Above image: Courtesy, The British Museum. The two photos at the bottom from 1947 are by Margaret Bourke-White.
Partition
Parting of the Rivers
A Poem by MICHELE GIBSON
PUNJAB 1845-49
A treachery drove us
Confused and betrayed,
Our general posed
With an unsheathed blade
Tej and Lal motioned forward
Did not charge, did not fight?
They set on the rivers,
They had us in sight
We fought for the Sutlej
Every man knew her breath
When the bridgehead collapsed
She gathered up death
With Kashmir extorted
And the Koh-i-noor gone
The doabs were fertile
For marching upon
Chattar Singh took the lead,
All the past would atone,
And the Ravi would rise
From the weight of the bones
Sher Singh took on Gough
And laid much of them waste
But the Chenab fell ill
From the savage taste
They have bloodied the rivers
They have bloodied all thus
With life itself purged in
A sanguine Indus
　
* * * * *　
PUNJAB 1947
Help us dear God
We have suffered midnight
They divided the rivers
They dissected our might
Bodies are flowing
They arrive on the trains
They snake through the doabs
We are bleeding again
The Beas and the Sutlej
Meander alone
The Punjab corrupted,
Are now without home
The Ravi flows heavy
Deceptively near
But she wanders misguided
Diverted by fear
The Chenab and Jhelum
Swell new foreign lands
Deluded, enhance
And enrich foreign hands
The rivers are filling
Millions have fled
Barred by Radcliffe
A million are dead
They have severed the rivers
They have severed all thus
With life itself purged in
A sanguine Indus
July 18, 2009
Conversation about this article
1: Harji Kaur (Oxford, England), July 18, 2009, 1:41 PM.
Michele, you compressed and loaded a chapter of history in each of your verses. It's superb poetry. I've read the poem over and over again, and each time it reveals more. WHO ARE YOU? You write with the poignancy of Shah Mohammed's "Varaan", the passion of Amrita Pritam.
2: Pritam Singh (San Diego, California, U.S.A.), July 18, 2009, 2:32 PM.
Beautifully written. You've got me interested in both these events - I'm pulling out my books to learn more about them. And will then go back to the poem ... I know I'm currently missing much of the nuances. But, many thanks for leading us to the water ...
3: Gurbilas Singh (Chandigarh, Punjab), July 20, 2009, 6:31 AM.
None of these above-described events were any significant part of our schooling here in India. Any reason why? Can you recommend some books which I can read to catch up? [Editor: Khushwant Singh's "Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire" - it may have been republished under a slightly different name - is an excellent place to start with, for the 1790-1850 era. His "History of the Sikhs", however, is even better; it gives you the larger context ... and it'll help you vis-a-vis the Partition as well.]
4: B.S. Bikram (Gurgaon, India), July 20, 2009, 1:24 PM.
I like the way you depict Sikh history. It gives a new perspective. Look forward to reading more from you, Michele - in poetry AND prose!
5: Lally Singh (New York, U.S.A.), July 20, 2009, 1:36 PM.
Great poetry. Great subjects. You've done wonders combining the two. Keep it up!