Hi again!.BELATED CHRISTMAS WISHES..the following poem of which you are invited to cordially grace this auspicious occasion by casting your fleeting glances at my maiden slam poem..indeed..a memorable experience.(for me obviously!!)
plainly put, this poem is a greenhorn attempt to somewhat recreate the bravery of one of India's greatest rebels. Shmt. Laxmi bai, who through her heroic deeds inspired millions of other women across the country to take over traditionally male bastions like never before.it is her attempt which first propagated this ideal. she, later on, became the herald of the British resistance movement in India and was glorified in textbooks and the likes.
the most striking of all is her last encounter in which she after realizing that it was her last resort fled to the jungle and for several days, indeed she relied on guerilla tactics for evading the British with her young son Damodar firmly tied to her back, she fought valiantly till her last breath. this poem attempt to recreate some of those scenes.
MUSINGS OF A REBEL:
Emptying her cartridge into Tommy Atkins;
the queen was staggering,
bellowing with all her might
“Let them come to me”, she proclaimed,
contemplating the loss of blood; smiling
to herself; admiring her
Red badge of valor, which she caressed to
ease the pain
– It was deep and profound…
Dusk descended.
The light in the vicinity grew dim,
reminding her that the sun was to set,
Coaxing her,
not to fret much and lie still, wait to
succumb to her accolades
-The
mark which distinguish a soldier from a warrior,
the continuation of her screams seemed to
her like Ragas, fabricated by the devas,
emerging from the heath of Gwalior
Near which, she was moments away from becoming
a martyr.
Her
mind drifted to Kotah--Sarai,
Where
she had witnessed one of the most horrific skirmishes ever
The smell of sweat, straw intermingling
with blood, increased her instinct,
to
annihilate the hussars stopping their advancements,
the
earth looked as if gravely wounded; rivers of blood dispatched from
the
body of beasts wounded by mortars; going into a frenzy.
She
would have scoffed if someone had said:
“The Sarai isn’t the royal pantry, Chhabili.”
She
conjured her escapade from the heat of the battle
Galloping
away to take a diversion,
to
reinforce and retaliate, but Alas! met her nemesis-the Hussar
who
faithfully remunerated his salt’s debt
promoting
the Rani to martyrdom,
by
emptying his Lee -Enfield into her.
Recalling her husband’s funeral pyre,
With
Damodar in one hand
and
flames blossoming from the rear end,
where
she had made Agni the witness, of her vow
of dedicating
each breath of her life,
to
the upliftment of the motherland.
She had paid her debt.
With the onset of rain lashing from the
sky,
And the numbing of her body, becoming
less perceptible to worldly senses,
Vision fading, brain fogging
Just as enduring the labor pangs,
during the birth of a new revolution.