At The Seashore

At the Seashore


I

The sun, sinking slowly behind Walkeshwar;
Giant tetrapods under me,
storing between them the garbage of the city;
Hawkers accosting unflinching couples;
Waves lapping gently at the shoreline;
The silent, patient fisherman awaiting a piscean tug;
The reverent Parsee bowing before the sun,
Muttering the day's final prayer;
Tired birds returning to the mainland;
Teenagers and loners,
children and bent-back old men,
walking, just walking along the Drive.

II

The wind smacking the wall on my left
Waging a never-ending war for supremacy --
Cars screeching past --
Bumpers dented in previous contacts;
A servant waiting while the family dog sniffs at goo;
Coconut-shells and corn-ears bobbing gently with the tide;
Urchins gathering refuse from among the rocks;
A young man-
jogging past at this late hour;
An old man skinny-dipping in these dirty waters;
Clouds drifting past, endlessly-beckoning the night sky!
Beggars, imploring,
tapping my shoulder, arm outstretched;
A lone ship anchored afar, visible thru' the smog;
Serene sea-watchers in the windows of posh, seaside flats;
A crab, scurrying past me, foraging for food;
Will these ever change?


III

Darkness stealthily creeps in;
Neon-lights go up in a colourful display;
The fly-over comes alive
As lamps light up on the bewitching Queen's necklace;
Traffic lessens, couples leave-
The fisherman, collecting his wares and his haul, departs;
Countless windows light up
as the tide comes crashing in;
Breaking waves,
resigning their force to the shore;
Moonrise-
expected, yet still unseen;
Waters-
darkening, rippling;
Chowpatty sands, floodlit;
I wish I could stay here forever.

© Dr. Taher Kagalwala, 2002.

Author's Note: This item was written by me as a young man of 20 or thereabouts as I sat by the Marine Drive seashore, wanting to do nothing but wait for the sun to set and to describe whatever I saw happening around me. When I took membership at www.writing.com, I took out my note-book and transcribed the entire poem from there on to this page. As you can check, the poem was added to my port on the very day my membership started on WDC.

This is the review I received from sherryb on 17th September 2008, nearly 6 years after the item was first put up by me in the port:

Dr. Taher,

This is a marvelous poem. Through your words I could smell the sea air and hear the gentle slapping of the waves on the shore. I could see the bustle of life at the shore as life was played out in so many different ways.

You speak of so many different things from the old man bathing in the waters to the crab scurrying by. As I read you poem, vivid images were conjured up in my mind. Beautifully written. Excellent.

Rating: