effigy of shadow published by kerala sahitya academy literary survey

EFFIGY OF SHADOW
VIJAYAKUMAR KUNISSERY
Rendered by K P Ramesh

All but myself
A burning candle
A grass-hopper from the seventh ocean
Remain in this cell,
As the lingual wonder of colour jumble
Colourful ugliness of the music
And, the scintillating throbs of sculptures
Continue their shadow dance.

With redness of Parthinium
Festering heart
And swamp-dwelling poltergeists
I remain in this cell
In the company of a firefly
With the granny-rain
Prattling outside.

The summer wind spread
Buds of small-pox
The marching ant battalion
The mad dog that provokes
The elephant in ruts…..
They go on and on
Still I remain here
With a burning heart inside.
Aromatic destruction of plastic flower
A street-whore stripped off
Her obscenity
Foetal-terror of swarming flies
And, the maddening rebuke of “ oldy wind”
I remain in this cell
With the hysteric cries of a psychotic maniac.

Black tongue, evil eye
A day that is burnt down
Hatred fuming out in flames
Suffocated earth yearning for oxygen
Lighting and
The whole crumbling sky
And myself with any own corpse.