Today is Earth Day: The polar ice cap is melting, the rivers are drying up, the forests are turning to deserts, rare species of some of the most fascinating flora an fauna on the earth are dwindling to extinction- man and environment have a symbiotic bond


Old Man and the River

He is inseparable from
the winding muddy river
He shares this relationship
with the age-old river:

He was born on its banks
The river is his mother
He bathes in its waters
Winter or summer...

He has cultivated land
Right next to the river-
Small piece for sustenance-
His father and his mother.

He has fished in its waters
From the beginning of his life
He only knows this existence
He has no other life...

Every morning at dawn
He sets out in his boat
A round basket of cane
Rather than of timber

And fishes till the sunrise
Then off to tend the fields
Where he has a small patch
Of paddy and rice fields...

This is what his father did
And his grandfather, this
Has been his legacy-
Centuries of labour...

An unbreakable bond
Between Nature and the Man
An innate link between
The environment and him...

River is now drying up
The water is scarce,
Where will the old man go?
Where will his old-age end?

How will he live from now?
What his life would be like,
He knows no other
How will he survive...


Author: Zoya Zaidi
Aligarh (UP), India
Copyright©: Zoya Zaidi

Photo: 'Old man on the banks of the river Kavery, Madurai, India'; Even his survival is threatened... photo by and ©: Zoya Zadi





Poetry by Zoya Zaidi
Read 864 times
Written on 2007-04-22 at 13:47

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betsy Firefly
Forgot to say "Nice poem, Zoya!"
2007-05-01


betsy Firefly
Tomorrow I shall take my grade five class outside and clean up our schoolyard. We can all do some small thing! Here writing alone is not enough.
2007-05-01


penfold18
A frightening prospect not only for him but the world at large, great writing Zoya.
2007-04-26


Lourdes
and I also loved the photo . The way the man looks at you .
It is a great photograph that makes this poem so alive it shakes you by the shoulders .
Great work Zoya
2007-04-22


Lourdes
this is a beautifully told educative peace of prosepoem . I want to read this to my children .
Important write this is !
Applauding
2007-04-22


Christian Lanciai The PoetBay support member heart!
Very touching - and alarming.
2007-04-22


lastromantichero The PoetBay support member heart!
symbiosis at the sharper edge but ignored by so many intelligent ppl who should know better
well don rgds mike a pwerful text Zoya
2007-04-22


amandeep
yes, i know today is Eart day. and i was watching the National Geographic's special episode on this day. it was very motivative program. and

you done a great job.

hats off.

the main problem is population. in india cutting of forest is on very large scale. in punjab only 3 percent land is covered with forest where as it should be 30 to 33 %.
india's population is more than 100 crore and it is very dangerous for humanity. when will the people think about it? or Goverenment should also take this with iron hands.but htere are so many problems in India and in the whole world.
you know.

great work
2007-04-22