The Day I Turned Seventy Poem by Madathil Rajendran Nair
The Day I Turned Seventy
Seventieth birthday
In a revolving restaurant
On Space Needle in Seattle
I didn't ask for it
It came from nowhere as a surprise
My daughter planned in secret
Isn't that Grace?
The place revolved
Skyscrapers around blinked
Behind them there were unseen mounts
Hiding in the shifting clouds
In deep meditation
In the oblivion of the horizons
A winter night dreamt
Winds whooshed around the tower
Clouds swirled all over
My grandson slept in his pram unaware
Yet I saw him smile
Snow-flakes populated his dreams
With a lighted Christmas tree
And jingling bells galore
What is dream
And what is reality
In a restaurant called the world
In perpetual circumambulation
Of a reality it never can fathom?
Waiters with over-filled trays
Navigated between impatient clients
Like acrobats, their lips stretched into perpetual smile
Mouthing pleasantries right to style
Did I spot among the customers
Facsimiles of Hepburn
Susan Hayward and an ageless Connery
Or other stellar celebrities
Sipping their spirits
Gesticulating in heated talk
Or lost in profound thought?
I was lost in the midst of their dream commune
Looking at the city's brilliance
Laboring to locate unseen peaks
Stars and the moon in the blanket folds of the night
A street down snaked
In a chain of lights
And many others joined it
The land below turned
A mysterious splendorous beauty
Of frantic fireflies
Who gave them the rays
On the seventieth birthday
Of an insipid man?
Thanks to Him
Life is a hymn
Seventy or seventeen
No one knows when it ends
Sing aloud till the show extends
Simply lovely! On your seventieth birthday, you have birthed a 'land mark' poem! It is great to have received such thoughtful concern from your daughter! I enjoyed the whole poem..... had a feeling of being revolved, watching the night sky and the illuminated Earth below! The concluding lines are so uplifting!
It is a marvelous poem on your seventieth birthday. Read and enjoyed. The last stanza is more fascinating. Thanks.
A wonderful Birthday, one that you'll always remember; Well planned by a kind loving daughter of yours! May you both be blessed!
What is dream And what is reality In a restaurant called the world In perpetual circumambulation Of a reality it never can fathom? Live life to the fill and jettison all regrets. I could see the city and the mount mingle in sweet harmony. Loved it.
This is awesome write. A gift to readers on your seventeenth birthday. wish you a healthy and cheerful life ahead. Great poem.
some favorite lines: ..............unseen mounts Hiding in the shifting clouds In deep meditation In the oblivion of the horizons and: Snow-flakes populated his dreams With a lighted Christmas tree And jingling bells galore and: their lips stretched into perpetual smile call me sexist if you will. i'd prefer seeing Audrey in a slinky black, backless evening gown, rather than Katharine in blue jeans, flannel shirt, and an old sunhat. but i might prefer K's voice. from a past account and this one, it seems as though you have a fascination for mountains. :) this line puzzles me: A street down snaked i don't always recognize symbolism, but i assume the fireflies refer to city lights. i wonder if you had candles to blow out, AND, if so, could you! ! ! ? AND: could you send cake? ? to me? ? a little old (the cake) is ok. bri :)
Gimme your address Bri. The cake sure will be there. Cheers! I didn't blow any candles out. Of course, I could have extinguished thousands of them although I was blown out in all respects. Thanks for spending your time on the poem.
This is an outstanding poem, my friend. Lovely images, reflective thoughts of a man celebrating another year on this beautiful planet with his daughter and his grandchild. Goodness but this poem is steeped in memorable phrases - - unseen mounts Hiding in the shifting clouds In deep meditation In the oblivion of the horizons A winter night dreamt Winds whooshed around the tower Clouds swirled all over A mysterious splendorous beauty Of frantic fireflies- - Stars and the moon in the blanket folds of the night- - stellar celebrities Sipping their spirits Gesticulating in heated talk Or lost in profound thought? - - AND HOW IN THE WORLD DO I EVER FORGET THIS CHAIN OF THOUGHT- - - What is dream And what is reality In a restaurant called the world In perpetual circumambulation Of a reality it never can fathom? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Everywhere I look in this great poem there is such beauty of nature and the beauty of a reflective mind- - stunning. I want to see this as POEM OF THE DAY. A thousand 10's should rain upon this work.
Thank you Susan-ji (that -ji is the Indian way of showing respect) . I have never made it to the poet of the day and have no such unwanted ambitions. Once, long before, our Kelly Kurt wished the same. However, that didn't happen. I have remained ordinary. What does it matter, when you, my friend, are showering all the accolades on me? Your words are more precious to me. Thank yoiu.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/2/2024 10:04:41 AM # 1.0.0.1119
A fantastic write- - - - gifted to us from the Poet's pen for his Seventieth Birth Day.To quote from it- - Who gave them the rays On the seventieth birthday Of an insipid man? Thanks to Him Life is a hymn Seventy or seventeen No one knows when it ends Sing aloud till the show extends