Stand and stare,
in finite abyss.
Alone, I feel.
A known, I miss.
No faith, or will,
or cause, to strive.
Inert, innate,
but still alive.
 
Scan and scope,
above, around.
Lights are gone,
darkness, profound.
Alas, the lamps,
bestowed my way.
Their sheen, their spark,
taken away.
 
Sermons that once,
echoed abound.
Have ceased to dwell,
without a sound.
Voice, suppressed.
Speech, destroyed.
Lips, are sealed,
tongue, devoid.
Hues and chromes,
of joys and bliss.
Misplaced, misled,
astray, amiss.
The Romp & pomp,
barren and bare.
All shades of life,
illude my glare.
 
What dreadful sight,
my eyes you see?
The form, the shape,
the silhouette, is ME!
Do I and he,
who stares, align?
Tell me, tell me,
O mirror, of mine!
                                 - Ibad Mohammed

© Rhymes in Reason, June 2020

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Discussion about the poem:

Often, what we perceive and what exists in reality, are at loggerheads. At least that is the case with me. This contradiction of perception, many a times, leads us to create a mirage of expectations. The mirage we believe to be our real world. Rarely but surely, there comes a time when such mirages of fantasy are shattered and we begin to see the reality of how things have become. This poem then, is a story of such a time, when our protagonist breaks free from his fantasies and begins to see how he has turned out. What does he discover? Let’s find out!

The poem begins with our protagonist staring and trying to make sense of what he is looking at. All he can see is an abyss, although a finite one (Note: here the phrase used is “in finite”, not the word “infinite”.) He feels alone, and sees no faith or cause to will and strive. He realizes that he is inactive but still alive. Also, he misses “A known”. Who is this “Known” that he misses? We’ll come back to that later.

He looks and searches to see beyond what is apparent. But all he can make out is that there are no lights around to fight the darkness that engulfs him. The lamps which may have proven helpful for him in such circumstances, have had their sheen and spark taken away. But what are these lamps? We’ll soon find out.

May be, he can hear some sounds that may guide him? Alas, he realizes that all the sermons and voices have ceased to exist. The tongue and lips which may once have been the source of inspiration have been sealed shut without any redemption.

All joys and bliss also seem to have vanished from his life. The once vibrant and vivacious aspects of his existence have turned barren and bare. Broken, he realizes that the are no shades of life left to color his glare.

Finally, he laments at what his eyes are showing him. He recognizes the form and shape that is staring back at him. Unable to bear the sight he is seeing, he pleads with the mirror to tell him, that is this his own reflection it is showing him?!

Yes, my dear reader’s. All this while our protagonist has been staring at a mirror which is showing him his own reflection. And he is shocked to see what is reflecting at him. The “lamps” which were referred are his eyes. The “suppressed voice” his own, the colors that drained, are from his own life! And yes, the “Known” which he referred to, was the person who he was once. The person who he thought he was. The person who he wanted to see in that reflection.

Do you feel differently about this subject? Or have you surmised some other meaning of this poem and/or any particular line/stanza? Do let me know in the comments below or on any of our social media handles and we can discuss!     

12 thoughts on “Dreadful Sight”

  1. Liked it a lot. The economy of words is very effective. I was happy with it being a ruminative piece of life itself, but when it turned into him looking at himself, I was thrown a bit. Still works, but the largeness of the piece may have been compromised slightly. You are a master wordsmith, Ibad. Thanks for sharing this

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    1. I wanted the piece to be a kind of self potrait. But I understand your criticism of the piece loosing its magnitude due to it! Thanks a lot for your feedback! Such high praise from you is humbling! Hope to keep living up to it!

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      1. Oh please, too much with the ‘from you’ etc. I am not sure what I have done to warrant such a high rating. I do enjoy your writing and look forward to much more. I’m not determined as to whether you are a poet or a prose writer primarily though. Maybe one can wear both hats!

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      2. Haha! I wrote ‘from you’ because I know you are widely read and understand the craft deeply. That is why your praise becomes even more important! I will share some of my prose pieces and then leave the judgement to you!

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  2. A good twist at the end. Initially I thought the protagonist is only questioning existence. But of course he’s doing that, but he’s doing more than just that. He’s introspecting. Beautiful work Ibad. I specially liked how you sometimes used only 2 or 3 words to convey the meaning of entire sentences. Wonderful! 👏👏👏

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    1. Thanks a lot Pradita! That was my intention, to not let the reader know what I was talking about untill the very end! Also, I try to be crisp with my poems. I believe poetry is the art of saying a thousand things with very few words, and I try to do that always! Thanks for reading and commenting! Means a lot to me!

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  3. Very well written Ibad. It conveys the thought without the need for explanations. The line – tongue, devoid was a little off for me syntactically. One suggestion would be to use rhyme more sparingly if it interferes with your thought. But it’s great as it is as well. Congratulations on a great piece

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    1. Thanks a lot Chaitanya! Your criticism on a word being off syntactically is welcome. Will keep an eye on something like this in the future! However, the only way I can write poetry is in a rhyme scheme. But I will promise you this, I wont let a rhyme interfere with my thought ever! Thanks for reading and commenting. Looking forward to your inputs in my future pieces as well!

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  4. Excellent piece of work Ibad! Love the words. You have brought out the truth about human race. What we perceive and the truth that exists are sides of the same coin. You are a winner if you have a discerning mind to identify and differentiate them. keep writing 👍🏻

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