East Wind Poem by Madathil Rajendran Nair
East Wind
Someone said
The East wind began blowing last night
I didn't know, I was fast asleep
The coconut palms looked westward
When I awoke
The palmyras on the plains
Sang a vibrant song
Which I knew from childhood
That spoke of grandma fairy-tales
Kerosene lamps casting shadows on the walls
Kids listening with gleaming eyes
Before they retired to their smelly beds
Far away the wail
Of lonely trains on insolent rails
The East wind had in fact begun at midnight
Without my knowledge, I was asleep
Bringing in scents of incense burnt
At temples in the East
Their spires kissing the skies
Of champak, jasmine and tulsi leaves
Camphor fumes and sound of bells
Of a Dravidian past of yore
The mirth of waves afar
In the Bay of Bengal
Across the Palghat Pass
Where I live
Walled by the Western Ghats
On the South and North
Oh East wind, send me the silver clouds
Your children, to the kindergarten on the mounts
Where they would dance without cease
All day long and I would watch
With glee, my day already made
All day long and I would watch.. nice line.. love to observe and see
Yes, Palghat is famous for the East winds.... winds that whistle and boom and wafting in the mixed smell of champak and jasmine and also of incense and camphor! How these smell can invoke childhood memories in us! Beautiful poem!
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11/3/2025 6:53:06 PM # 1.0.0
The palmyras*** on the plains .... i like a good alliteration; i like this one. i grew up not far from a small town named Palmyra, in New York State. the zip code is 14522; i remember many zip codes from my years of sorting mail at a big post office. :) ***pal·my·ra palˈmīrə/ noun noun: palmyra; plural noun: palmyras an Asian fan palm that yields a wide range of useful products, including timber, fiber, and fruit. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - favorite lines: Bringing in scents of incense burnt At temples in the East Their spires kissing the skies Of champak, jasmine and tulsi leaves Camphor fumes and sound of bells Of a Dravidian past of yore to MyPoemList. bri :)