This is in response to Sadje’s Weekly Photo Prompts on #Whatdoyousee.
The old woman sat under the tree
The tree with thick leaves, sturdy branches, sharp fragrance and bird songs
Bird songs that travelled with the breeze up to the sky
The sky cloudless and clear blue canopied the path
The path that walked me to the lone, old woman
Old woman – her lips moving and her fingers counting the beads
The beads of the rosary …. clik…clak…clik… clak… twined to her fingers
Her fingers gave them the rhythm that echoed in the silence
The silence that serenaded the earthy meandering path
Meandering path led through the lush green of the garden
The garden with its quiet shades surrounded the tree
The tree under which sat the lone, old woman
Old woman with the rosary and a silent prayer on her lips
***
That pretty pistachio house with dark green windows and graffiti on its walls
Mrs Crow seems to have taken a fancy to it and I am saved of her rants
She perches on the pole right in front and peers inside now and then
Her silhouette on the glass pane a hideous contrast but again
She is what she is one simply cannot complain
Next morning she arrives flapping her wings and
Makes herself comfortable on my Champa’s overladen branch
Then she asked me to brew her a strong cup of tea
I guessed that this was the preface to her day’s long, boring litany,
“That house, you see belongs to an old lady. I heard.
They say she has no kith and kin and not many days on earth.
I have plans to make myself useful to her so that
she leaves me something handsome before she departs.”
“Whattt! You want the whole house?” I asked surprised
“Who said?” She retorted disdainfully, “Only the pole and the clotheslines shall suffice.”
“From where have you learnt such trickery?” I questioned her aghast
“Who else? But you humans?” Pat came the reply with a short, sarcastic laugh.
Trivia : Those who are new to Mrs. Crow, she is my pestilential neighbour who is in the habit of giving me her two bit ‘gyaan’ on anything and everything under the sun and sharing her caustic observations on the conducts of humans in general.
she sounds a bit cantancerous! I wouldn’t like her to be my neighbor hahaha!
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You mean Mrs Crow ??? I agree with you totally…
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I’m thinking of the old woman if she’s doing it sincerely. In public? It’s another thing. Interesting piece, gc.
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You can pray anywhere Hazel. More so in public.
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I haven’t tried rosary in the park. Mostly we do in procession, at church, and at home. Yes, praying can be anywhere.
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BTW The garden is quiet. Silence resides. The echoes of the rosary are only there. Prayer is in your heart.
In certain communities the japamala or the rosary is always carried in hand. The idea is to go back to the beads again and again inbetween every work.
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Maybe my comprehension of the poem is low now.😁 Sometimes, my interpretation failed.🤭
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Love the fist poem Geeta. A loop poem I think it’s called. Very serene and calming. The second one is a funny one. Some people can’t stop themselves from giving unwanted advice. Thanks a lot for joining in.
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Dear Sadje,
I didn’t know what a loop poem was. As a child many times we read poems which were like this one – one sentence connected to the other by a word or phrase – easy to learn. I followed that pattern. Like the poem This Is The House That Jack built. Thanks for telling me the name.
As regards Mrs. Crow, she is quite incorrigible!!
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This sort of poetry is very lyrical and , yes easy to memorize. Thanks. 🙏🏼
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Thanks to you for introducing me to the type…loop poem. I’ll now remember 😀
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You’re very welcome my dear friend
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Fine imagery
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Thank you so much Derrrick 🙏
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Nice poems, Geetaji.
There used to be a BBC aunty of every colony when I was growing up 😊. Chai pe charcha was favourite pass time for so many.
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Rupali, Mrs Crow is a notch up over the neighborhood reuters. Her contempt towards humans is most infuriating and at the same time she shows them the mirror. 🤬
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A wonderful loop poem! I had to read it twice because I loved the way it flowed.
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Thank you so much Richard. Appreciate very much your reading the poem twice.
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Geeta, I really enjoyed this. You balance serenity and humor so well here.
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Thank you so much Kymber. You’ve made my day.
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Two great poems, Geeta. The first is gorgeous. I love the way you move to the next sentence each time. Very clever. The second one is, well, just such fun!
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Thank you very much Chris. I am glad you enjoyed both poems though they were of opposite genres.
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😉😊
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The second poem has so much more than meets the eye. 🙂 Love them both.
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Thank you so much Parikhit. One needs a discerning eye.
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Hello
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[…] Geeta; The old woman and Mrs crow again […]
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