Poetry

She

Alone she lived in a cozy apartment

Ups and downs in life her regular visitors were

(A bit more punctual than in anyone else’s life)

Some on a short visit while others stayed quite long!

To live with them she had learned as we all do

Till the ‘downs’ overpowered the ‘ups’

Accompanied with loneliness she had to bear them

Not a soul to help relieve the pain and the drudgery

At tethers end of her patience and tolerance she reached

Yet boldly she trudged on

But unexpectedly one day her tranquility she lost!

Too many mishaps strewed her path

Not a moment’s peace could she have

One crisis after another raced in impatiently

She screamed and shouted –

What next in store for me ‘You’ have-

Oh God, some mercy on me please shower!

Unto deaf ears her pleadings seemed to fall

Yet never for a moment did her faith falter

God, she believed had His reasons-

Was probably testing her fortitude

But determined she was in defeating her ordeals

Facing every adversity as valiantly as she could

Being human-

Her valor at times seemed to abate

Giving a vent to her pent up exasperation

Helped her in regaining serenity

To God she prayed—

‘Forgive me Great Lord for shouting and screaming

But I’m just an ordinary human being, a lonely one

You alone are my Savior, my Lord Protector

So my good Lord-

Kindly bless and shield me from all evil

Please keep me safe by day and night

That’s all I ask of Thee!

Thank you, O Lord for everything!’

                                                                            ~Anuradha.S.Bannore

                                                                            Vadodara, India

4 Comments

  1. A very moving account of a faithful ‘s ordeal , pain ,defeat and triumph !
    Simple yet powerful words that bring to mind the powerful Tagore poem “ klanti amar khoma karo Prabhu !”
    I always look forward to Ms Bannore’s creative works .

  2. ‘ Why on earth problems wait in queue for me alone ‘, is what everyone thinks!
    We’re not alone in thinking so,for everyone has a problem coming one after the other!
    Reconciling ourselves with this view will provide us with universal remedy for one and all!

  3. First of all thanx Ms Misra & Shri O K Shivagnanam for your views & appreciation of my poem. Secondly undoubtedly everyone has a lean period in his / her life but no matter how strong one tries to be, courage does ditch one when there are too many problems on one’s head because we are just ordinary human beings. And in a way it’s good to give a vent to your problems because it releases the pain of suffering which could lead to mental/ physical health problems. The wall of reconciliation and acceptance of problems doesn’t always help one. It does affect one’s health both physical as well as mental. There maybe a few in thousands who can bear the burden of problems very coolly but not many. It would be an excellent thing if all could do so.

  4. well written expostulations in poetic form anuradhaji.
    congrats for defining a woman’s constant ordeal she faces throughout her life
    although we talk so much about women’s movements and emancipation the fact remains they are all a farce and not all women are the lucky ones who live in towers of glory, fame and wealth