Creation and Criticism

Dr Shobha Diwakar, the retired Head, Dept. of English, C P Mahila Mahavidhyalaya, Jabalpur, M.P., contributes regularly in the fields of creative writing and criticism. She can be contacted through her email: shobhadiw@yahoo.com.

1. Love

Your soft petal lips

Sucked

Mine

Drank all the nectar

The honey bereft flower

Hung loose

Still fresh

The nectar will be there

For tomorrow

2. Caprice

As I stand on the beach

Gazing at the endless

Silent flowing waters

Rushing and overtaking each other

To merge into its destination

Someone disturbs its calm

And throws a stone dismantling its sequence

I watch steadily at the upheaval it creates

As the hush suddenly fades

And

The waters twirl and swirl angrily

The stone disappears into its smoky thickness

As if from nowhere, there rises a fluffy wave

Rolling forward, rising,

And

Curdling with a roar

Lashing the beach

Leaving behind shimmering conch shells

Glistening pebbles, glossy oyster shells…

Even as I stand and stare at the river’s grateful treasure

And

Watch children rushing to fill their pails with it

I reflect upon man’s heedless actions

To drill its bed mercilessly

Even as the hunt continues

I perceive the sandy igloos, now deserted

Waiting to be inhabited

Just then

The sun swiftly goes down

Spreading its dazzling hue across the blue sky

Dusk envelopes the environment

Children gleefully gather their cache

The stars and the moon twinkle and shine

To spread their glory

To brighten up the lonely track

I stand- alone

As the moon steadily climbs

Higher and higher in the sky

3. Through the Looking Glass

I stood before the mirror

And asked it jovially

What it did staring at faces

And,

What it thought of me?

Staring at me quizzically

It merrily chuckled and said,

“First tell me what you think of yourself?”

Slightly puzzled by the retort,

I thought awhile and snapped,

“Let me think where to begin

And then I’ll launch in.”

I kept staring at the mirror

Then asked it frankly

If I could walk through it and ponder

Over what I wished to reveal

As it nodded and basked awhile

I crossed through it and smiled

For all the years of trouble I took

To look beyond the miles

Old faces saw I through the mirror

Faces I loved and adored

Whether at home

And school and college

As the years tore

The grasslands green

The conscience clean

All those whom I adored

Were looking through their

Own clear glasses

Their reflections galore

They loved and lost

All their dear ones

Sometime long ago

To be with them was all they cared

And so

They travelled remote

I joined them on their way

To reflect upon the past

And as I moved away

From the looking glass

I found myself strolling freely

On the outside grass

4. Destiny

Your path and mine

Lie far apart

Two ends that never meet

The more you stretch

The longer it extends

Till the points are marked

So sharp and frail

One can just feel them

Pricking

Deep and fierce

Yet, …

Stretching along

It cannot be cut

It can only be bent

It can only …

Stretch along

5. Aroma

The cosy mist

Reposing on

Slumbering leaves

Jiggles them

From stupor

Parched wind

Sucks

Fading drops

Blending gaiety

As grasshoppers’ caper

Tasting dewy grass seeds

Moist

Cool

Hush!

It is not yet warm

The sun

Reluctant to permeate

The hazy mist lies dull

Elsewhere

Sing Crickets

Melting the moment

The chirping birds

Embrace the clamour

Gently flap their wings

To greet the benevolence

Of the resplendent sun,

Now awake

Cows low,

Sheep bleats

Glistening fields

Bow down to the radiance

Hastily

Farmers stride out

Nature all around

Sings merrily

To the windy tune

Capturing

Essence of the day

6. On the Sands of Time

Far beyond

Lies the sea

The ocean of life

Blue as blue can be

There comes a wave

Invincible

Muscular

Devouring the ripples

My heart soars

I watch in awe

The tidal waves

Ebb and flow

Rise and fall in cadence

Below

Floats out the sand

Rummaged with

Shiny pebbles

Cowries and conch shells

Of different hues

Shapes and sizes

Footprints

Live and die

As milky waves

Rush to the banks

To wash them away

I attempt to stand once again

To recast the print.