Poem The Unrest of Desire by Keki. N. Daruwalla

Poem The Unrest of Desire by Keki. N. Daruwalla





Stanza 1:

The unrest of desire is lit up with eyes, 
Whatever the mask you slap upon your face,
 However you tear at the soft throat of life 
And probe the salt-blood with your instinct tongue. 
The unrest of desire is revealed by eyes.

Summary:

A man is unable or incapable to suppress a desire or to keep it hidden under some assumed expression on his face. A man rears many desires in his life. Some of his desires are fulfilled, but some remain unfulfilled. When man's desire remains unfulfilled and gets no real existence, he becomes restless and feels uneasy. But it is difficult for him to conceal the aspiration for strong desire and the restlessness caused by the unfulfilled desire. The uneasiness which is caused by a desire for something is expressed through the expression in the eyes. The desire which is felt strongly, gets an expression through the eyes. A man's eyes clearly show that he is experiencing some strong desire. Howsoever, a man may try to conceal his strong desire by wearing the false expression on his face, he cannot succeed in it. Man cannot conceal it from others for longer. The false expression worn by man at his face is soon exposed and the reality is soon discovered. Man may try his best to be normal and at ease, but his eyes depict everything concerned to the man.

Stanza 2:

However you bury the shadow in the heart, 
Under slabs of concrete and coil of bone, 
However you wall the cave-impulse at the mouth, 
It will hammer at the sides and break free- 
However you bury the shadow in the heart,

Summary:

A man may bury his strong and unfulfilled desire in his heart, he may try his best to suppress it, but all his efforts to bury and suppress it would prove futile. It would get the way from his eyes. It would soon be exposed to others. The fact is that the desire lying in man's heart would definitely become known to others who happen to see him and the expressions in his eyes. Howsoever a man may put the heavy weight on his strong desire, but his eyes would give vent to his desire through the expression. In order to conceal his desire, he may keep his mouth shut, but the desire in his heart would somehow escape his heart and enter his eyes and thus become visible. The unfulfilled desire cannot be imprisoned for longer. In any case its suppression is impossible.

Stanza 3:

You may etch the shadow on the cavern-wall 
And turn the drives into aborigine art, 
Bison and stag loping in charcoal lines, 
You can't erase the burn: It will char your dreams, 
However you bury the shadow in the heart.

Summary:

When man nourishes a desire and it remains unfulfilled, the restlessness caused by the unfulfilled desire cannot be hidden from others for longer, it is soon visible through the expression in the eyes. A man cannot bury and suppress his desire and restlessness for longer in his heart. Howsoever he may 'make best efforts not to exhibit his desire and uneasiness, but his eyes give it way. A man may adopt any other methods which may occur to him to disguise the state of his heart, but it would still show itself in his eyes. Man's desire makes his heart its abode unless it is fulfilled. Due to being an inborn instinct man cannot get rid of it. Neither he can suppress it nor can he uproot it from his heart. A man may engrave or draw pictures of different kinds of racing animals such as wild ox and deer. By doing so he may try to pour his desire into the pictures drawn by him, but it is impossible to dig out his desire lying in his heart. By representing his desire through the pictures he cannot give vent to his desire. As it is impossible to erase the mark of burn left on the flesh by a fire, in the same way, desire would never quit his heart and would even haunt him in his dreams.

Critical Analysis of the Poem:

 Introduction: 

The poem entitled The Unrest of Desire is a poem with a strong psychological interest. In the poem the poet briefs the idea that the instincts of the person can never be suppressed, it is neither possible nor desirable. Man's desire if remains unfulfilled, always lives in his heart. The poet observes that howsoever a man may try to conceal and suppress his desire, it becomes visible through the expression in his eyes. No power can be applied to suppress the intensity of desire. All the restrictions put by man on his desire are broken when it gets its vent through the expression in his eyes.

Thought Content: 

The poet depicts a man's incapability to bury and suppress the intensity of desire or to keep it hidden under some assumed expression on his face. A desire would never fail to manifest itself through the expression in a man's eyes. In fact, one who looks at such a man may not be able to understand or guess the nature of his desire, but he would definitely come to know that there is a desire in his heart. This fact would become known to him by his merely looking into the eyes of the man concerned. Man's eyes give some sort of evidence of the existence of a desire in the man's heart.

Moral Idea of the Poem: 

Due to being natural or inborn instinct, man has been nourishing aspirations and desires in his heart. When a man's desire remains unfulfilled, he feels utterly restless and uneasy. The desire which cannot be fulfilled does not fade away from man's heart, but it makes his heart permanent abode. Although man tries his best to bury and suppress his desire, it becomes visible through the expression in his eyes. Howsoever a man may make effort to be normal while behaving and talking with others, but it is exhibited from his eyes. Whatever is hidden in man's heart is revealed through the expression in his eyes. Hence it is said that the man's eyes are mirror of his inner personality. Eyes reveal all the feelings and emotions hidden in his heart.

Employment of Imagery through the Use of Metaphors: 

The idea which has been expressed in the poem is an abstract one, but much concrete imagery has been used in the poem. A man may wear a mask or may throw some sort of disguise over the expression of his face, but he would not be able to mask the expression in his eyes: 

"The unrest of desire is lit up with eyes, 
Whatever the mask you slap upon your face." 

A man may put his heart's desire under some heavy weight like that of a slab of cement or a large heap of bones, but his eyes would betray the fact that there is a desire in his heart:

"However you bury the shadow in the heart, 
Under slabs of concrete and coil of bone." 

A man may draw all sorts of pictures with a piece of charcoal on the walls of a cave in order to give a false representation of his desire, but it would never quit his heart and would even haunt in his dreams: 

"You may etch the shadow on the cavern-wall 
And turn the drives into aborigine art, 
Bison and stag loping in charcoal lines. 
You can't erase the burn. It will char your dreams, 
However you bury the shadow in the heart."

 


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