Elfje: Memento Mori

Memories
Dance like
Pretty butterflies, fleeting,
Just out of reach -
Tantalizing

Treasured
Photographic memories
Reduced to graffiti
Etched by impetuous light -
Meaningless

Reality
Now fragmented;
Well-defined lines
Between fact and fiction
Blurred

Soul
Lost in
The labyrinth of
Tangled impressions, intangible expressions -
Chaotic

Wandering
Down the memory lane
Encroached by dementia
Bold steps
Falter

Time
Spares none:
A black hole
Vacuum-pulling all into
Oblivion

 

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Written during the English Versification competition of the sub-district Youth Festival for the theme "Down the Memory Lane." My grandfather turned out to be the source of inspiration yet again, so you might recognize a few lines from my poem Moirae, which I "borrowed" when I couldn't come up with anything more suitable. All stanzas are in Elfje form, except for the penultimate one which is an inverted Elfje (1-4-3-2-1)

EDIT 22-11-12: I won the second place for the poem! :)

In Memoriam: Two Poems for My Grandfather

A long overdue tribute to my grandfather, who passed away in February. All the stories I've heard about him claim he was a colossus, but all I can see is the frail man who was left paralyzed by a stroke and had his memories robbed by dementia.

1. MOIRAE*

Memories flutter

Like elusive butterflies

Just beyond reach

Well-defined lines

Between fact and fiction

Now blurred

Sparks

Of former brilliance

Try to reignite

Helplessness

Erodes colossal spirit

Hurts worst

Soul burns

As self fades from memory

This phoenix won’t rise.

I spent a few days with grandpa while he was at Mangalore and Parassinikadavu, undergoing treatment. The poem above is an attempt to describe his deteriorating health as I saw it, in five haiku. But I wish I had happier memories to remember him by...

2. UNNAMED

You left the
Fairy-tales untold
Lullabies unsung
Photos untouched

I left my
Questions unasked
Beliefs unchallenged
Poems unread

We left
Garden paths untrodden
Ripe mangoes uneaten
Paper boats unmade

Now all you have left is
An eternity beneath the earth
And all I have left is a wish 

To undo all that we left undone.

I'm sorry the white flags of truce were raised too late for us to know each other very well, grandad. I get the feeling we would have had loads of fun.

---

*Moirae are the Three Fates in Greek mythology.