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Friday, June 26, 2009

My First Fireflies

Rejoice, all ye faithful. She has returned.

And all of a sudden
I cannot see their faces anymore.
Though I can still tell them apart
By the sound of their laughs.

Treacherous ink has leaked
From the dying sky
Into the silent waters of the lake
And has smudged the trees
Into shapelessness.

From inside the sightless blue,
Some people we can no longer see
Are strumming a happy song.
One of us lights a match.

And we notice that
A nightful of jaded specters
Have turned into glowing cigarette ends
Hovering up
And down
And up.

This is when they come.
One.
Then two.
Then some more.
Till the tar is speckled
With tiny flying children
Holding lanterns,
Rushing out to play.

And finally,
Four weary delinquents
Get down to the serious business
Of making a plan for tonight,
In the shower of fireflies.


This is for Anik, Joy and Hasi, in memory of a deliciously lazy evening.
Photograph- The Lake, Kolkata.
Its good to be back.



Amritorupa Kanjilal also writes at Rivers I Have Known: Books, Reviews, and More. Please visit her there! 

54 paper boats came floating back to me:

P said...

really reallly reallly well written!

:)

muthu said...

I love it...

esp the ending--- "shower of fire flies"

also the way U described the drizzle was awesome.. :)

Zeba said...

Love this post. Hope u had an excellent vacation and got to do everyhting you wanted to!!

Preetilata【ツ】 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Preetilata【ツ】 said...

it's one of your best poems amrita. i just loved it. and the 2nd stanza is my favorite and will remain so for a long long time until u come up with something more brilliant than this and i think that it will happen so very soon :)

chobi tao ashadharon. tui tulechish?

Aniket Thakkar said...

Well you sure you went on a vacation and not for poetry learning sessions or something? This is real good stuff.

Hope you had plenty of near death experiences and had a terrible vacation (pure Nemesis style of saying you were missed :P)

And I must thank you coz your last post lead plenty of good people towards my direction. I owe you one for that.... wait a sec... I guess we are approaching evenness now considering how many of my friends you have grabbed. :P :P

All in all Welcome back!

Amritorupa Kanjilal said...

aniket- meaning to say i needed poetry learning session in the first place?

i nearly died of sweating, if that counts as a NDE.

all in all, very nice vacation.

and you don't have to thank me, that was one of the intents of the last post (just as you write homages to exalted friends sometimes). the other intent was that i knew you would reply to all the comments (and you did) and that would save me a world of trouble when i came back.

good to see nothing has changed :)

Amal Bose said...

that was beautifully done..
really loved the first three stanzas..

hope u really enjoyed ur vacation...

take care :)

Ashrita said...

Yayyyy! Look who is back! And surely with a bang!

Missed reading you, I swear. And The poem, well, It's beautiful! I could literally picture the scenario. Very well written :)

Good to have you back :D

Kriti said...

Welcome back!!

Alright.. missed you... not lying.. i swear...

perfect comeback!!

enjoyed it.. totally!!!

and that photograph.. beautiful.. who took it?

Shravan RN said...

HEY WELCOME BACK..

and a great way to come backk

"From inside the sightless blue,
Some people we can no longer see" :) loved these lines.. for the poems as well as personal reasons..

so how was the holidays little girl :D :P

Margaret said...

Great to see you back! And with such a fantastic poem! Love it!
Must have been a tremendous sight to see all those fireflies.

The pic is really beautiful :)

The Unsure Ascetic said...

welcome back. lovely poem.

the-sagittarian-blogger said...

Welcome back, LGL! Beautifully put!

The Sunflower Collective said...

Enjoyed the image you have painted..wish I could join in the "jukti takka aar gappa" u had that evening.

Lazy evenings are always welcomed by lazy people like us. And the smell of roots ,add the perfect flavour to it.

"Kolkata,gham,fireflies,kada and moner manush"

...lovely

Nice dedication to the experience you had and how it was sparkled up up by the fireflies.




P.S-Just wondering,
mosha kamraini?????

Ire said...

Now this is a brilliant way of coming back! Sigh...this is so vivid and lovely!

:)

Catherine Vibert said...

So very lovely Amrita, and welcome home! We have fireflies here, and I go out to look at them every night. They are so magical.

Sharmistha Guha said...

WELCOME BACK!!

Beautifully painted picture in words.

Lake er dhaare shondhye belar goppo bole homesick kore dile to!!

The pic is awesome! Clicked by you?

workhard said...

Hey girl....

nice poem.. seriously.. i tried haiku once.. i sucked at it i swear...

Pretty good work...:)

Roshni said...

"Treacherous ink has leaked
From the dying sky" ...loved that line!!

Hi from a newcomer!

Arv said...

hey... welcome back...

a beautiful poetry with a lovely backdrop...
liked it...

take care mate... cheers...

DPhatsez said...

What a return it is! :)

Welcome back Amrita! \m/

Pallav said...

hey where were u...

what a comeback..


Pallav

coffeeismypoison said...

WElcome back...
Beautiful picture...
lovelier words...
and a breathtaking picture you've painted.
You and Anik are lucky to get to spend such a long, lovely time together :o)

pradipwritenow said...

I was waiting for you
saying Oh! Little girl,where are you lost?
The Moon and the stars came back,
the spooted deer
the dried fountains
the small rivers
all came back
as the monsoon was lost and found.
you were found
dreaming near the lake
At last you came awake.
Amrita You are fresh now. Give us back the fragrance, the rhyms and rhythms that coalsecs and vibrates and gives the Amirt dhara.

Mahesh Sindbandge said...

I simply loved the first 12 lines wvery much..
in those lines i found reality portrayed in imaginative feelings of yours...


Simply superb that is..

wish i could write like that :-(

Cheers

Amit Kumar Das said...

"Treacherous ink has leaked
From the dying sky
Into the silent waters of the lake
And has smudged the trees
Into shapelessness"
..........just loved it........

I was wondering all these time, why have u fall silent and not posting anything.... If this is what took u so long.... go for another hiatus and I don't mind.....keep walking!!!

sujata sengupta said...

Good to have you back. lovely lines there..

Anonymous said...

And she's back and better then ever =D

Sucharita Sarkar said...

Great to have you back.
Recognised the photo right way. And your inimitable style....seems you had a great time in Kolkata.

Unknown said...

"And all of a sudden
I cannot see their faces anymore.
Though I can still tell them apart
By the sound of their laughs"

These are lines which ?I really wished I could write for some of my memories...you have expressed them so beautifully....Welcome back!!

Minko said...

Yup, the lake.:) shawmosto diner sheshey shondhey naamey...ar jonaakir rong jhilmil kawrey paandulipi tey, bawl?

Quaint Murmur said...

Rivers,

That was one of the most beautiful poems I've read recently!!! Fireflies are lovely beings :) And you've done complete justice to them with your poem!

Anil Sawan said...

beautiful amrits :) stil in bengal?? wen r u gona be in hyd?

Anonymous said...

*crafty jumps on LGL and hugs her, then helps her back on her feet*

YAYIE! u r back!!!!!

glad u had an awesome vacation!!!

this is so so lovely!
the pictures u paint with ur wods, be it many or just few..u always leave me with a feeling of "wish there was more"

lovely LGL! and touchwood! :D
hugs!!!!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful rendition of the coming night.

I'm glad you preserved it.

Karen said...

You've shown us the night. Lovely - sounds like a wonderful time.

Winnie the poohi said...

Beautiful poem!!

AbodhBalok said...

a good first read

Ruchika said...

Wow,
I loved the poem. You transported me back to a time in life where i could enjoy the scenic beauty of The Lake in person. The sheer beauty of the depiction is endearing.
I've often enjoyed this scene in person and this comes as close to the reality as words can get.
Thankyou.

Beautiful beautiful picture.

Pesto Sauce said...

Good to have you back....missed you

Hope you had a nice trip

joaquin carvel said...

that second stanza should be in a museum. love the way this one unfurls - the imagery and the ease of unplanned, unrushed moments. glad you're back.

Akash said...

wonderful...wonderful...reminded me of so many things...thank you..!!!

.... said...

Great to have your wonderful writing back Rivers...

Piratedred said...

I loved this...
I am new to your blog, but I can't wait to read more.

Tony

SUBHADIP said...

Durdanta likhecis kabitata..thanks that u r back..kmn katlo outing? Anekdin amr lekha porisn..visit koris na? wassup? Natun post add korlam..parle poris..u know ur view matters to me..really!

Sumi Mathai said...

this one is a wonderful poem.so so lovely.
*standing ovation*
:)

Raj said...

wow. that was something totally eloquent and intricate. u have gotta be something special.

:)

thanks for dropping in btw.

SUBHADIP said...

Amrita..parle post ta poris..I think tr bhalo lage..khub busy naki..ajkal? Naki rag hyce? Post ta para chai dost..

Me said...

Loved this one...

Beautifully written...

The Sunflower Collective said...

high time....start writting

Gayatri Shenoy said...

Your writings have a dreamy, idyllic touch to them. Heartfelt and genuine. Loved ur blog. Keep them coming.

Vesper said...

Treacherous ink has leaked
From the dying sky
Into the silent waters of the lake
And has smudged the trees
Into shapelessness.


What a beautiful, beautiful poem, Little Girl... There is the peace of the coming night in it, and its strange beauty...

AMIT said...

Its a very well written by you.

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