Surrender—Moumita Sinha
Moumita Sinha, 21, from Kolkata, India, writes poetry as a mode of free self-expression. She studies English Literature at Scottish Church College and writes on varied subjects. The use of imagery to bring out the graphic details of the concrete world that inspire her is important to her. Her poetry focuses on escapism and identity and makes use of extensive metaphors and rhetorics.
Introductory note / context of ‘Surrender’.
‘Surrender’ is a glimpse into an ordinary man’s life as he grapples with the mediocre existence of modern life. Like T.S. Eliot’s Prufrock, he is emotionally potent and somehow wants to leave an impact on the world. He loses himself in W.B. Yeats’ poem ‘Leda and the Swan’ and tries to project the vigour and power of Zeus. However, like Zeus’ disguise of a swan, this brief moment of energy is only a mask, meant to disguise his utterly insignificant, inconsequential role in the world. Far from leading to the birth of Helen of Troy and the Trojan War, his life and his sexual exploits are petty and amount to nothing. He recognizes his disturbed state of mind but does not want to change the status quo, and like so many people, quietly surrenders to his fate.
Surrender
Moumita Sinha
He disrobes with uncommon care
The day burning his mouth sour,
No rest in forgetfulness
He reads the paper, sometimes Yeats’ poems,
this weeknight hour.
Leaving his vague fingers churning
Old dreams in his void-shaped ashtray
He lingers a while to measure
The bag of bones, his empty flesh
His hips that no longer dance in movement.
But sweeping a royal train across the floorboards,
In his depth and height of utter waste,
She struggles, then gives in to his slaughterous pull
He glories in visions of men writhing and cursing his name.
He’s no swan, and she stretches with a yawn
Withdrawing from the glare of street-lamps, they ponder
Stars and gods moving just out of sight
The brute in him moved the blood to such a fury
He hangs one arm against the bed, and seeking no escape,
Gives himself in quiet surrender.
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