Poem An Ancient Indian Coin by Daud Kamal
An Ancient Indian Coin by Daud Kamal An Ancient Indian Coin by Daud Kamal is a lyric poem that explores the theme of identity and belonging with the history and culture of India. The poem consists of four stanzas, each with four lines, and follows an ABAB rhyme scheme. The speaker of the poem is a person who has inherited an ancient Indian coin from his or her grandfather, and who contemplates the meaning and value of this coin in the present context. The first stanza introduces the coin as a relic of a past civilization, with the image of a “gazelle embossed on a lopsided moon” (line 1). The gazelle is a symbol of grace and beauty, while the moon is a symbol of time and change. The coin represents a connection to a rich and diverse heritage that has been distorted and damaged by colonialism and Partition. The speaker wonders how the coin came into his or her grandfather’s possession, and imagines that it was “plucked from the earth” (line 3) by a peasant who sold it...