Unshared Remembrance
May 8th 2010 06:06
By Maimoona Rahman
The old teak chair creaked
With his feather weight.
An old grey sculpture
Manifested bearded old Grandpa.
His stare locked at the North Star
In the pitch-black summer sky.
A cloud, a cow, a bat,
A hat, a saucer, and dreams,
And smoke so hazy, so dense
Rose from his pipe
As though carrying with them
A missive mammoth
To deliver to the North Star.
But somewhere between was
Tryst with fatal tragedy-
The missive got rendered lost.
So Grandpa looked on;
Lost, hurt, and inconsolable.
Indoors was gleeful, noisy-
Post-dinner chaos before the black plasma screen
Maybe a family comedy-
Laughter the dominant noise.
Spoons clicked with melamine,
Desert slurped up.
This was the family moment,
Afar from monotonous, mundane ruckus
Ruling everyone, everyday.
None of everyday labour,
None of family gaiety,
None of anything, anywhere
Now penetrated pensive Grandpa.
Slowly, rhythmically, his chest heaved;
A barely audible muffle of breath issued.
His visual interaction was on.
Maybe North Star paid attention.
Maybe in North Star he saw her-
Long lost, long forgotten Grandma.
Within he silently celebrated
His first rendezvous with her.
Churning out a melancholic melody,
His heart bled with loss,
With cherished memories.
Even a word was beyond his utterance.
Anyway, did anyone care?
The old teak chair creaked
With his feather weight.
An old grey sculpture
Manifested bearded old Grandpa.
His stare locked at the North Star
In the pitch-black summer sky.
A cloud, a cow, a bat,
A hat, a saucer, and dreams,
And smoke so hazy, so dense
Rose from his pipe
As though carrying with them
A missive mammoth
To deliver to the North Star.
But somewhere between was
Tryst with fatal tragedy-
The missive got rendered lost.
So Grandpa looked on;
Lost, hurt, and inconsolable.
Indoors was gleeful, noisy-
Post-dinner chaos before the black plasma screen
Maybe a family comedy-
Laughter the dominant noise.
Spoons clicked with melamine,
Desert slurped up.
This was the family moment,
Afar from monotonous, mundane ruckus
Ruling everyone, everyday.
None of everyday labour,
None of family gaiety,
None of anything, anywhere
Now penetrated pensive Grandpa.
Slowly, rhythmically, his chest heaved;
A barely audible muffle of breath issued.
His visual interaction was on.
Maybe North Star paid attention.
Maybe in North Star he saw her-
Long lost, long forgotten Grandma.
Within he silently celebrated
His first rendezvous with her.
Churning out a melancholic melody,
His heart bled with loss,
With cherished memories.
Even a word was beyond his utterance.
Anyway, did anyone care?
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