THE HUNT

In each shadow
Each bend
And inside me when I close my eyes
You stand staring at me

You always arrive before me
At the incomplete sea-bridge
At the hillside growing dark
At the old ghat
And back home
By the other way

Blue stripes on red, the shirt
Size 9 footwear
New watch that looks old
Specs that turn day into night.
You even ask me:
Isn't the size of your underwear 95?

You
You flirt with my love
Play with my kids
Perform rituals for my forefathers

Seeing you
My pet parrot sings
My dog wags its tail

I sleep waiting
For you to wake up
To walk alone
At least in a dream

On all the trees I planted
Flutter your flags

When I go hunting
Fall
The antlers I aimed at,
Pierced by your arrow.

© Thachom Poyil Rajeevan


Commentary:

A theme of modernism presented in a post-modern context lies at the core of this poem. The constant following of the other finally leads one to such a state that even awakening is scared of. In the world of haunting self-images even a walk alone in dream is impossible. The apparently transparent world outside renders the delicate, interpersonal internal existence mix with undesirable intricacies of market-controlled realities of contemporary society. The trespassing of the other into ones privacy, a perennial problem for modern man, is the theme of the poem. Wherever he goes he feels that somebody who knows him better than himself will be waiting for him, constantly watching; sometime even performing what he is supposed to do.

Thachom Poyil Rajeevan
Bonfire contributor