Saturday, December 03, 2005

Chapter 17: Final Feast

What then, has ever transpired
that was not driven by desire?
What desire was born without fear;
and what fear has not consumed?

What values have not been questioned
by a people who sought the goal?
What path have they not traversed;
what treasures have they not exhumed?

What forces have ever been spared
to smother the probing minds?
What miracle has not been produced;
what fear has not been induced?

What rhyme has ever been transcribed
that was not shrouded in mystery?
What truth not concealed by the victor?
And what tales are not being sold?

What then, has ever transpired
that was not driven by desire?
What desire was born without fear;
and what Truth has fear not consumed?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So you are putting desire, at the root of it all..?

Let me analyze that angle..

Anonymous said...

Though I myself write a few poems, this is my first real attempt to understand one written by someone other than me.I reached you through Srijith's blog.

I read "Final Feast" several times and finally, what I understood, horrified me a lot.

The way you've depicted the dirty and mean extents to which people can go to achieve their goal raises my hair out of horror.

Desires born out of fear, out of insecurity compels people to use whatever means they can to reach their destination. I can relate the words of this poem to our modern day world dominated by materialistic views where the importance of values and ideals are diminishing.

What values have not been questioned by a people who sought the goal?
What path have they not traversed;
what treasures have they not exhumed?

What forces have ever been spared
to smother the probing minds?

....
...

What truth not concealed by the victor?


Great lines!

Anonymous said...

Dear Srijit,
Thank you for the visit.

If you followed the role of desire from the first chapter, you might understand this one much better.



Dear Amol,
I must admit that you have done good analysis. In fact, you have come extremely close to the inspiration that made me write these lines.

I must also admit that you have perceived something more than I had originally rendered. That, I take as a great compliment from you.

If you are interested, I pray that you read the preface and all the eighteen chapters in order, because they are a sequence in their own right. They had flown through me naturally in that order.

Thank you, my friend!

Cheers!