Summary of the Poem Soft Storm: Analysis & Exercise
Summary of the Poem Soft Strom
Main Summary of Soft Storm
On the surface, the poem Soft Storm depicts the speaker's journey through the narrow streets and lights of Kathmandu at night, but in a deeper sense, it projects people's feelings of indifference towards the miserable conditions and sufferings of the people, male practices, tumultuous atmosphere, and chaos in Nepalese society.
Summary in Detail of Soft Storm
Soft Storm is a popular poem written by Abhi Subedi which express the situational kindness of the human being. In this poem, the speaker is presented as a rebel in society against societal misleading. The speaker represented himself as supportive towards the bad situation This poem presents the speaker of the poem as a rebel in society.
The poem indirectly attacks male practices of Nepali society very minutely. The poem is a bit longer than other poems of this book. It is written in free verse. It has a beautiful blend of natural and social descriptions.
Subedi contemplates the absurdities of tempestuous times in the poem, "Soft Storm, " with a touch of compassion. Soft Strom by Abhi Subedi is written in free verse with a lovely blend of natural and societal depiction.
The poet describes an environmental disorder in Nepalese culture in the first stanza, using terms like a tumult, eerie, and so on, before moving on to a more positive condition with the phrase "sky grew like crocuses, " implying the blooming of Irish floral family plants over stones. These plants reach a height of five inches. When the moon is close to set, he speaks in posters and politics, as well as about a variety of social events. It refers to a group of people discussing social activities while they are in front of each other.
As the writer views the gentleness of the rose like a gale' from his roofs, he becomes soft again by integrating both nature and the social atmosphere. The writer uses this simile to mix two opposing themes, such as the softness of a rose and the strength of a strong wind, and to criticize various social malpractices committed by people in society. Then he shows the moon singing and lightning with a seamless city, which for some people indicates a city with an easy and comfortable atmosphere.
In the second stanza, he depicts homeless and parentless children in Thamel, begging for food and shelter. Through this, he criticizes corrupted political leaders who are only concerned with themselves and their families, rather than their poor citizens and orphans. These future pillars are in jeopardy and living in deplorable conditions. One of the major causes of all of this is the prevalence of social evils in the country. On the other hand, as he returns from such a melee (confusing place) where people were dancing with mad steps, parties and ceremonies in skyscrapers, big hotels, he recalls his past days when people were free to enjoy true freedom.
In the third stanza, he softens again as he imagines a forlorn (depressed and lonely) child sobbing and searching for his mother here and there while wearing a transistor around his neck. The child is terrified. For no apparent reason, a man is cruelly beaten in front of his family members. It states that in the present period, individuals are indifferent to one another and that dominance reigns supreme. These illegal behaviours cause the speaker to revolt against the system. In the fourth stanza, the poet describes a man with a blood-stained shirt and bruised human lips who is unable to speak because the powerful residents of the night have silenced his voice. The landowners and the labourers are linked by the game of hide-and-seek.
In the fifth stanza, the speaker expresses his dissatisfaction with the words not listened to and not waiting for the storm for its Leela (play). The poet expresses positive feelings for the inhabitants in the sixth stanza by using grown-up Irish flowering plants over the stone, storms going to public places, and the sun shining with varied colours like a rainbow. Other metaphors, such as soft storm, silent pages, forlorn shirts, celebrations for the gods, and so on, are in a chaotic state since they are under the power of the nation's disturbing rulers.
In the seventh stanza, he describes numerous causes of his soft heart, including invaluable items, modern men's indifference and selfishness, criminal actions, a disturbed and spoiled mother earth as a result of human wrongdoing, and the terrible lives of other helpless creatures.
The speaker closes the poem in the final line by emphasizing that he needs freedom not just for himself but also for all the creatures of this motherland. He prefers the lovely and peaceful sky and wishes to dance freely, free of social constraints, to the natural soothing melody of quiet storms and melodious birds singing, in a circle that goes round and round.
Who is the writer of Soft Storm?
Abhi Suvedi is a towering personality in the academy of Nepal. He has taught for more than 44 years in different universities. He contributed to the field of literature by writing several essays, stories, dramas and poems in both Nepali and English languages.
Writer of Soft Storm
The Poem
Soft Storm
I became soft
I became soft
after I heard the tumult and
crashed on the eerie stillness;
I inherited the soft
when the sky grew like crocuses
over stones and
became five inches taller
that very night
when moon skidded down
your walls
speaking in the language
of posters and politics
rituals and reasons.
I became soft
as the softness rose like a gale
tearing my roofs
that very night
when the moon sang of
lampposts and gutters
in this seamless city.
I became soft
when homeless children in Thamel
cried with hunger under the bat-bearing
trees of Kesharmahal;
I became soft
when I returned
from the melee
where ceremony
dances with mad steps
on the unwedded gardens of history
growing around protruded rocks.
I became soft
when I alone turned to you
leaving deep dents of words
on these white sheets;
I became soft storm
when I saw a forlorn child
carrying transistor radio around his neck
run around wailing
to find his mother
in the corridors of violent history.
I became a soft storm
when I saw a man
beaten mercilessly
for no reason
before his family
by nobody for no reason
in no sensible times.
I became soft
when I saw
a blood-stained shirt
speaking in the earth’s ears
with bruised human lips
in the far corner
under the moon
of history and dreams
playing hide and seek
in open museums
of human times.
I became soft
since you gave words
but did not listen to them,
gave storms
but didn’t wait to see its Leela
over the silent stone.
Crocuses have grown
over the stone–
I saw last moonlit night,
storms have loitered
in the narrow lanes
where I too have walked alone
pensively in rain tears
and little chuckles of sun laughter
that have risen and melted
like rainbow.
Soft is my storm
that rages and rages
over silent pages,
silent stones,
silent forlorn shirts carrying war memories,
silent dilapidations of gods’ abodes
where dances and songs
are buried under helpless divine debris
in human courtyards.
Soft is what you saw,
I honor your mooneyes
but the mad time spools
winding all that we see and live with,
stone growing in flower
moon humming melodies
history rushing under the lamppost
and over deforested land,
birds singing of bizarre journeys
over the warming earth
rhododendron blooming in winter,
mother earth telling of the tumults
in the songs of the sad birds.
All in unison have created
this soft gale.
But in these hard times
I want to melt like a rainbow
my soft storm in your minuscule sky.
My soft storm
dances in ripples
of your uneasy lake.
Glossary
tumult (n.): violent and noisy commotion or disturbance of a crowd or mob; uproar
eerie (adj.): so mysterious, strange, or unexpected as to send a chill up the spine
crocuses (n.): a type of flowering plants in the iris family
seamless (adj.): moving from one thing to another easily and without any interruptions or problems
melee (n.): confusion, turmoil, jumble
protruded (adj.): stuck out from or through something
Leela (n.): a divine play
loitered (v.): moved slowly around or stand in a public place without an obvious reason
pensively (adv.): done in a thoughtful manner, often with sadness
spools (n.): a cylindrical device which has a rim or ridge at each end and an axial hole for a pin or spindle and on which material (such as thread, wire, or tape) is wound
minuscule (adj.): very small