My poem reviewed by eminent reviewer Prof Dr Nirakar Dash , Department of English of Assam University.
Humbled and Honoured.
UNDER AN ILLUSION !
I can’t understand pain of my heart
It’s already covered under an illusion
You can hardly ever see ,think or know
Lost its way, a great fool the heart is
Flying on the wings of dark clouds
It’s going where it’s not meant to be
Lost in the path it can conquer all odds
And breakthrough all the castles of life
It tosses the heart around now and then
It does accept every grief with a smile
For an illusion is my heart and it’s a fool.
©®Dr Prasana Kumar Dalai @India.
Date. Wed,08 May 2024.
The poem “Under an Illusion” by the illustrious poet Dr Prasanna Ku Dalai,is a red herring.Here the word “heart”,used as a pun stands for his love and also for human mind.Now a jilted lover, unlike in previous poems,he rejects his beloved asserting that “heart” or love is an Illusion or something fake in this world. What is real is the pain associated with love,which again is beyond human comprehension. Tendency to love and to be loved raises countless philosophical questions in relation to the validity of love. Perhaps people in love are running after mirages. Reflecting on its misleading or illusory aspect, the poet says:” I can’t understand pain of my heart/It’s already covered under an illusion/You can hardly ever see, think or know “The aspirations of human mind should be something other than love in this mundane world.Runnig after the objects of love , the mind goes berserk.Affairs of the world befool and befuddle human beings.Unhappiness and frustration lead one to the nadir of suffering.Turned spiritual due to hollowness of love, the poet says,”Lost it’s way, a great fool the heart is………./It’s going where it is not meant to be”.But the same heart or soul, properly disciplined,can conquer all impediments.Here “lost in the path ” means engrossed in deep spirituality.The line: “It’s going where it is not meant to be ” conveys that the human mind should seek union with God in stead of running after worldly temptations.The concluding two lines are reminiscent of Satan’s statement in Paradise Lost in which he says:” The mind is it’s own place and in itself/ can make heaven of hell,a hell of heaven”A well trained mind can accept all odds with a smile and the selfsame mind can cause havoc if not in check. In this way the poet erupts his disgusting about his unrequited love under the veneer of teaching high philosophy of detachment.Congratulatios Dr Prasanna Sir for composing such a wonderful poem.
