avatarNeera Handa Dr

Summary

The website content is a whimsical narrative poem titled "Bridging Visa," which tells the story of two possums living on opposite banks of Possum Creek, their shared desire to cross the creek despite visa restrictions, and their eventual realization of the similarity between both sides.

Abstract

The poem "Bridging Visa" is a creative response to Ali's painting and Yana Bostongirl's July prompt on Art, exploring the theme of what emotions art evokes. It narrates the tale of two possums, each living on opposite sides of Possum Creek, who long to visit the other side but are constrained by border and native animal protection rules. Despite multiple attempts to obtain a visa, one possum is repeatedly denied. Under the cover of night, both possums independently decide to cross the creek via a bent tree, only to meet in the middle and realize the futility of their endeavor, as each side appears the same. The poem draws inspiration from a famous Indian story about a frog in a well and reflects on the concept of narrow-mindedness. The author, Neera Handa Dr, acknowledges the playful tone of the poem in comparison to the grand art it responds to and credits other artists, such as Thief and Monoreena Acharjee Majumdar, for their contributions to the prompt.

Opinions

  • The author perceives the possums' situation as a metaphor for human immigration issues, highlighting the challenges and absurdities of visa restrictions and border protection policies.
  • There is an underlying critique of the government's stringent rules that seem to arbitrarily limit the movement of animals (possums) in the name of native animal protection.
  • The poem suggests that the desire to explore beyond one's immediate environment is a natural and shared impulse, as seen in the possums' attempts to cross the creek.
  • The author expresses admiration for the artworks and poems that inspired their own piece, particularly noting the depth and magnificence of the original art in comparison to their lighthearted take.
  • The narrative implies that sometimes, the grass is not greener on the other side, and familiarity can lead to a sudden change of heart, as evidenced by the possums' swift retreat back to their respective sides of the creek.
  • The author uses the story to reflect on human nature, drawing parallels between the possums' behavior and the Indian folktale of the frog in the well, which is used to describe individuals with a limited worldview.

In Response to July Prompt for ‘Life’

Bridging Visa

a poem

Image provided by Ali (with permission)

Once upon a time, on the lush green

banks of the possum creek,

there lived, of course, a possum,

who, each day, looked across and sighed

“oh dear, only if I could visit the other side!”

Other than a bent tree hanging

from one to the other side

there wasn’t any way, at least not of a bridging kind

as those who grant permissions to go across

didn’t like possums crossing from one to other side.

They thought, it wasn’t good for border protection, besides

not good for the native animal protection rules

that the government had decried.

So, this wish to go across,

the poor possum, always kept inside!

And, there on the other side,

lived another possum too,

another one of the similar kind

with a similar bushy tail, and a similar desire

to go across, but that wish, it did not hide!

It went up to the visa office to fill in papers

and twenty times it tried,

but each time, its visa was denied.

So one day, when the sun had gone down

filling the creek with the glossy sky

glowing pink, orange, turquoise and blue

like an impressionist painting,

unbeknown to each other

each of the possum decide

to take a chance, to bridge the divide

to cross the creek and look for themselves,

what was on the other side.

Hopping on the tree, as if going for a ride

both started to slide and glide,

with a similar speed towards each other

meeting right in the middle,

where there was no place to hide.

Both stopped, and simultaneously

each one to the other eyed,

and at the top of their voice cried,

“Oh you? Do you have a visa, or have you applied?”

Listening to the other, with their possum brain

each possum had an aside,

“The other side looks so similar why endanger my hide!!”

and quickly marched

back to its own side!

This piece is in response to Ali’s painting and Yana Bostongirl’s July prompt on Art.

What Emotions Does Art Evoke in You? | by Yana Bostongirl | Coffee Times | Jul, 2022 | Medium

Also here, I am linking my theme to a famous story from India, which has been attributed to Swami Vivekananda, about a Koop Manduk, the Frog that lived in a well. (Koop means well, and Manduk means frog).

This particular frog didn’t have any desire to go out of the well. It looked outside, and thought, everything is the same on the other side, so why bother.

The expression “Koop Manduk” is used to talk about narrow minded people, who don’t travel, and don’t have their horizons widened.

My thanks to Coffee Times pub editors who do a fantastic job of selecting reading and responding to our ideas.

Yana Bostongirl, Ali, I am sorry, if my poem is a bit silly, in comparison to the most magnificent art work you have presented here. It is not my intention to belittle the grand art, but while writing this poem, my mind was filled with Thief’s sonnet about the Possum Creek, which actually is a fantastic poem and a great response to the prompt.

Possum Creek. sonnet — prompt by Ali | by Thief | Jul, 2022 | Medium

But somehow the words possum, and Bridging Visa, that I hear a lot in our national news, here in Australia, kept ringing in my ears. And I was thinking about the border protection and native animal protection rules in Australia.

A shout out to Monoreena Acharjee Majumdar for her wonderful response to this prompt.

In The Wilderness. In Response to July Prompt for ‘Life’ | by Monoreena Acharjee Majumdar | Coffee Times | Jul, 2022 | Medium

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