O Captain! No Captain! You can't leave us marooned, and abandon,
You can't, with your saddest and gloomiest departure, make us forlorn!
You can't urge us to rely, "A darkest and longest night fell at a foggy, cloudy noon!"
We too can't accept the sourest Bane, that was less than a year ago a sweetest Boon!
O Captain! No Captain! You can't depart just before the victory vessel is ashore,
You can't, when you should soar at the highest altitude, lie like a log on the floor!
You can't compel us to recite an elegy while the chorus is rehearsing a Triumph Song,
You can't go so early, or we will wail and our arch rivals will revel and grow strong!
O Captain! No Captain! Time can't be so cruel so as to separate you from us,
Ah! Mother India can't bear to be bereaved of another Vikram Sarabhai or Bose!
Thus, O Captain! Do wake up at this instant to assure this to us all:
"I had an urgent meeting with God with regard to our Country's safety and integrity,
And, I will soon alight from the IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter with His missives celestial,
To join duty with more gallantry, devotion, allegiance, patriotism and sincerity!"
N. B. This poem, inspired by Walt Whitman's elegy, "O Captain! My Captain" is dedicated to late General Bipin Rawat, India's first CDS (Chief of Defence Staff) who, along with his wife Madhulika Rawat, an Army Brigadier, and ten others perished when an Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi-17V5 helicopter carrying them crashed into a heavily wooded area of the Coonoor ghat in the Nilgiris in western Tamil Nadu on Wednesday afternoon, at about 12.20 pm on 8th December,2021.
Copyright: Dr. Shankar D Mishra Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India 09.12.2021
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You sir this is a wonderful full poem ❣️ loved it
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind perusal of the poem and an encouraging feedback.
DeleteWonderful thinking and composition
DeleteWow sir this is a wonderfull poem....
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind perusal of the poem and an encouraging feedback.
ReplyDeleteThank you A.K Mishra Sir for your following feedback on this poem.
ReplyDeleteA poem that really explains the feelings of a Nation that faces bereavement of a unique nature , this composition brings out the best of SDM. This poem shows the highest loss as it affects us at the deepest levels of our being. The mood and the tone make this poem a moving story that the accident has taken the form of. The wailing of the poet presents the Nation's mood as it's plunged in despair and grief. Yes, we miss the Captain very much.
Excellent sir🙏🙏
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind perusal of the poem and an encouraging feedback.
ReplyDeleteExcellent poem for a real hero of mother lndia.Saluting.....
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind perusal of the poem and an encouraging feedback.
DeleteHis missives celestial... What a most beautiful line.. Beautifully written, and as usual giving honour and credit where due. But looking deeper.. perhaps it's time to truly look at the plight of helicopter crashes. We've lost some few people to these crashes, and it seems to be more frequent these days. Helicopter crashes were rarely heard if somewhat, now we've lost the former owner of Leicester City, Kobe Bryant and daughter Brianne, and now the Captain and his family. May their souls rest in perfect peace. The soul of the just is truly blessed.
ReplyDeleteThank you dear friend for your kind perusal of the poem and a sensible feedback.
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