Poem 'Digging' Gopi Krishnan Koottoor

 Poem 'Digging' Gopi Krishnan Koottoor

For appreciating this modern abstract poem we need to go to the visualizations of the poet. First as he is digging he finds ‘fragments of the dead.’ Next visual is how they went around heaven and earth in quest of happy times but found both mixed and finally settled for taking things as they came. The metaphor ‘hard brown laterite’ draws our attention. Actually he is digging ‘to plant a few bright periwinkles stolen from the mound of one long obscure, dead’. Another metaphor is ‘millipedes curling up ashamed of the sudden expose into dark ring stones of sapphire and topaz.’ He hasn’t dug so much deep to unearth rare stones, we note. There is one more very important metaphor ‘strange roots going everywhere like soft nerve fibers, sending messages of thirst to strange destinations.’ But everything is buried back and all this digging is a thanksgiving to earth.

Digging ‘to plant a few bright periwinkles stolen from the mound of one long obscure, dead’ gives us the lead. The poem is all about one’s pride about his heritage and selective interpretation of history for assuring self that the forefathers were flawless and were visionaries. In fact, this selective interpretation is motivated by racist and power mongering politicians. The poet laments at least in such a blind exercise, please dig, it is worth the effort. As you dig, you find the shames curled up and thirsty quests too. But we never dig. If we dispassionately, non-judgmentally dig, we might find rare stones effortlessly. The abstract poem ends with a straight assurance the dig is a worthy thanksgiving to earth. Earth, for the poet figuratively, is the home. Hence the boundaries that divide and the wars for material quests are making your peace at this home ever elusive. As in mythology, thanksgiving is never a onetime affair and is annual. We need to dig for ever and frequently and be thankful for the home which could be wonderful if we choose to.