Poems Relevant for All Times
Fr. Varghese Paul,
SJ
I
do not write poems and I do not claim to be a poet. But, like many poetry
lovers I like to read and enjoy poems when they are published in newspapers and
magazines. Then, thanks to my poet friends, I often get their new poetry books.
So I often read poems. But my talent in poetry is limited. So I tell my poet
friends not to send me their poetry books for reviews and comments.
All
the same here I have translated the poems of an Indo-English poet Prof. Dr. K. V.
Dominic. He has written four poetry books. I have selected some 52 poems and
translated them into Gujarati. I have several reasons for translating Dr.
Dominic’s poems.
First,
I have enjoyed reading and rereading Dr. Dominic’s poems. His first collection
of poems Winged Reason was published
in 2010. Then Write Son, Write appeared
in the following year. His third collection of poems entitled Multicultural Symphony came out in 2014
and the fourth book Contemporary Concerns
and Beyond in 2016. They all impressed me very much as I enjoyed them. I am
deeply touched by Dr. Dominic’s poems as they express the values, ideas and
visions, which I uphold. So I felt moved to translate and share them with Gujarati
poetry lovers.
Second,
as Jayant Mahapatra said, I heard the inner voice of poet Dominic through his
poems. I see that they express very well my own ideas and understanding of
human life and the whole creation. Then, some of his poems are rich with
ancient cultural beliefs, stories and myths. They are capable of enlightening
and moulding people. Usually such poems interest everyone.
Third,
nature and environment are my favourite subjects. I see that directly or
indirectly in many of Dr. Dominic’s poems which deal with them. Like the poet
Dominic, I believe that all people need not only to be well acquainted with
those topics but also need to protect and preserve and promote healthy
environment. Dr. Dominic’s poems do inspire and encourage us in these
directions.
Fourth,
poet Dr. Dominic views writing his poems as a service to humanity. The humanity
today is oppressed by injustice, immorality, irreligious hostility and all
types of evil. We need to be conscious of this dire situation and try to be out
of it. In this Dr. Dominic’s poems serve us as a guiding beacon of input.
Fifth,
like me, Dr. Dominic does not believe in art for art’s sake. His poems reflect
the life, society and culture. So, many of his poems echo human pain and
suffering as well as lack of true freedom and the yearning for freedom and
liberty.
Religious
terrorism and communal conflict as well as wide spread corruption and evils,
rape, etc like contagious sicknesses affect and paralyze human life and the
society. The duty of the poet is to confront these forces and to indicate the
road of justice and morality for all. Dr. Dominic is doing well in this
direction. So as a fan of Dr. Dominic’s poems, I like to read and reread them
time and again.
I
feel a sense of fulfilment in translating Dr. Dominic’s poems. I am sure that
poet Dominic’s poems through my translation will be widely read by poetry
lovers and experience a sense of gain. Dr. Dominic’s poems are a sort of ‘tiffin’
for journey of life.
