Goodbye England!
Across the seven seas
You influenced my
thoughts
Even as a little girl
in school.
Slightly built,
The prim and proper
Head Mistress, Miss Thompson
Taught me first what
discipline means
To human life
That strives to
achieve goals
Within a lifetime,
Begotten, only once, in
His image.
(Although, I have
changed my mind since)
The little fables
from her England
Stayed with me, until
I caught the wind to
arrive
To her homeland.
And oh! What beauty
Steeped in history,
culture
Music and dance, sweet
England is!
And laughter smiles
on every lip
Despite a moody sky!
Dear, dear England
It is hard to say
goodbye!
But this life I chose
To be among people
Who find a way to
laugh
Despite the empty
basket of food.
Where there is
abundance
Not in coins
That jingles in
pockets.
I wanted to know a
path
That goes beyond the
material
And control coexists with chaos.
My spirit had longed
For a land whose
peoples
Would be hospitable
and willing to share
Even the bare minimum
they had.
I wanted to know a
hot and humid
Weather that burns
the skin
Causing emotions to
erupt without control
I wanted a land that
promises me
Life, after life
Rebirth and
Enlightenment.
Hence, goodbye
England!
Across the seven seas
I take with me
Memories of your
cheerful and chatty people
Your green stretches
of desolate land
Which speak volumes
in their silence;
Your flowers that
play gaily on canvas
To paint pictures I
will treasure
For the rest of my
days.
And if we meet not
again
Know this; I have
taken you in my heart
As I have left behind
A little bit of my
self in yours.
In your children, who
will grow up to be you!
Live on! Thrive,
England!
©Julia Dutta, May 2014
This poem is dedicated to the memory of my aunt, Dr Pratima Konar who left her body on 16th May, 2014.
