts, And show the uncultured your worth.  After every hunting, the sycophants who surround you, Kiss your hands and touch your feet. They wash your dirt and make your bed. They cure your sickness by gifting you scepters. Making you invisible, they uproot every Beowulfs to ensure your reign. Thus you flourish, never to die but to hunt and haunt. And behind your house, we s...

All I Want for Us is to Feel Again

  We were young girls Who used to play at the beach,  Hugging, we watched the sun drowning.  We danced till the candyman went home,  Our skirts swayed with the wind,  Cajoling us to stay a bit longer.  We never thought this picture would fade away.  I know this would never come back,  But I want to feel again.  I want to go back where my heart is.  All I want is to be free and feel again.  The colours and smell still linger with me,  I miss the happiness I felt,  The aches that watered me.  My skin misses the way it felt,  My hair misses the gentle kiss of the beach wind The bookstores and beach waters wait for us,  They send a thousand silent sirens to us,  When will we feel it again?  The recklessness of age,  the courage of freedom,  the music in our brains,  And the limbs that never stopped.  The yellow city lights Gladly kissing the fine roads,  absorbed our shadows,...

AN ONAM OF GRATITUDE AND HUMANITY

It was a time when people could have  become selfish. It was a time when people could have made maximum utilisation of the situation. It was a time when people could have thrown the dirt of religion, gender, caste and politics among themselves. It was a time when people could have divided themselves as have's and have not's. It was a time when women and children could have faced great exploitation. But over the past few days we saw nothing of that sort when nature made its most devastating dance over our homeland, Kerala. The floods, worst in a century, have claimed lives of 231 people in the last 10 days besides rendering over 14 lakh people homeless but,we saw our state overpowering all the impossibilities and helping the crores of people survive. We saw hundreds of people,from children to old men coming forward to save our homeland, they could have ignored the suffering of people and enjoyed the festive season awaiting them. But each one of them refused to be part of c...