A Silent Witness



In this graveyard
Where ceases not fire,
Where ceases not lamentations,
I am for eons a silent witness.

Lone I stand on these rolling slopes,
Green fields lie beyond the silent road.
A distant whistle is heard
And I know the last train is also gone.

To so many parting moments
I am an emotional witness.
To every curling smoke
I bid a silent adieu.

Under my cool shades
Meet the forefathers of this hamlet.
And they whisper through my foliage
Unto the perching birds and passing wind.

No cry shakes my roots,
No howling wind wakes the dead.
Beyond the din of the world
All are equal under my sprawling shades.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

About this poem

In this poem, a tree with sprawling shades in a graveyard is the silent witness. 'No cry shakes my roots, No howling wind wakes the dead. Beyond the din of the world All are equal under my sprawling shades'.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Written on April 17, 2009

Submitted by ravi_panamanna on December 23, 2023

39 sec read
6

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXAA AXXX AAXX AXXX AXXAA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 653
Words 130
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 5

Ravi Panamanna

My actual name is Subramanian A. I am a retired official of the State Bank of India. Settled in Palakkad, Kerala, India. My literary awards include The Barath Award for Literature (best story), and the Poiesis Awards both in Poetry and short story, all conducted jointly by Xpress publications.com. My interests cover photography, philosophy, and science. Google search under Ravi Panamanna would take the searcher to my various links. more…

All Ravi Panamanna poems | Ravi Panamanna Books

1 fan

Discuss the poem A Silent Witness with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "A Silent Witness" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/176705/a-silent-witness>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    23
    hours
    52
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Which poet is associated with the poem "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"?
    A Maya Angelou
    B Ralph Waldo Emerson
    C Langston Hughes
    D Emily Dickinson