The campaign #MyfriendAlexa2021 is coming to an end today and this is my last post for it. As I was reading a poetry book, I came across the poem ANOTHER STACK OF HUTS by Marilyn Bayros Noronha. Her short stories have been published in magazines and one of her stories Jyoti Means Light, was read on the BBC world short story programme.
The poem "Another stack of Huts" depicts the plight of the poor and the homeless who lead a life bereft of dignity and respect. "Nameless" and "faceless" they drift along with no sense of belonging or identity. Day -to-day existence is a nightmare as most of them live below the poverty line.
The situation worsens when nature plays havoc in their lives. Natural disasters can leave great continents torn apart and lost, worse is the condition of these people. Their suffering becomes manifold when they encounter natural disasters like Tsunami.
The poet thematises the sufferings of Tsunami affected people. It was on the 26th December 2004, that Tsunami savagely affected the southwest coastal region of India. The smashing force of a wall of water travelling at high speed and the destructive power of a large volume of water carry their few belongings and leave them destitute.
Unable to come to terms with it, they shy away from life, and live in mortal fear and abject shame desperately trying to retrieve their lost dignity and identity. Rendered homeless, they experience neglect which leads to a great sense of disgust and frustration. Their struggle for meaningful existence is met only with callousness, totally devoid of empathy. This leaves them in a state of dejection and disillusionment.
In the last two stanzas, the poet depicts undying spirit of these people. The spirit of fortitude and forbearance that they possess enables them to reassert themselves. Then, comes the reaffirmation and self- belief along with their ability to "exist on nothing", that helps them fight against all odds in life.
They firmly declare that they are too strong to let go life easily. Though their lives are ravaged by the brutality of nature and callous attitude of the people, they are not ready to surrender meekly to their fates. Despite the fact that they are left with nothing of material worth, these people possess enormous amount of grit and determination and strongly believe that they can knit together the broken fragments of their lives. Let's read the poem:
We are nameless, faceless,
concealed in cartons.
Cradled in rags,
our children
dread bulldozers.
Tsunamis come,
the earth erupts,
fine causes
rise and roar,
rip continents apart.
We cower
in the rubble,
still scavenging
our dignity.
Neglect.... disgust..
These maim and blind us.
Eyesore1
Embarrassment!
Attempts are made
to obliterate us!
But we rea adroit
too adept at existing
on nothing,
to oblige and let go
of life so easily!
Rummaging in the debris
crouching in the refuse,
clutching our children,
we piece together
another stack of huts....
I'M taking my blog to next level with Blog Chatter's #My Friend Alexa2021, Please use hyper link: https://www.theblogchatter.com/)
(This blog post is a part of blog chatter's #MY friend Alexa2021, #Anusowmyanwrites)
Love the way you pen everything
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