Cognizant Of Heights

[SivaRamanathan]

Cognizant Of Heights

From a nineteenth floor in Bangalore,
I view miniature shrubs and lakes,
and measure an eagle’s wingspan.

I do not have to crane my neck,
to get a feel of the clouds.

Pigeons are the same as from the Mughal period
my eyes strain for smaller birds.

The clothes are multiple hued
seen through others' windows.

One evening he had made paper helicopters
launch from above the parapet.

He tells me this is for his drones
perhaps he would perch one on the opposite flat.

He dares me to contradict
his inclination for heights.

To beat the fear of heights
I ask my son
to close the balcony with grills.
--------------------------------------
He dares me to contradict
his inclination for heights.

By looking down
I measure the length and breadth of an eagle’s wings.

She tells me this is for his drones
perhaps he would perch one on the opposite flat.

One evening he had made paper helicopters
launch from above the parapet.

I do not have to crane my neck,
to get a feel of the clouds.

Pigeons are the same as from the Mughal period
my eyes strain for smaller birds.

The clothes are multiple hued
seen through other’s windows.

To beat the fear of heights
I ask my son
to close the balcony with grills.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I ask my son
to close the balcony with grills
my fear of heights.

She tells me the open verandah is for his drones
perhaps he would perch one on the opposite flat.

One evening he had made paper helicopters
launch from above the parapet.

I do not have to crane my neck,
to get a feel of the clouds.

By looking down
I measure the length and breadth of an eagle’s wings.

Pigeons are the same as from the Mughal period
my eyes strain for smaller birds.

The clothes are multiple hued
seen through other’s windows.

He dares me to contradict
his inclination for heights.

He prefers the open balcony
beyond the French glass window.

[Michael (MV)]

Hi Siva,

re "She tells me this is for his drones"

antecedent - who is the pronoun "she" referring to?


esp:

"I ask my son
to close the balcony with grills."

^^ recalls to me Lorca's

"Fare well"

by Federico García Lorca   (translated by W. S. Merwin)

If I die,
leave the balcony open.

The little boy is eating oranges.
(From my balcony I can see him.)

The reaper is harvesting the wheat.
(From my balcony I can hear him.)

If I die,
leave the balcony open!


If you are not already representing elsewhere, would you please consider letting this poem represent for the Block this June IBPC.

Please accept or decline ASAP in the thread: Upcoming IBPC June 2014

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5883




Michael (MV)

 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

[SivaRamanathan]

Michael

Thanks for asking me. I have made the necessary amendments.

Siva

[SivaRamanathan]

Michael
Please edit these two lines.Shall I keep them or kill them?

Nineteenth Floor, in Bangalore, ozone;
the view, filled with shrubs and lakes.

Please treat this as urgent. I will have to make changes in the link also.

Siva

[Michael (MV)]

 
Hi Siva,


sharing my workshop suggestion:

From a nineteenth floor in Bangalore,
I view miniature shrubs and lakes,
and measure the length and breadth
of an eagle’s wings.


I'm hearing:
of an eagle's wingspan
^^ but that might be overwrite with " length and breadth"


or possibly instead w/out "length and breadth"

From a nineteenth floor in Bangalore,
I view miniature shrubs and lakes,
and measure an eagle’s wingspan.





Michael (MV)



"The Eagle" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson 1809–1892

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[SivaRamanathan]

Michael

Yes,I know I can depend on you.I have used your edit.Thanks.

Siva