Song Of A Dream

Once in the dream of a night I stood
Lone in the light of a magical wood,
Soul-deep in visions that poppy-like sprang;
And spirits of Truth were the birds that sang,
And spirits of Love were the stars that glowed,
And spirits of Peace were the streams that flowed
In that magical wood in the land of sleep.

Lone in the light of that magical grove,
I felt the stars of the spirits of Love
Gather and gleam round my delicate youth,
And I heard the song of the spirits of Truth;
To quench my longing I bent me low
By the streams of the spirits of Peace that flow
In that magical wood in the land of sleep.

-- Sarojini Naidu

Invitation

With wind and the weather beating round me

Up to the hill and the moorland I go.

Who will come with me?

Who will climb with me?

Wade through the brook and tramp through the snow?

Not in the petty circle of cities

Cramped by your doors and your walls I dwell;

Over me God is blue in the welkin,

Against me the wind and the storm rebel.
I sport with solitude here in my regions,

Of misadventure have made me a friend.

Who would live largely?

Who would live freely?

Here to the wind-swept uplands ascend.
I am the Lord of tempest and mountain,

I am the Spirit of freedom and pride.

Stark must he be and a kinsman to danger

Who shares my kingdom and walks at my side.

--Sri Aurobindo

To The Thawing Wind....

Come with rain, O loud Southwester!
Bring the singer, bring the nester;

Give the buried flower a dream;

Make the settled snow-bank steam;

Find the brown beneath the white;

But whate'er you do to-night,

Bathe my window, make it flow,

Melt it as the ice will go;

Melt the glass and leave the sticks

Like a hermit's crucifix;

Burst into my narrow stall;

Swing the picture on the wall;

Run the rattling pages o'er;

Scatter poems on the floor;

Turn the poet out of door...

--Robert Frost

The First Jasmines

Ah, these jasmines, these white jasmines!
I seem to remember the first day when I filled my hands
with these jasmines, these white jasmines.

I have loved the sunlight, the sky and the green earth;
I have heard the liquid murmur of the river
through the darkness of midnight;

Autumn sunsets have come to me at the bend of the road
in the lonely waste, like a bride raising her veil
to accept her lover.
Yet my memory is still sweet with the first white jasmines
that I held in my hands when I was a child.

Many a glad day has come in my life,
and I have laughed with merrymakers on festival nights.

On grey mornings of rain
I have crooned many an idle song.

I have worn round my neck the evening wreath of bakulas woven by the hand of love.

Yet my heart is sweet with the memory of the first fresh jasmines
that filled my hands when I was a child...

-- Rabindranath Tagore ji

from 'The Crescent Moon'

Morning

When the golden rays of the sun
Are eager to have some fun
I get out of my bed
Ready to be well-fed

Then I rush to meet
With my pattering feet
The bright new morning
Which seems to be frowning

Suddenly, the sky becomes dark
And the sun leaves no mark
Of brightness and sunshine
Which I often wish was mine

Raindrops fall like shooting stars
I think they are from Mars
Clouds clash and thunder
Making my outing a blunder

Then the ordeal stops
And a Rainbow mops
All the sorrows of the world
Which leaves the sun unfurled

The day is bright again
And the sight gives me no pain
I enjoy it till the sun becomes the moon
Then I find that I have to hurry in soon.

-- Akshaya Shivkumar

The Moose, the Goose and the Wizard of Refuse

Once upon a time a Moose
Said to a solitary Goose
‘Why, oh why am I so wooly?
And why do creatures think I’m a bully?’
‘Well,’ the Goose replied
‘That’s because you’re too tongue-tied
To talk to creatures and wish them morning
And to shoot a smile ‘round the turning’.

The Moose’s ears drooped
His tiny tail looped
‘Am I so bad?’ he moaned
In his baritone so well toned
The Goose stomped up and down
Upon his face was a peculiar frown
‘There is a way,’ he said at last
‘To make you popular very fast’
‘Tell me, tell me,’ implored the Moose
‘What in the world do I have to use?’
‘Ga-ha-ha,’ guffawed the Goose
‘Follow me and naught will you lose
In fact, Moose, you’ll surely gain
Your heart’s desire without any pain
At dawn, dock below the Rosewood Tree
Relax, and leave the rest to me.’

The twittering of the tiny birds
And the croaking of the turgid toads
Ushered in the new day
While the Moose sat sighing on a pile of hay,
‘Where, oh where is the Goose so marvelous
Compared to him, I’m so frivolous…’
So sudden was a sudden sound
That the Moose shot up and whipped around
Yonder stood the Goose at last

‘Come on, Moose, follow me fast
‘Lest we don’t get there before noon’
‘Where?’ ‘To places quite unknown
To you, but for me, too regular a haunt.’
Piped the Moose remorsefully, ‘Don’t flaunt
My friend, I cannot comprehend
Your words, so please do lend
A helping wing
Responded the goose, with plenty of zing,
‘Let’s now keep walking
There, you’ll know I’m not conning.’

Then, unprecedented, the ground fell
Below them, and the shock spread to every cell
‘Help, we’ve fallen through!’
Screamed the Moose, ‘Moo, Mooo!’
‘I’m being squashed to death!’ wailed the Goose
For he had landed underneath the Moose!
Hastily did the Moose rise,
But jumped and yelled when he saw three mice!
‘Well, we’re here!’ grinned the Goose
While the Moose thought he’d lost a fuse
‘Where are we?’ the Moose demanded
‘At the Grotto of the Wizard of Refuse, never reprimanded…’
‘Ewww!’ said the Moose, ‘Yuk!!
What are we doing in this gooey muck?
Goose, I refuse to meet the Wizard of Refuse
Coming so far has been of no use!’

Tentatively, the Grotto filled with light
And as the Goose jumped with delight
A towering Wizard said to the Moose,
‘Hello, Moose, I’m the Wizard of Refuse!
I’m only visible to needy creatures who
Think I’m of no use, too!
I grant their wishes and solve
Their problems, and around me does this forest revolve.’
Said the Moose with great humility,
‘Oh, Wizard, my life is sunk in futility
I have no friends, I’m hated by all
And I haven’t been happy since last fall’
‘Well, my Moose,’ the Wizard said
‘I’ll give you a recipe instead
Of your wish’ Then said the Moose,
‘Thank you, Wizard of Refuse!!’

So sang the Wizard, ‘Moose, heed
My words and follow my lead
Take a dollop of Sweetness,
A pinch of cheerfulness
And a dozen kind words
Which will surely work wonders
Add a dash of Satisfaction
And a splash of Precision
With a meaningful Smile here and there
And a Helping Hand everywhere
Moulds of Appreciation and Assurance
And a humungous scoop of Confidence
Mix them together in the bowl of Honesty
And garnish with a sprinkling of Sincerity
Serve it with a Warm Heart
And soon, the Good Times will start!’

Smiled the Moose in apprehension
‘Dearest Wizard, I must mention
That you’ve made me see the Light
I was wrong and you are right
Thank you for your Words of Wisdom
Now I can happily return to my kingdom
And Goose, my dear,
You turned out to be my Saviour!
Thank you so much for all that you’ve done
Together now, we’ll have a lot of fun!’

And so from that day, the Moose
Put the Wizard’s words to good use
He became everyone’s friend
And was loved by all till the very end.

--Akshaya Shivkumar

The India of my Dreams


The India of my dreams
Is a matrix of perfection
Self-reliant, and compounded
With an unshakeable foundation

In every nook and corner
A sense of integrity prevails
And in every Indian’s heart
The flame of humanity ne’er pales …


Corruption and condemnation
Have all been tided over
And our ‘leaders’ have finally relinquished
The pragmatic pick-axe of profane power …


Our sacred scriptures and scholastic sciences
Have entwined and culminated
And in peace do we find solace
For rationality and understanding have amalgamated …


My Dreams can be our Future
If only we walk hand in hand
Come, let us put all differences and discriminations aside
And work together to glorify our Motherland …

-- Akshaya Shivkumar