Poetry
aphasia
A Poem by PARVINDER MEHTA
aphasia: from ancient Greek, "speechlessness" - an impairment of language ability. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to being completely unable to speak, read, or write. [Wikipedia]
furies unleashed
taboos emboldened
mobs frenzied
agendas disguised
no rhyme or reason
neighbors in treason
fanatic rivalries
dragging victims
ripping hairs
tearing clothes
snatching dupattas
shameful groping
lustful attacking
disgusting honor
stabbing fetuses
unbirthing life
strangling shock
killing chores
clipping beards
garlanding tires
splashing kerosene
smoking cigarettes
forcing cigarettes
afraid lips
horrified eyes
evil smiles
deadly ambers
fiery dragons
rising fire
exhibiting deaths
moving on
teaching lessons
looting riches
dancing mayhem
another victim
check marked list
killing more
uncovering hide-outs
revealing informants
discriminating demons
cleaning crews
resuming normalcy
shoveling bodies
dying half-deaths
eternal oblivion
no name victims
unnamed predators
no memorials
buried secrets
reluctant forgetting
ghosted spectacle
erased memories
etched nightmares
punctuated emotions…
failed hope
failed justice
failed ideals
... failed words
failed …
fai …
July 25, 2012
Conversation about this article
1: Loveleen Kaur (San Diego, California, USA), July 25, 2012, 3:19 PM.
You've left me speechless -- and breathless! Vivid images -- powerful, painful and evocative. Bless you for the carefully crafted words.
2: Jaspreet Kaur (Birmingham, United Kingdom), July 25, 2012, 3:51 PM.
Hard hitting, blow by blow, line by line, breath by breath. You remind me of another wonderful poet on this very site - Michele Gibson (haven't had much from her recently, though). Like her, you shook me up, and brought every pore alive again.
3: K.P. Singh (Indianapolis, Indiana, USA), July 26, 2012, 6:40 AM.
We often hear the prayer: if the wounds, spirit, and soul of the victims could speak ...you, Michele Gibson, and a number of other gifted souls are doing just that, and we are reminded of the magnitude and horror of the darkest chapter in recent Indian history. Such powerful words and testimony of the survivors of unconscionable tragedies paint a thousand images of inhumanity and outrage against innocence and innocents and continuing acts of violence in many areas around the world. God is witness to this assault on His children and the voices of conscience are our daily prayers and petitions before the Lord to heal the wounds, redress past failures and wrongs, and make this earth a place where human dignity and justice for all are man's offering at His lotus feet. "Lord, hear our prayer!"
4: Jimmy (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada), July 26, 2012, 9:14 AM.
I might be too young to know, but is this about the Partition days? Either way, I've got goosebumps.
5: L De La Foret (Northampton, United Kingdom), July 26, 2012, 12:16 PM.
I've got a lot of comments about aphasia because I have it. The words tell it all - perfectly. I found some others too http://redoable.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/now-i-can-explain-in-words-what-this-thing-in-my-brain-does-they-call-it-aphasia/