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.

Soft Strom: Poem Summary & Analysis with Exercise
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 

Next Previous
No Comment
Post a Comment
comment url