Three Poems by Dr Bikram Kumar Mohapatra

 

A BARE SOLITUDE


This is the kind of solitude
that restores the ambiguity of thought
and shields a sad screen on consciousness.


The amorous man’s soliloquy
is about the modernity of sex
and the poet looks for
the new born words.


Before the evening the infernal smoke uproars
From the kitchen.
The nest coming birds
have a glimpse on the poet and the man
while flying away with their bare crotches.


The birds hovering becomes trivial to man
but inspiration to the poet.


Suddenly a ghostly silence succumbs
the forgetfulness in depression
As another setting sun
spills the past on water.


Before the last ember
dies from the burial
before the last whisp of smoke ends


The amorous man weeps
but a lulling sanity unravels the poet.
The sobbing sound emanates from him
as an euphonic elegy
which is sweetest enough and eternal.




IN THE MOMENTS OF THE SETTING SUN



In the indifferent moment of the setting sun
the spirit of bonhomie elongates on the
surface of water


An old fisherman sits silently beside the
river looking for a better prey
in loneliness.


Hours drift slowly shackled by the
wriggling hope.


In the widening dusk
a stupid desperation
broods over the fisherman with a strange
failure of tactics
suddenly an unidentified effortless
impotency curves on his
rheumy eyes.


Time and again a kingfisher hovers round the
sky and dives with the blue of the sky in to the blue
of the water.
it comes out victorious with the
virtuous moments as a living fish crawls in to
the eternal gloom through its beak.


Yet.
Just before the evening an owl hoots in the
emptiness of destiny
the ruminative shadow
of the fisherman silhouetted on
the amplitude of water.


He gets himself ready to catch the shadow as a fish
by stretching his net over the surface.


Although the sun moves westward
offering the reddish darkness
for an infinite and eternal order.




THE MONOLOGUE OF A DWARF



Each day
Shackled by the ruthless curiosity
I come out to go along the road
people laugh at me earnestly
stamping the symbol of a reptile
on my lulling gesture as if I am a mongoose.


And all day
Thoroughly defying my aptitude the incredible
desires inspire me to discover the exited
sanity even in the crowd.


How Columbus and Vasco da Gama
lead towards a new land?


I make a sordid search relentlessly watching
Every intent eyes around.


Late in the night
bitten by a haunting dream in grim silence
I kill a snake that raises its hood
with much disturbed hissing sound
and again
I sleep beside the dead serpent’s coil.


Early in the morning
wisps of cloud float in my sky
an uncertain requiem drips down
in to the dark pit of my heart
I open the eyes
a nameless sorrow suddenly
fades out as my mother wakes me up.


Once again
I hear the cracking of thunder
and ceaseless pouring of rain.

Dr Bikram Kumar Mohapatra, a senior lecturer in English language and literature under govt of odisha, India.  He has done ph.D on comparative poetry.

He is a widely published poet and critic in English literature. He has also presented papers in many national and international seminars. He is also an author of the book, Metaphysics of confession: The poetry of Sylvia Plath and Kamala Das.