Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Monika Kumar

Hazards of Hindsight

For a moment
forget hindsight
prudence and reconsideration
Hindsight dry-cleans your speech
Forget caution and correction  
don’t render me speechless with your reason – 
all I want from you is a quick artless response
that knocks judgement off into history’s oblivion
only then I'll get a pure no, a simple yes from you
not the elusive past, I wasn’t a part of
 
To make any sense of history
I need an artless response
In its freshness
I can see better
the peanuts enclosed in the sturdy shell
the fresh oil in its ripened seeds.

HAZARDS OF HINDSIGHT

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Hazards of Hindsight

For a moment
forget hindsight
prudence and reconsideration
Hindsight dry-cleans your speech
Forget caution and correction  
don’t render me speechless with your reason – 
all I want from you is a quick artless response
that knocks judgement off into history’s oblivion
only then I'll get a pure no, a simple yes from you
not the elusive past, I wasn’t a part of
 
To make any sense of history
I need an artless response
In its freshness
I can see better
the peanuts enclosed in the sturdy shell
the fresh oil in its ripened seeds.

Hazards of Hindsight

For a moment
forget hindsight
prudence and reconsideration
Hindsight dry-cleans your speech
Forget caution and correction  
don’t render me speechless with your reason – 
all I want from you is a quick artless response
that knocks judgement off into history’s oblivion
only then I'll get a pure no, a simple yes from you
not the elusive past, I wasn’t a part of
 
To make any sense of history
I need an artless response
In its freshness
I can see better
the peanuts enclosed in the sturdy shell
the fresh oil in its ripened seeds.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère