Regret Poem By R Parthasarathy Summary [upd] -

The core of the poem is the speaker's sudden, sharp realization:

I have lost my mother tongue.

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"Regret" captures the moment of realization that this choice has cost him something irreplaceable: a deep, organic connection to his mother tongue. The poem argues that language is not merely a tool for communication but the very fabric of thought, emotion, and identity. When one loses touch with one’s mother tongue, one loses a part of one’s soul. The core of the poem is the speaker's

The Tamil words that remain in his memory are no longer obedient. They are like wild horses that "break into a gallop," fleeing from him. The phrase "high and dry" evokes a boat stranded on land—the opposite of the previous sea image. He is now stuck, unable to move in either linguistic world. The words have agency; they abandon him, emphasizing that language is a living, social, and collective possession, not a private dictionary. When a community of speakers is lost, the words themselves become feral and inaccessible. When one loses touch with one’s mother tongue,

"Regret" is about the inability to go back. The poet does not write about changing the past; he writes about living with its permanent effects. The phrase "cannot swallow, cannot spit" perfectly encapsulates a deadlock with no resolution.

In the landscape of Indian English poetry, R. Parthasarathy stands as a pivotal figure, often associated with the "triple exile"—a theme exploring the displacement of the Indian writer who writes in a colonial language. While his longer work, Rough Passage , is his magnum opus regarding these themes, his shorter poem serves as a crystallized, poignant microcosm of his philosophy.