Monday, 15 August 2011

The Song of the Woodpecker;Memories of Childhood-A Poem


The little boy of three sits gazing out of the open window,hearing,
Hearing the  song of the Woodpecker echoing in the mountains!
The  song strikes a chord of sadness in the child’s heart- wonder
What the song means,(melancholy in the silence that falls ‘tween).
He  misses  his parents who’ve    gone to work and their absence
Wrenches  at the chords in his heart! Oh! that a child should feel
The  sadness of a brief parting! The scent of the incense wafts in
From  the  church nearby! The chant of the prayers sinks into his
Consciousness.   The evenings  turn  pleasant with grown up girls
Taking him to   church. They laugh and talk and carry or guide the
Little  boy  on. For,  to say  a prayer for a dear one, they bid  him
Wait  at the porch.  The   song  of the woodpecker returns  mixed
With  the  scent    of    myrrh,  bitter-sweet, cloying to the   sense.
The   girls  carry  the little boy  home, laughing and joking, but the
Little  boy is sad having learned the lesson of life, that  nothing is
Permanent,   and  each  parting from loved ones brings  sadness!
The song of the woodpecker and the scent of incense say it all!


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1 comment:

  1. Beautiful lines the takes one into another life of childhood ! I remember the pigeons that we had in Addis Abeba and the awesome smell of nature at Arbaminch . Not forgotten those hugh fish Dad used to catch ( 20 kgs and above ). Childhood memories are the best of one’s entire life span .

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