Sunday, April 26, 2015

smoky trails

smoke, not nuclear debris
blows into the air, acrid too,
tickling my nose. 

I watch the train on the bridge,
fascinated by the train of smoke,
a dark trail in clear sky

the seeds of toil on the ground-
a much needed respite from drudgery-
I touch my nose yet again

burnt ground, folly of merciless sun
or something unknown buried deep 
by black suited man

in the deep dark night-
all so hush hush,
where thoughts too are censored

on a clear day, I look at myself,
almost translucent skin-
nothing so spectacular

"mutant life abounds where I live
isolated, but for the train.
even smoke is a welcome diversion"


17 comments:

Unknown said...

Good write. I like the stanza where thoughts are censored at night. Meter is interesting as well.

Berowne said...

Holding, quite intriguing...

Anonymous said...

very good!

Kutamun said...

Citizens ! Rise up and follow the lead of fearless warriors Arundhati Roy , Vandana Shiva and Gautami Tripathi !

Old Egg said...

One of joys of my boyhood was train spotting. I loved the smoky smell and the thunder of steam engines as they rushed past us we stood in awe of these mighty machines. It was one of my best memories of long ago. Thanks for bringing that all back to me.

Linda Jacobs said...

It's amazing how simple ideas can produce such deep thoughts. You are an expert at it!

Tess Kincaid said...

The smoke is a welcome diversion indeed...

Helena said...

I wonder what the burial contained? Deep and both light and dark!

Maria Mainero said...

Something in this poem makes me think of an alien observer. I love it.

Harvee said...

Excellent, Gautami!

Susmit said...

A powerful write, kept me glued to those word- plays.

SuyashJ said...

'mutant life' that was powerful

SuyashJ said...

'mutant life' that was powerful

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

I welcome those days when nothing spectacular happens!

Susan Anderson said...

It really is a grand sight! You captured it well.

=)

Anonymous said...

I'm with Kutamun. What a treat to get back to poetry. It has been so long. Glad to see you have kept the flag flying.

Martha Eskuchen said...

Trains can certainly be inspiring. enjoyed the smoky sense of this piece. I like how you join an appropriate picture with your verses.