The Ganga begins her journey here at Devprayag
We never remained vigilant
So we let thunderous waves
of foreign invasions-
crush us-
we were looted-
got ourselves
killed-
now look at the confluence
of Bhagirathi and Alakananda
where the beautiful Ganga comes alive-
we are still not vigilant-
so we let the turquoise Ganga weep
till She is noir
before She pours Herself into the sea-
Posted for Susan’s Midweek Motif ~ Vigilance @ Poets United
sumanar/lekha 
Such beautiful imagery – flowed like the river itself
Oh, Oh, Oh! From imperialism to pollution, from innocence to experience, this poem takes in the world and its own specific location. I have never seen the image of the beginning of the Ganges! You can actually see the colors merging and imagine all the streams that obscure its purity. Or maybe its all the grief that the holy water collects and removes from its land. Wow.
I’m with you, comrade! After all, it’s OUR river, too, right?
Letting things go seems to be one of the primary traits of our species.
The beautiful Ganges – and so much more – polluted, on our watch. It is a heavy weight to bear.
An eloquent poem. It is our lack of vigilance
that has destroyed a beautiful world.
Sumana,
Indeed we have gone from not just the fear of conflict by wars, to the conflict about killing our water supplies and the land. Both situations are worrying and both sometimes seem to be void of a lasting answer to the problem…Vigilance is a requirement more than ever..
It is always interesting seeing the beginning of a river.
I worry about our waterways, we need to stay vigilant. (sigh)
I can remember that Mahatma Ghandi when independence of India was achieved in 1947 was aghast that the country would be separated acoording to the majority of religions in the regions resulting in India and Pakistan causing the mass exodus of faiths from from one place to another causing so much strife and the continuing discord there is today.
Great water imagery, Sumana, especially the ‘thunderous waves of foreign invasions’ and the lines:
‘…we let the turquoise Ganga weep
till She is noir
before She pours Herself into the sea’.
This is so sad. I like how you single out the Ganges as if she cries into the ocean. It dramatizes what is happening to many of our waterways.
Tragic…invasions pollution destruction….We need a miracle !
kaykuala
so we let the turquoise Ganga weep
till She is noir
before She pours Herself into the sea-
The Ganges is self-sustaining despite being constantly abused by men and pollution or the vagaries of the weather. It continues to soldier on providing not just comments but romantics of the good life.
Hank