Man and Machine

This poem was published by the How2 Journal of women's literature in its spring-summer 2006 issue. This was my first internationally published work.

Something about the poem: The concept took root in my mind when I observed how men are so fond of their gizmos. It was in a lighter vein. Then in November of 2005, sitting at the bedside of a dying loved-one, I noticed how machines are so closely related to a man's life. My uncle passed away. Man and Machine was born.


Man and Machine

His first cry was heard
on the Resuscitation
His first smile was seen
through glass in incubation
His first little step
was caught on Handycam
Among his first figures
was 32 MB RAM
His first vehicle
was a robust Thunderbird
His first love affair
was in the virtual world
His first job was among
steel, nuts, bolts and dials
His passion was to collect
I Pods and mobiles
His life was but an
assortment of contraptions
Laptops and pen drives
CDs, Zip Drives, Playstations
His wife, son, everyone
on his system was a folder
And this is how he spent his life
growing older and older
And in the December of life
ECGs, CT Scans, X-Rays
Until the final journey
the last electric embrace.

(c) Smita Rajan
Nov 2005