The Triad

These three poems have had a profound and lasting influence on my thinking and way of life. They are part and parcel of me. I am sharing an excerpt from the first, and the other two in full, for your reading or recollecting pleasure.

 

The Dark, Blue Sea by Lord Byron

(I remember scribbling with a pencil, on the inch wide margin on the right of the poem – ‘this poem illustrates the transitoriness of man and permanence of nature’ - Truly humbling!)

Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean-roll!
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain;
Man marks the earth with ruin-his control
Stops with the shore;-upon the watery plain
The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain
A shadow of man's ravage, save his own,
When for a moment, like a drop of rain,
He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan,
Without a grave, unknell'd, uncoffin'd, and unknown.

Pied Beauty by G.M.Hopkins

(Our English teacher had explained this poem to us, with an example of how coordinated tops and pants looked better then going monochrome from head to toe. Today’s fashion pundits sure get this concept very well with all the color-blocks. This one never fails to come to my mind, whenever I am on a plane, screening the landscape below. Let’s keep the hope alive that one day we will all see past our differences and cherish one another….. ‘cause that’s what makes us beautiful! )

Glory be to God for dappled things –

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;

Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough;

And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;

Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)

With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;

He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:

                                Praise him.

Leisure by W.H.Davies

(This is simply beautiful – Just Read It!)

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

The Coconut

Rugged hair
Browned shell
Takes a lot to break
Let the thought not dwell

Soft inside
Pure and white
Hardened with time
Still feels the bite

Poke a hole
The water trickles
Drop by drop
As the moments drizzle

Freefall

Every time I asked him a question, he took me to a cliff and pushed me over. Just as I would be about to hit the ground, he would leap down and hold me. It seemed to me that he thought of it as a game, but for me it was a complete mystery. Nevertheless, I am unsure why I always agreed to go with him.

This time he told me, 'Let’s go somewhere else'. For a few moments I was relieved, only to realize that we were heading for an even higher cliff. All I could see from the top was darkness. And then like always, he pushed me over. It was a few moments of agonizing freefall. But just as I was about to hit rock bottom, he came and liberated me.

Trance and Transience

For a fleeting moment
Life bloomed
And we grew wings
And floated like butterflies
For a fleeting moment

For a fleeting moment
Life floated
And we grew petals
And bloomed like flowers
For a fleeting moment

Life's fleeting moments
Life's a fleeting moment
We rejoice, we suffer
For a fleeting moment

Skyfall

October 2015, Norristown PA

As she looked into the mirror, the reflection showed deep wrinkles around her eyes and on her forehead. Her skin appeared blotchy and weathered by the passage of time. In her mid-sixties, the only thing that was still gushing and rushing like that of a seventeen year-old was her old heart.

 It was that time of the year again, when the entire skyline would be mottled with leaves of every hue. Leaves probably were the only things, that seemed to be most captivating when they were almost ready to depart this life. However, for her fall was not the fun season it once used to be. It wasn’t a season of fun hay-rides, pumpkin carving and apple-pies. It was a season of lasting heartache, unwept tears and skyfall. But today was different, today held a promise.

Desiderata ( Of Happiness)

 In the midst of the unfortunate events that shook our terra firma in the last month and a half, we had to go on walking our walk and talking our talk, even though something fundamental within us was scarred forever . Like a rush of adrenaline, our coping mechanisms needed to cling to something that would reduce the pain. I found mine in a poem, Desiderata by Max Ehrmann. I was a kid when I first came across it. It had come as a special supplement inside the magazine Competition Success Review. It was printed on a yellow glossy paper with a black border. My eldest brother, who was in high school at that time, had cut and pasted it on his room’s wall.

My second tryst with it was when a teacher had signed my autograph book with few of its lines; and the third and most timely one came at this time of need from a fellow blogger who posted it.  I wanted to transmit forward the serenity of this piece to my friends.

 

 Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy

Duet with Deuta!!!

This post is about six beautiful lines of an Assamese song I sang in my early childhood. The memories are distant but the lines still bring on an effect of reducing the separation between my dad (Deuta) and I, whenever I hum them. I was about four years old when we used to stand outside on the verandah and sing this song. He would drape a white Eri (Castor) Silk Chadar that hung loosely around his shoulders to keep the chill of the Shillong nights out.I would hold his right hand with my left, and point to the sky with my right forefinger, as we sang them. Here they are:

            Neel Akaashote Jole
            Sau Juno Moni
            Sau Juno Moni
            Tora Ogononee
            Sewali Re Paporee Re
            Bhora Bononee

For those who know the Bengali song Kar Manjira Baje Rini Jini Jini, this song had the same tune, and here is my English translation of it.

           In the blue sky shines
          The pearly moon
          The pearly moon-
          And a myriad of stars swoon
          While jasmine petals abound
          The wilderness around

This is my last post for the year. Thanks for reading my blog and wish all of you a very Happy New Year 2013!

Love,
Mallika