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They Kept On Talking

by Ashok Sharda

They talked
They kept on talking
He spoke Sanskrit
She spoke Latin

He doesn’t understand Latin
She doesn’t understand Sanskrit
They talked
They kept on talking

While he talked
She too talked
He spoke Sanskrit
She spoke Latin

What he talked is what she talked
What she talked is what he talked
They both talked for years
She in Latin, he in Sanskrit

What he talked is what every body talked
What she talked is what every body talked
What every body talked, they both talked

One day he felt that she is talking too much
She too felt that he is talking too much
He raised his voice
She too raised her voice
He stopped pretending that he was listening
She stopped pretending that she was listening
But, they both talked
He spoke Sanskrit
She spoke Latin
They talked. They kept on talking.





01/20/2002

Posted on 01/20/2002
Copyright © 2024 Ashok Sharda

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Graeme Fielden on 04/29/03 at 04:32 PM

quite a mobius strip this one...i started reading...but i never found the end. Nice one :)

Posted by Agnes Eva on 05/20/03 at 06:47 PM

two lines running parallel, then they each bulge outwards (mirror image), then recontinue running parallel, only further apart. are the lines the same? can they ever merge their whole lives? and is this emptiness or just the reality of the isolation of individual human consciousness?

Posted by Michele Schottelkorb on 10/04/03 at 03:00 PM

the irony of life is those that would converse forever, but never really listen... your writing style is so unique and admirable... such a pleasure to read:)... blessings!

Posted by Rula Shin on 01/21/04 at 06:22 PM

Oh man is this painful...I think we've all experienced this frustrating communication conundrum. I talked, and pretended to listen while I was actually waiting for my turn to talk again. You explain this tragic story of miscommunication marvelously... *He spoke Sanskrit She spoke Latin...They kept on talking* So encompassed are they within their own worlds that they don't even realize or care that they are speaking different languages. They never attempt to communicate with the intimate unspoken language of love or friendship. This poem can indeed relate to "virtually every sociological interaction," - this poem also makes me think of the relationship between a writer, his works, and his audience, *One day he felt that she is talking too much She too felt that he is talking too much He raised his voice She too raised her voice* because you know the higher you raise your voice, the LOUDER you get...and the less they listen

Posted by Maria Terezia Ferencz on 04/05/05 at 04:15 PM

Reads like a comfortable 50 year marriage, the kind that begins in love and ends in habit.......

Posted by Glenn Currier on 06/27/05 at 02:42 AM

Sometimes it seems I am speaking a different language, but is usually when I am not listening very well. Maybe if they keep talking to each other and listening to more than the words they will discover something delightful and deep. Interesting piece, Ashok.

Posted by Genevieve Sturrock on 02/04/07 at 03:18 AM

Glad this made it's way to Random Member's Favorites list...I really enjoyed reading this. It's helps me to remember that though my ex- and I disagree about a great many things...we are of one mind about our children, even if we cannot seem to find the right language of communication.

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