LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 21:5 May 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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AN UNEXAMINED LIFE, WORTH LIVING?
Poems

Dr. Pushpa Michael

AN UNEXAMINED LIFE, WORTH LIVING?

Your prolonged vacation came as a blessing in disguise
A purpose, destined by God, for you
And for us to examine an unexamined LIFE.

We were experiencing coldness
In many of our relationships
There was a sense of a cold wave
In work-places, undertakings, and communities.

We needed the tender touch of our Creator
To warm the TOMB of our cold hearts…
And to experience ‘Abundance of life’ in full toss.

You escorted us gently to come away from the season of winter…
To the Warmth of the Passionate Love of the Designer
Enthusiastically receiving the touch of the Potter,
We the sheep; ardently seeking the voice of the caretaker.

During this time of lockdown you taught us to invest time,
In checking; taking stock and seeing where we stand…
Against the horizon of our Ethereal Friend.

You being the commando of the group,
Helped all to re-treat in admiration,
To strengthen our intimacy with the Sacred, our consolation.

You lead us to renew our love affair with the Supreme,
To Fall again in love with Him, who is our King.
In once again connecting ourselves with that hidden String.

You took us into an inward journey triggered by COVID 19,
And gave us the spiritual booster in measured ounces,
Proportioned to each one’s need…not less nor more,
…is the exact amount which we could… digest and uphold.

During these days we realized,
That we had socially distanced ourselves from the morally right,
And engaged ourselves in pleasurable delight,
Numbing our senses and consciousness jeopardized.

Your message found its way through our masked faces,
So that now having thus disinfected,
We need… no masks within,
… the confines of our community dwelling.

In recalling our cup of memories,
And articulating the Chronos and Kairos,
Re-living the past in the present, and found ourselves enhanced,
With an attitude of gratitude – revitalizing!!

You made us trace the realities of Life,
The journey of faith lived in uncertainty,
Yet with full conviction and tenacity.

In response to seraphic fidelity in silence and solitude,
We seek the wisdom to choose life and heavenly treasures,
Where Lovers meet in secluded spaces,
And relish the company of each other as doers and not as dreamers or dodgers.

Leaving behind earthly treasures…
As we go onward with the journey preordained,
To face the realities of life up front,
With the celestial as our load star,
Who has hitherto faced this reality in the bargain.

So as we look around with the eyes of Faith,
Translating God’s ways into that of ours.
May the heavenly cherubs assist us,
Making us Obedient, Poor, and Chaste.

ADIEU

You have served your time on earth
and lived out your days with cheer.
You have now made the move which was indispensable
from the house you built of clay.

You have made this move ahead of us,
as you listened intently and answered the Call.
We, too, when time comes must take our leave,
not just some of us, but all.

Though we desire, we can no longer see you,
but we can feel your presence near.
We know you are hidden in our hearts,
and it’s there we'll always hold you dear.

We strain our ears longing to hear you,
but we will reminisce your sweet and graceful chords.
The memories we hold of you are countless,
and the love deep within our hearts boundless.

We can no longer feel your gentle touch,
but thoughts of you remain with us.
We remember your kindness and your generosity
and the frequent tokens of love’s bounty.

You are absent from the body you nurtured so well;
for it is said, “Dust you are and into dust you shall return”
But your spirit continues to live on
and will soon reunite with us.

MAN’S FOLLY

Man reached the Space, the Stars the Moon,
Reached the highest pinnacle of his race.
Could make a stronghold up above the sky,
And down beneath the deepest Sheol.

Had every possible answer for all the hazards,
Took pride in unearthing scientific revelations,
Could invent Antivirus for all the Systems’ failures,
From the most dangerous Trojans to the slightest.

Does man really have to be cowed down before a miniature virus?
What about an antivirus for Mans’ System shutdown?
Is it Man’s folly to regard himself as Super Human?
Isn’t it rightly said – “Every pride hath a fall”?

All teachings teach the eternal truth,
A plus as positive and a minus as negative.
It’s effortless to add and complicated to subtract.
But currently; a negative report brings approbation
While a positive one calls for reproach.

But why does the world now fear to be positive,
And rejoice in medically proved negative?
A positive reaction sounds the alarm bells…
And bells chime with joy with a negative outcome?

Has man consumed of the Forbidden Tree
Of which God hath commanded to keep at bay
Lest he fall a prey to the VIRUS of death
Unknowingly yet with absolute knowledge driven humanity to decay.

Is it Irony? Or Paradox? Or just co-incidence?
Call it GLAD or SAD, MAD or BAD.
The price Man pays today for his folly
With a Cynical Jubilation and an unmistakable Desperation.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE POEMS IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. Pushpa Michael
M.A. (English), Ph.D. (English Literature)
Cluny Women’s College
8th Mile, Kalimpong District
P.O Kalimpong 734301
West Bengal, INDIA
florakpg@gmail.com
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