uday balakrishnan - Anjengo

An old fort lies desolate and
Lost in a village of
Coconut trees and fisher folk.

Overgrown with weeds,
Its bellybutton ….
A dry well in the middle.
Toothless battlements stare
Impotently at the vast waters,
That is Anjengo for you
Gazing forlornly at the Arabian Sea.

So much for the ravages of time
And the loss of primacy of a place
Once ensured by garrisons and guns
Of Company and Empire.
So much for the young English couple
In eternal sleep for centuries now
In adjoining graves just outside,
An endless sea nearby
The rest of India all around.

uday balakrishnan

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/anjengo/