Black and White: September 1, 2023

Poem by Shamik Banerjee

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The happy wind was singing to
September's maiden day;
The friendly Sun was clinging to
The hillcrest and the bay;
And man with his assertive crown,
Proceeded through this vibrant town;
No hurdle clogged his way.

The girls were lowly chunnering,
And boys were raucous, yelling;
The pink-tinged clouds were colouring
The heaven's vault, their dwelling;
But not one being, large or small,
Had the minutest clue at all
What rainfrogs were foretelling. 

At noon, a bellow from the skies
Alarmed the birds in flight,
The spendthrift shoppers' sated eyes
Shrank low from shock and fright;
Each shuffling soul then rushed to find
A roof or shelter of some kind;
The day appeared as night.

But far away, that leaden clime
Perked up the rural men,
Their fields lay bare all summertime—
No raindrops fell since then;
But those oppressive days had flown,
The fields were wet, their faces shone,
And life revived again.

How strange and polar nature is,
How magical its plan!
How orderly it metes out bliss,
And hopelessness to man!
Just as it did to us that day:
With stormy onrush turned one gay,
And turned the other wan.

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Shamik Banerjee is a poet from India.