Once Upon a Time – Gabriel Okara
Once
upon a time, son,
they
used to laugh with their hearts
and
laugh with their eyes;
but now
they only laugh with their teeth,
while
their ice-block-cold eyes
search
behind my shadow
There
was a time indeed
they
used to shake hands with their hearts;
but
that’s gone, son.
now
they shake hands without hearts
while
left hands search
my
empty pockets.
“Feel
at home!” “Come again”;
they
say, and when I come
again
and feel
at
home, once, twice,
there
will be no thrice—
for
then I find doors shut on me.
So I
have learned many things, son.
I have
learned to wear many faces
like
dresses—homeface,
officeface,
streetface, hostface,
cocktailface,
with all their conforming smiles
like a
fixed portrait smile.
And I
have learned, too,
to
laugh with only my teeth
and
shake hands without my heart.
I have
also learned to say, ‘Goodbye;
when I
mean ‘Good-riddance’;
to say
‘Glad to meet you;
without
being glad; and to say ‘It’s been
nice
talking to you; after being bored.
But believe
me, son.
I want
to be what I used to be
when I
was like you, I want
to
unlearn all these muting things.
Most of
all, I want to relearn
how to
laugh, for my laugh in the mirror
shows
only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs!
So show
me, son,
how to
laugh; show me how
I used
to laugh and smile
once
upon a time when I was like you.
laugh with their hearts :
laugh sincerely with genuine happiness
laugh with their teeth :
laugh superficially without any feelings
ice-block-block eyes :
cold and without any warm feelings
shake hands with their hearts: greet with sincerity
doors
shut on me : this means that though people speak
with warm feelings, they actually do not
mean
anything nice and do not want visitors.
wear
many faces : to fit into the present world and be
just as superficial as others
unlearn
all these muting things:
the speaker would like to forget being insincere and be genuine and
sincere like his son again
The Man He Killed – Thomas Hardy
‘Had he
and I but met
By some
old ancient inn,
We
should have sat us down to wet
Right
may a nipperkin!
‘But
ranged as infantry,
And
staring face to face,
I shot
at him as he at me,
And
killed him in his place.
‘I shot
him dead because—
Because
he was my foe,
Just
so: my foe of course he was;
That’s
clear enough; although
‘He
thought he’d ’list, perhaps,
Off-hand
like— just I —
Was out
of work—had sold his traps—
No
other reason why.
‘Yes;
quaint and curious war is!
You
shoot a fellow down
You’d
treat if met where any bar is,
Or help
to half-a-crown’.
nipperkin :
a measure for liquids, containing half a pint or less
infantry :
soldiers who operate on foot
’list :
abbreviated form of ‘enlist’, that is, enroll for
sold his traps :
sold whatever he had
quaint :
strange and (here) somewhat unpredictable
Where the Mind is without Fear – Rabindranath Tagore
Where
the mind is without fear and
the
head is held high;
Where
knowledge is free;
Where
the world has not been broken
up into
fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where
words come out from the depth of truth;
Where
tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where
the clear stream of reason has not lost
its way
into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where
the mind is led forward by thee into
ever-widening
thought and action—
Into
that heaven of freedom my father,
my
country awake.
where the head is held high :
refers to pride in one’s freedom
where knowledge is free :
where one does not have t pay for acquiring knowledge
fragments :
bits and pieces
narrow domestic walls :
this refers to divisions of caste and creed.
truth :
the ultimate reality, the goal of great poets and philosophers
depth of truth :
where what one says is completely honest
tireless striving :
refers to the endless efforts that need to be made
clear stream of reason :
a reference to the rule of reason
dead habit :
outdated practices
ever-widening :
expanding horizons
thought and action :
the two facets of a balanced personality
let my country awake :
a prayer for the intellectual and spiritual freedom of the country.
heaven of freedom : a joyful abode which has freedom for the
individual
Woman Work – Maya Angelou
I’ve
got the children to tend
The
clothes to mend
The
floor to mop
The
food to shop
Then
the chicken to fry
The
baby to dry
I got
company to feed
The
garden to weed
I’ve
got shirts to press
The
tots to dress
The
cane to be cut
I gotta
clean up this hut
Then
see about the sick
And the
cotton to pick.
Shine
on me, sunshine
Rain on
me, rain
Fall
softly, dewdrops
And
cool my brow again.
Strom,
blow me from here
With
your fiercest wind
Let me
float across the sky
’Til I
can rest again.
Fall
gently, snowflakes
Cover
me with white
Cold
icy kisses and
Let me
rest tonight.
Sun,
rain, curving sky
Mountain,
oceans, leaf and stone
Star
shine, moon glow
You’re
all that I can call my own.
tend :
to look after and care for
tots :
tiny children
weed :
to remove the weeds which are intrusive and destructive of plants
cotton to pick :
picking cotton from its capsule is usually done manually, by hand. This refers
to the
woman’s
labour of cultivating cotton
cool my brow :
to soothe one’s tiredness and exhaustion
snowflakes :
the frozen crystals of ice which fall to the earth at very low temperatures
curving sky :
refers to the shape of the which is spherical
An Old Woman – Arun Kolatkar
An old
woman grabs
hold of
your sleeve
and
tags along.
She
wants a fifty paise coin.
She
says she will take you
to the
horseshoe shrine.
You’ve
seen it already.
She
hobbles along anyway
and
tightens her grip on your shirt.
She
won’t let you go.
You
know how old women are?
They
stick to you like a burr.
You
turn around and face her
with an
air of finality.
You
want to end the farce.
When
you hear her say,
‘What
else can an old woman do
On
hills as wretched as these?’
You
look right at the sky.
Clear
through the bullet holes
she has
for her eyes.
And as
you look on,
the
cracks that begin around her eyes
spread
beyond her skin.
And the
hills crack.
And the
temples crack.
And the
sky falls
With a
plateglass clatter
around
the shatter proof cone
who
stands alone.
And you
are reduced
to so
much small change
in her
hand.
tag :
follow closely
hobble :
walk with difficulty because of hurt or disabled legs
burr :
a prickly seed case or flower head that clings to clothing and animal fur
air of finality :
the impression that there is nothing more to be said or done
farce :
an absurd event
wretched :
in a very unfortunate state; miserable
plateglass :
very clear glass of fine quality made in thick sheets
clatter :
confused noise as of hard ad heavy things falling or knocking together
crone :
(derogatory) an ugly old woman
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