Poison Ivy by Indrajeet Dasgupta - An Excerpt.

A poem is an excerpt from the book ‘Borderless’ of Indrajeet Dasgupta which will be launched by September this year.

1.    Poison Ivy

You are brought up to be mannered, yet bred for the kill,
Never too protected, barring mama's waffles and grill.
Horses, tennis, and violin by six, athletics, piano too in the mix,
Regimented, disciplined – like that old song on bricks.

They soon call your sarcasm, and your attitude cavalier,
You never cared… Oh, the drugs – they have no fear.
The schools are few, the dreamers many,
Your first day at Ivy but an epiphany.

Small dorm rooms, dining hall food,
Track and field, campus girls in the hood.
You had your fill early, though not wise,
Found divinity, in the devil's disguise.

You start work, with the famous six-figure,
Eighteen hours, luncheons and dreams bigger.
On your thirtieth, passed out in a drunken bout,
Trembling on the high rise ledge, a classic burnout.

The Ivy is clingy, yet symbol of eternal life,
Your life's worth is much more – than a career and strife.

“Poison Ivy” is a lyrical poem with four stanzas (quatrains). Every verse is intertwined which is a great way to recite poetry. This is how the author gives the poem its own melody or rhythm. The poem is written in the first person or could be a narrator. The Author used common words to delight the readers with a pattern of rhyming words more so, to arouse their emotions. 

The poem is not about sufferings. It tells us that even at an early age we can decide on our own be it good or bad which could lead to our life success or destruction respectively. 

The poem symbolizes the Ivy, like these vines people may have different personalities varies in the environment where we grow. But what matters most is how we live and how we should spend our life to become the kind of person you are.