Poetry Collection-2

 

Love

 I searched and searched—it was never found.

 What I found was never real.

 What was real never lasted.

 What lasted—was nothing.

 What was something—was never divine.

 What was divine—was nothing else.

 It is love—it is love.

 There is nothing greater than that.

 

My Mother Tongue – Tamil

 

 Born in kumarikandam, blended with the breeze,

 Crawled through voices, stood firm with virtue,

 Crossed continents and spanned eras,

 A carved sculpture—Virgin Tamil—

 Urged me to write, to speak,

 This three-lettered breath is embedded in me—

 O my mother Tamil, I bow to you!

 She is my mother,

 A fortress of love;

 Born in the beginning, reigning as the language of rule;

 Still blooming as literature, music, and drama;

 Mother of saints who gave boundless charity;

 Spread across the world, with inner beauty;

 Praised by the people, adorned with greatness;

 Rooted everywhere, enduring forever;

 Gave us palm-leaf books, a ladder for poets;

 Forged grammar to be read without doubt;

 Preached unity: "Only one clan";

 Gifted deep thoughts, stood tall with them;

 She is a remedy for poetic afflictions—

 Is there any other language that holds such grace?

 She alone is the mother to all Tamil people!

 I thought to write a poem for you,

 But you arrived as a poem, became one for me!

 The one who breathes poetry bows at your feet.

                                                                   – In that, I am Siruppillai Amma

 

Encouragement

 

 Treat thought like a seed,

 Consider time as its fertilizer,

 Pour your effort like water,

 Weed out fear,

 Harvest dreams,

 Store respect,

 Acquire wisdom,

 Share knowledge to live well.

 

Each Vehicle

 

 Each vehicle moves toward a unique goal,

 On a unique path.

 If one follows the other blindly,

 It cannot reach its own destination.

 So you too—define your goal,

 Run toward it, never waver.

 Do not depend on anything or anyone.

 

Oh People!

 

 You hide in yourself, not knowing your worth,

 Punish your own mind with sorrow,

 Lose the meaning that gives courage,

 Inflict self-punishment,

 Seek yourself behind veils,

 Drown in illusions,

 Trapped in isolation,

 Sleepless with painful thoughts—

 So many err without knowing!

 This state is unnecessary.

 Avoid sorrow, cast aside hesitation,

 Be brave, and master discipline.

 See challenges not as barriers,

 But wipe away all that hinders dharma.

 Gather needed scriptures,

 Mine your knowledge like a golden mine,

 Unshaken by sorrow, undeterred,

 Stand tall, shun arrogance.

 At the feet of the Divine,

 With boldness, let your arrows fly—

 Your target will be reached quickly.

 

Live Your Way

 

 Admire yourself, friend,

 Smile openly, speak boldly.

 Change for the world to love you,

 Finish the old stories and move on.

 Enough of those who’ve left,

 Crying is a waste.

 You’ve got only one life—

 Live the way you love!

 

Womanhood

 

 How long must the sculptor have pondered

 Before shaping you!

 Did he know after carving—

 This statue holds infinite descriptions?

 Like bees wooing flowers,

 The breeze fondles your hair.

 Like the soft wind, you are gentle-natured,

 Yet, when honor is at stake,

 You rise like a storm!

 The Creator who gave breath

 Made you to sing life into poetry.

 Isn't water and you the same?

 Do you not hold graceful curves like a river?

 You also have the fire within!

 You hold the power to destroy injustice!

 Like Earth, offering food for generations,

 From you springs the future itself.

 If the sky spreads and rises above—

 Your love, compassion, and care

 Soar even higher.

 You are Motherhood—exalted on this earth!

 

The Debtor

 

 A debt inherited from mother and father—

 I paid through love.

 A debt from food—

 I paid each morning with gratitude.

 A debt from wife—

 I paid by never straying from her path.

 A debt from children—

 I paid by shaping their growth.

 A debt from my teacher—

 I paid by living in service to others.

 A debt to God—

 I paid in thought and prayer.

 But in the end,

 The four who carry me in death—

 How will I repay them on this Earth?

 Will I need another birth

 Just to settle that final debt?

                       -Nandagopal G