April 01, 2009

Rasam Recipe


If I write in Tamil
does it mean then
I have deeper sense -
of what we are
and who we fear
and why we stir
from here?

And if I write Malay
then have I strayed
and lost my roots -
become a curried nationalist
betrayed my race
and pride
as I shift lonely
to the side?

And if I write in English
just because
the taste is mine,
it is my strongest condiment,
I've used it all my life
to spice and flavour piquancy
does this mean I have
right?

does this mean I am
right?


(c) Charlene Rajendran 1999
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7 comments:

  1. fLuxApril 2, 2009 at 10:44 AM

    Hey, I like this!
    Interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amir MuhammadApril 2, 2009 at 10:54 AM

    Stay tuned for the rest!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AravinApril 3, 2009 at 6:54 PM

    very nice poem......

    ReplyDelete
  4. atingApril 5, 2009 at 6:30 PM

    yeah..

    nice..

    ReplyDelete
  5. fadzApril 6, 2009 at 9:47 AM

    this one is good.

    ReplyDelete
  6. sera_aApril 7, 2009 at 11:14 PM

    yeap i love it.
    being in a multinational country, its normal that we have many languages.
    just because you are not well-versed in your mother-tongue, doesnt mean that it denies your own ethnic root. as long as you can convey your voice in any language, that should be enough.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Abin ChakrabortyDecember 30, 2011 at 2:46 AM

    I might just quote this one for either my class or some seminar.fantastic poem.
    will read more and keep in touch

    ReplyDelete

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