by Bakul Banerjee
Framed by the proud trees tinged with gold
and copper, the surface of the lake shifts
beneath the gentle breeze. It shimmers
under the harvest moon as the colour
of the clear cerulean sky deepens. It is time
for the annual honouring rites for you, father,
your father and his father. I have no relics,
no burial places to visit to honour you.
I do not have any memories of precious last rites
held by the crematoriums and funeral pyres
next to vast rivers, where your friends
and relatives waited for the fire to die down
contemplating your life or theirs.
I make memories of my own
in this manicured forest in the city.
On this holy evening, I offer you
the water from this glittering lake
and the nodding seed heads suspended
above the tall dry grasses. I offer you
the songs of birds returning to their nests
and honking of departing fowls
filling the air. If I strain my ears,
I may also hear a divine chanteuse
singing ancient prayers to gods
and ancestors in distant temples.
Let your soul be sated as leaves
of many colours drift down on the water.
Hereby, I pledge to perform Tarpan,
this memorial ritual, to my ancestors
with the best of my abilities. I conclude
my prayer repeating the ancient Mantra:
Om punyaham bhabanto broobantu,
Om punyaham bhabanto broobantu,
Om punyaham bhabanto broobantu ||
Award-winning author and poet Bakul Banerjee, Ph.D. published her first volume of poems, titled “Synchronicity: Poems” in June 2010. Other poems and stories have been published in several literary magazines and anthologies throughout the U.S. She received the international Gayatri Memorial Literary Award for her contribution to English literature. Bakul has been featured in multiple Chicago area poetry events and presented workshops including one titled “Inspirations from World Poetry” at the prestigious Chicago Poetry Fest 2012. Currently, she serves as the chair of Naperville Writers Group. She received her Ph.D. degree in computational geophysics from The Johns Hopkins University, Maryland.
