Winner | RTF Poem Writing Competition May 2021
Category: Poem: Complex Pasts – Diverse Futures
Participant: Sagrika Saraf
Profession: Designer
City: Jammu
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Conserving the Past
Laid in mud, laid in stone;
The grounds where the emperors fought tooth and bone;
Beautiful facades, Interiors loaned
To the new functions; Historians groaned.
Once upon a time, once upon a throne;
Valiant warriors; names were engraved in stone.
Conserve the art, conserve the past
We ought to make this richness last.
Memoirs, palaces, a court or a stepwell.
The way they tell a story; we cannot tell.
The techniques, the materials, the domes, the walls.
How precious are all of these, lets recall.
Should we inhabit or should we outgrow;
When and where should the new seeds sow.
To the great landmarks, we should bow;
Conserving the past, to the future, we owe.
