Angel’s Wings Sujata Bhatt “I can recall that age
very well: fourteen-years-old,
when I thought I understood Lenin and Mao… ” (Full poem unable to be reproduced due to copyright restrictions)
VOCABULARY
Lenin, Mao, Christina Rossetti -see the context forinfo Formaldehyde -a chemical used to preserve dead bodiesand living tissue Equidistant- exactly halfway between one thing andanother Autopsy- the act of examining a dead body in orderto determine the cause of death Festooned -chained with decorations, usually flowergarlands or ribbons Gossamer -a light, delicate material - also anothername for cobwebs Lungless -without lungs
STORY/SUMMARY
Stanza1:Irememberthatageverywell:fourteen,whenIthoughtthatIunderstood communismanditsleaders,andChristinaRossetti’spoetrywasstartingtosoundsilly to me because it is quite regular and repetitive in an old fashioned sort of way.
Stanza2:OnaSaturdaymorninginApril,afterI’dbeentomyswimminglesson,I
stoodinthecorridorofahospital,whichsmelledofformaldehyde,waitingformy father.Ispunaroundinaspacethatwashalfwaybetweenmyfather’sofficeandthe room where they examined dead bodies (the autopsy room). 1 / 2
Stanza3:MybrotherandI(hewaselevenyearsoldatthetime)weretogether,butwe
didn’ttalktoeachotherorsayanythingforaquarterofanhour,asiftheexerciseof swimming,andchemicalexposuretochlorine,hadchangedthewaywebreathedand stopped us from speaking.
Stanza4:Oneoftheheavydoorsinthehospitalcorridoropened-andadarkman
withbrightwhitehairaskedustostepinsidetheroom.Hewantedustosee something.
Stanza5:Theroomwascoveredinrowsofwings,allinasimilarshape,allstrangely
human-looking.Ithoughtmaybetheywerefairies’wings,orangels’wings-madeof real spiderwebs.
Stanza6:Aswesteppedclosertothewings,wecouldseeclumpsofcells-clusters
thatlookedlikegrapes,whichweredesignedtoopenandexpandwhenoxygen-filled themup-butnowtheywereshrivelled,nexttoriversofbloodthathadturnedblack from lack of air.
Stanza7:Theyweren’tdrawingsorphotos,theywererealhumanlungs,well
preservedbysomebodywhowasskilledinhistology.Themancouldtellus,from lookingatthelungs,howoldtheirownershadlivedtobe,andforhowmanyyears each one of them had smoked. He told us everything except their names.Stanza8:Twentypairsoflungswerepinneduponhiswall:acollageofblackand grey,hereandthereweresomeothercolourstoo-chalkyyellow,andfungus-furred green.
Stanza9:Howlongdidwestandthere?Andwhatdidwesaywhenwesawthe
lungs?Idon’trememberanythingelseaboutthatday-whatweateforlunchorwhat wedidafterwards-theonlythingIrememberisthosetwentypairsofnamelesslungs, theintimatespiderwebsthatbelongedtotwentypeopleIneverknew,allwhowere now dead and lying without their lungs in their graves.
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