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Tuesday, 4 November 2014
Dead Man prays
Dead man wishes
For a body
Any color would do
Black, white, yellow, brown
Any hue
Dead man yearns
For a body
Any body would do
A man’s, woman’s or a eunuch’s
A body true
Dead man dreams
Of a body
Of any kind
Deaf, mute, blind
Dead man badly needs
A home
He has consciousness to keep
He will pray for a thousand years
He has sacrificed his sleep
Posted for Grace’s
prompt @ d’Verse Poetics
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i wonder if he really would be happy in any body... it could turn out quite difficult for him as well..
ReplyDeletefunny how all our prejudices and our preferences change once we lose our body eh? intriguing perspective in this sumana
ReplyDeleteI think the dream of having any body could come.. the disgust might come later though.. not easy to float around without a bode.
ReplyDelete"He has sacrificed his sleep"- That is a foreboding line for me and your words all in all remind me of old horror shows like Aahat, which had a more of creepy factor than horror. I could picture your dead man to be one of the ghosts in such serials.
ReplyDeleteAnd then when I think of it, there is another side to your poem which is bound by the sentimentality attached with the dead and the dying.
Anyhow, your words made me think a multitude of things.Great job. :-)
-HA
It must be difficult to be dead and in search of a body & to pray for this for 1000 years. Life would be so different then. I wonder if he would forget his old life.
ReplyDeletegone and wishing for a body--to be reborn in a way. Wonder if this ever really happens, ya never know. Makes me think of reincarnation.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you express the dead man's longing for a body. Your poem made me think of reincarnation and whether people who believe in it think that they will have a choice in the matter and will be able/allowed to choose the body who will next host their souls.
ReplyDeleteA thought provoking post....I would think we would like to have our own body back or be able to choose a body ~ Can any body be okay with us...????
ReplyDeleteHe will pray for a thousand years...lovely, Sumana.
ReplyDeleteThis is an intriguing response to the prompt. I imagine those who feel they left work unfinished might wish for a body and another chance to go back and do it right.
ReplyDeleteSo true! I used to rue the fact that I seemed destined (by the family gene pool) to carry those few extra pounds through life. Now, in my sixties, having seen so many lovely slim friends pass away far before their time, my perspective has altered dramatically. Sadly, we live in a world hung up on superficiality - though, it does diminish with age.
ReplyDeleteno prejudice at some point... unfortunately it's after life... nice point of view
ReplyDeleteSo much regret, such longing....
ReplyDeleteall the desires cropping up, guess when we have this life, we all should cherish what we have.
ReplyDeleteYes. We learn to value all life when we have none left! Beautifully worded and sequenced. I must share it!
ReplyDeleteSuch love of life, such desperation to come back - he must have had a really meaningful life.
ReplyDeleteGroovy piece. Love the last three lines.
ReplyDeletei suppose the most horrible feeling of all is NO FEELING AT ALL..
ReplyDeleteWorst than not having a body really...or even the worst pain that ever existed.. as one will yearn for that.. when NO FEELING AT ALL COMES.. AS ANYTHING IS better than nothing...
and oh my goodness.. no goodness at all in that...
is the paper thin existence of the reality of the dead man
in life.. and YES..been there done it..
and i guess there must be heaven in life.. as i knowNOW..
as Hell.. real Human Hell.. as death in life..
is truly possible.. i hope..
for
no one..
but
me..
and that is what death in life teaches..
the greatest love..
of
ALL.. of feeling
anything
@ALL
aka
GOD
2..
So smiles and have a LOVING DAY..
friend.
oooh a dead man in search of a body, eerily good. love the last stanza.
ReplyDeleteMakes me consider how my body is my home and i must take care of it - while I have one.
ReplyDeletewe all want what we don't have, don't we - even the dead
ReplyDeleteSo very Zen, cool, sad, thought provoking; for those of us who have developed disabilities over the years, who spend so much time coping & accommodating & letting go & find substitutes, it can be hard to own the (dis)ease. Somewhere in the cosmos we might be regarded as heroes, those who can take it, who, as entities chose to give ourselves difficulty as a bedmate; but regardless joy is still achievable, and poetry is a sanctuary.
ReplyDeleteSounds as if your dead man has unfinished business to resolve before he can sleep. Interesting take on the prompt.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting look at what a dead person might be thinking. I wonder whether he might be disappointed if he got one deaf/mute/blind or otherwise not so desirable. Sometimes when we get what we wish for, we wish we hadn't.
ReplyDeletejanet
This makes me think of enjoying life and being content with what we are given. The dead man's longing for a body of any color, shape, or condition reminds me not to take my life for granted.
ReplyDeletePoor, restless soul...
ReplyDeleteI love it, Sumana! Yes, there are great pleasures and satisfactions in inhabiting physical bodies! I particularly love your last verse, and above all the line, 'He has consciousness to keep.' If it wasn't that the two communities overlap and so many will have seen it already, I'd be begging to use this one for my 'I Wish I'd Written This' column at Poets United, it's so beautifully realised.
ReplyDeletean interesting view ~
ReplyDelete