Tuesday, December 2, 2008

welcoming .(osi)

'diners'

poured out of a kalashnikov
food for the diners
the floor of the restaurant
a canvas of death
bullets scratch the wall
calligraphing the terror
a grenade explodes
throwing up in flames
a dream,a hope,a life
forming a cloud of smoke
outside a man awaits
afraid and fearful
will he be welcoming
his wife through the carnage
a rattle of gunfire
colder than november..*

(*november 26.08_terror attacks mumbai)

/original/z.g.

12 comments:

  1. Just as the carnage you describe will not be forgotten, nor will this compelling, very difficult poem be forgotten by me. Your imagery impresses on me deeper than the photos.

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  2. As I read I wondered how welcoming could have a place amongst such carnage. Such a difficult situation for the relatives who could only hope that their loved ones were safe. Your poem brings home to us the impact of terrorism on ordinary lives.

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  3. Deborah Godin said...

    "Hi again - Zoya, although I read you work often, and visit your OSI every time you post there, I don't always come here to fill up this blog with my comments, but I had to come today after reading your contributions on the current prompt 'welcoming' to say that I was very moved by your words in response to the terrible attacks on Mumbai. Take care."

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  4. Sad current events. Not the vacation many had planned, for sure. Perfect last line.

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  5. Excellent work on a tragic topic. It hits home and unsettles the reader...

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  6. Yes. Thank you for giving pause that we might think again about what has happened. Very powerful and effective. God bless.

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  7. So far away and yet so very personal; all tears are our tears. Thank you for a very profound poem. Great job.

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  8. Profoundly moving. "a rattle of gunfire colder than november." Such horrific events that make me despair for humanity. At the same time it is my hope that the darkness of the perpetrators will bring out the best and not the worst in the rest of us. Peace. Thank you for your poem.

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  9. Dear zg--
    This poem ripped through me--
    Thank you for writing it--it is very painful and the ending lines leave us hanging like so many on the planet live, everyday...
    Thank you, thank you,

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  10. And thank you, Zoya. I read your poem very slowly, wondering what was to be. Yes, a homecoming, but "afraid and fearful will he be welcoming his wife through the carnage a rattle of gunfire colder than november.."
    She was cold (dead), right?
    If as I read it, this is very sad indeed.
    Thank you again,
    ..

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  11. Beautiful words are so often the antidote to such terrible events.

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..namastey!~