John

John

(From the poem "The world's discussed while friends are eating")

1.1

Hail Muse. Dear Reader, once upon

A time, say, circa 1980,

There lived a man. His name was John.

Successful in his field though only

Twenty-six, respected, lonely,

One evening as he walked across

Golden Gate Park, the ill-judged toss

Of a red frisbee almost brained him.

He thought, "If I died, who'd be sad?

Who'd weep? Who'd gloat? Who would be glad?

Would anybody?" As it pained him,

He turned from this dispiriting theme

To ruminations less extreme.

1.2

He turned his thoughts to electronic

Circuitry. This soothed his mind.

He left irregular (moronic)

Sentimentality behind.

He thought of or-gates and of and-gates,

Of ROMs, of nor-gates, and of nand-gates,

Of nanoseconds, megabytes ...

1.3

John's looks are good. His dress is formal.

His voice is low. His mind is sound.

His appetite for work's abnormal.

Pays his rent promptly, jogs, does not

Smoke cigarettes, and rarely pot,

Eschews both church and heavy drinking.

Enjoys his garden, likes to read

(A surrogate, some say, for thinking.)

Friends claim he's grown aloof and prim.

(His boss, though, is well-pleased with him.)

1.4

Gray-eyed, blond-haired, aristocratic

In height, impatience, views, and face,

Discriminating though dogmatic,

Tender beneath a carapace.

Of well-groomed tastes and tasteful grooming,

John, though his corporate stock is booming,

For all his mohair, serge, and tweed,

Senses his life has run to seed.

A passionate man, with equal parts of

Irritability and charm,

Without as such intending harm,

His flaring temper singed the hearts of

Several women in the days

Before his chaste, ambitious phase.

(From Vikram Seth: "THE GOLDEN GATE", POETRY, Faber and Faber/Random House; Rs. 295 PENGUIN INDIA when I bought it on Feb 28, 2013 from a local bookstore; now books are easily available in India from online giants Flipkart and Amazon, though I like the human touch in local bookshops/bookstores, never mind zero discount.)

carapace [SHELL] = a hard shell on the outside of some animals such as a crab or tortoise

mohair = expensive wool

serge = strong woollen cloth used for making suits, trousers etc.

tweed = rough woollen cloth woven from threads of different colours, used to make jackets, suits and coats

run to seed = if someone or something runs to seed, they become less attractive or good, especially because they are getting old and have not been properly looked after 

singed = burned the surface of something slightly

- Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

Kishalay Sinha [G]