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Childhood Memories

© S K Iyer

The archway to the temple of knowledge

opened up right in front of my small house,

green fences guarding the path,

thick growth, up above shaking hands.

Sometimes the path, intervened

by short-cuts 'tween paddy fields.

My encounter with alphabets

commenced in the village school.

Sitting on the rough floor,

I drew the first letters,

with forefinger, in pink sand.

Then I was sent to public school,

In another village miles away,

The rightful choice for the poor.

My village -

with its verdurous vegetation,

fragmented by the river,

its branches and narrow inlets

piercing the land here and there,

an emerald gleaming in the sun,

neatly packed in lush green,

decorated with silver linings,

of the small water courses.

The inlets had palm tree logs

laid across, bridging the path.

Crossing the bridges en-route school,

miles away from my village,

barefoot, holding  a dozen of books,

fastened together by a rubber band,

and a lunch box in one hand,

an acrobatic exercise of routine.

The path, created by footprints

of our forerunners, gave a look

of a brown carpet. Green grass

covered both sides, the mist

on them reflected the beams

of morning rays of the sun.

The growth of grass did not dare

to encroach the path, for fear

of destruction by human contact!

Alongside, the river flowed calmly

westward, yearning to merge

into vastness of lake, far away,

patting the broken banks;

herbaceous bushes drooping on her sides.

A rowboat or two passed by,

undulating calmly flowing water.

Trees and bushes reflected in the water,

produced a portrait of nature

against the background of cerulean sky

with snowy white patches here and there.

Except for the chirping of birds,

the children's prattles and the sounds

of falling auburn-tinted leaves,

calmness reigned all along.

A ferry and a hill intercepted

the path. Climbing down the slope,

'tween a pond at foot of the hill

and a field, led to the seat of knowledge.

Though not big, the hill raised its head

toward the sky, with its green crown.

Monsoon brought out fresh foliage

and doubled beauty of the crown.

Once in school, my mind used to yearn

for the blissful experience of returning home

in the evening, the same way,

enjoying brimming cup of nature's beauty.

Every creeper, searching supports;

every flower, unknown by name;

every sound of bird, falling leaves;

every image that reflected in the water;

all come alive in mind's screen,

at my wish. I learned to love you,

nature, from you. You taught me

the first lesson of natural love -

that blossoms in me everyday afresh

with flowers of innumerable hues,

dispersing an aura of fragrance!

Poverty is not a curse, but a boon,

a blessing in disguise, in many ways.

Outside my small, distressed world,

there was a world of blossoming nature.

I thank Him, who showered poverty

on my infancy.  Or else I'd have walked a mile

to the next village, to be fetched by bus

to my school, leaving myself

deprived forever of my first lessons!

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Distress And Relief

© S K Iyer

On the floating leaf

the ant was surveying

the boundaries of its life

restricted by a watery grave.

The tiny life was desperate

to regain its lost freedom.

Life needs the whole world;

death is content with a grave!

The river flowed lazily,

the leaf drifted slowly,

the ant moved uneasily,

my mind turned saintly.

Gently I lifted the leaf,

placed it on the bank,

the ant stepped out meekly,

idled for a little while,

moving its antennae up and down,

as if saying something to me

and disappeared among the grass;

a sigh of relief I sent out.

Did it say goodbye to me?

Or showered its blessings on me?

Silent screams of the distressed life,

still resound in my ears!

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Dear Life…

© S K Iyer

Dear Life,

Did you say you were my friend?

I know the depth of your friendship,

like a shadow that lives only in light,

you know only to follow me.

Did you say you were leading me?

But where? Toward destruction?

You are the coward I have never seen,

at the sight of death you run away,

in search of another shelter!

Did I address you 'dear' Life?

You are no longer dear to me,

you are more hateful than the monster death.

Yet when the doomsday dawns,

the light in my eyes says goodbye,

I will cry for you, my Life,

for my friendship is so…….. deeper than yours!

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Envious Self

© S K Iyer

Feelings are many,

Many are useless,

Like munching peanuts sitting on a beach,

To pass the time and count the waves.

Waves -

They walk back and forth,

As the crabs ashore imitate,

From present to future

And back to the past.

Envious self could only look back!

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Pain And Painful

© S K Iyer

It is not a pain -

A kind of torturing sensation.

Head spins,

slowly a curtain of darkness falls,

vision faints, belly caves in,

sticky tongue licks the dry lips,

craving dies down.

On the anesthetic plain,

the emaciated body falls

with unknown but familiar uneasiness,

on the earth of human.

In a trance of senselessness,

the whole world disappears.

Death hides behind the pain  -

the hunger, twin brother of poverty.

It is painful.

Neglecting the throes  -

The struggle between life and death,

world thrives on sensual pleasures.

Forgets itself for a while

releases into this wily world

yet another life to suffer.

Life, ridiculously you failed

to learn from your past

and teach yourself the present.

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The Battle And After

© S K Iyer

Come winter, enters me the guest,

choking the path of my life's breath,

knocking me down to bed,

turning me into a milquetoast.

Helpless, hapless, I lie on my bed,

coughing, wheezing, temperature going up.

Visitors come with eyeful of sympathies,

mouthful of wishes, handful of flowers

and in the middle I lie, under the ceiling of boredom.

'Cheer up, Iyer, you are better than yesterday',

consoles the doc, extending yet another bill,

unaware of my ailing wealth.

*            *              *           *

The battle is over, my heart is beating

to the tune of  windpipe, melody of life restored

uncertain morrows. Yet a halo of sickness

still encloses my body. As I stepped out,

winter sun was lukewarm, dews returned to grass tips,

birds were tweeting, roads were dampened,

fog stayed at distance. Back in office all were smiles!

But table full of papers - a beginning of another battle.

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Real Sensation

© S K Iyer

Thoughts,

one after another, like waves,

hit the walls with force -

quaking the mind,

shaking the images,

blurring the vision.

Break the walls,

be open, like the sky above

to receive sensations of pain,

not the experiences of suffering.

Hold,

a thought, a sensation -

Sight, sound, smell, taste,

a touch….

That sends vibes to the soul.

Be that You,

my life's real sensation.

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Stumbling Thoughts

© S K Iyer

Very often I've a feeling,

I missed something.

And thinking what I missed,

The time lost is missed,

Had I used it for something,

That could churn out something.

But my forgetful mind,

I've only one of its kind,

(Thank God, He's very kind!

Sent me with only one mind!)

never evokes my thinking,

But only full of itching -

An unknown urge for scribbling!

So lazy is my mind,

Which is always bungling,

Leaving my thoughts stumbling.

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The Mind

© S K Iyer

I concentrated on the dot,

my pen produced on the blank paper.

The dot -

the point of beginning of the beginning

and the apex - the end, the tip,

the definite and the indefinite - a dot.

Expanded in circle -

big, bigger, biggest.

Touched the apex, then shrank

little by little -

back to the point and vanished.

Focused eyes with concentration,

more concentration,

on the dot -

witnessed the emergence of cosmic power;

maiden movement of life!

The journey from the point

back to the point and to nullity,

within the vicious circle -

a psychedelic configuration of life!

The tiny speck,

It was my mind!

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Greed Or Love

© S K Iyer

Love and life are put to test,

anywhere, any time.

In the toilet

The gold ring of her love

Slipped through his hand

and fell in the filth

he produced from his eats.

Unable to retrieve the ring

nor to flush the filth out

his feelings were crushed

between her love and the ring.

Who won?

His greed or her love?

Nobody knows, but himself and the ring!

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Beliefs

© S K Iyer

My conceptions are at the crossroads of ignorance!

Beliefs, based on baseless foundations,

like writing on the face of water,

do not believe in deliverance.

Ideas clash, thoughts scatter,

and from every splinter rise individual contentions;

pushing and pulling, from all directions,

life is caught in the whirlpool of beliefs (or ignorance?).

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I Swear….

© S K Iyer

I swear, I've the power

to immerse the whole universe

into darkness,

even as the sun shines,

closing my eyes.

I swear, I've no power,

to light the whole universe

but to wait patiently,

till the sunrise.

I swear, yet I have the power,

to light your face

with a smile,

that'd sing

a thousand blended notes

of your pure and simple love.

I tread toward you, to be nestled

and feel the warmth of love forever!

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You And I

© S K Iyer

In the desert

In search of shade

I wandered

And I found

My shadow!

In search of refuge

In my shadow

I tried to merge

And I found

No shade!

Had you been with me,

I'd have found

Shade in yours,

And you

In my shadow!

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A Place In Peace..

© S K Iyer

Darkness reigned the cave for thousands of years

As deep as the ocean, as high as the stars;

But it knows not the truth, its realms are shaky,

In a flash it will vanish, at the sight of light!

The greatness of light, the darkness failed to perceive,

And made my soul miserable. Suffering in the darkness,

Treading the sure path to enlightenment,

Absorbed in the sad and frightening dreams of life;

Prejudices roused within, by habits,

Influenced by me, my family, my country and my world!

Treading the sure path, carrying the truth within,

Frustrated desires brought, grievous experiences.

Being the butt of ridicule and hate

And engulfed by clouded discernment,

Leaving the weaknesses behind, entered the forest of life.

Bellowed my mind: 'Where I am, I must conquer me, within me!'

The thoughts I garnered, from the garden

Of life's experience, bears the fragrance of bitter truth.

Where no bones are to break, everything is composed of light rays,

Everything takes place by the power of thought;

Where souls produce gardens of truth at their wish,

Where the future is non-existent and bitter past is afraid to peep in,

There I need a place, to rest in peace with eternal thoughts!

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Fusion

© S K Iyer

It's not the mood -

It's the mind.

That works,

Sometimes fast,

Sometimes slow,

Sometimes it sleeps.

In the evening,

After a day's work,

Lying on my bed,

Staring at the ceiling,

I see pictures,

Like in a cinema hall -

Blurred images.

If there's an image

With some clarity,

So that I can at least

Make up what it is,

I pen it down.

Some like, some don't.

And when you like it

Our thoughts unite!

A delightful moment

Of blissful fusion -

Of minds!

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Childhood

© S K Iyer

I was in the chair, thinking,

when she came in, smiling,

an angel without wings,

and got into my bed.

Saw in her smile,

The lure of innocent love;

her charming face

drew me toward her.

Lied by her side,

she cuddled up

cozily against my chest.

Felt her warm body,

softer than butter;

Kissed her eyes

and then her cheeks;

felt the sweet smell

of the pure childhood -

the life's magnificent chapter

that seeks refuge in oblivion

never to be read by oneself.

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Time Runs..

© S K Iyer

I'm sorry,

I'm late,

Clock's the culprit

It's dead.

I'm sorry,

I'm late,

The clock runs slow,

Leaving me behind.

I'm sorry,

I'm late,

Though the clock's punctual,

I thought it's slow.

I'm sorry,

I'm late,

The clock runs faster,

So I was little slower.

"What's wrong today?

You're fired;

I need someone,

To run with time."

It's the clock,

Not reliable,

Makes me late,

Even if I'm live!

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To A Dreamy Night

© S K Iyer

Night's a little away from day,

Eve's so beautiful and gay,

Staring at the crimson horizon, I lay

On the green grass, keeping thoughts at bay;

As the daylight dooms, paving the way

For night - night the mother of dreams;

Dreams - hues of life's fantasies!

Can't stop the mind's business,

Even in sleep it's sleepless!

Indeed, mind's a nice friend

In need, is a friend indeed!

"Who said, the color of doom's dark?

"So the color of night's black?"

"The beauty of night's dark!

"The moon shines in dark!

"Light emerges from dark,

"There's no light without dark,

"So the moon shines in dark!

"Night's veiled by silvery love,

"Showered by the moon from above!"

"The stars sing the song of love

"Blinking to the tune of divine love!

"Love! The shower of eternal love!"

"Sleep in the lap of lady night,

"In the coolness of moonlit night,

"And let your merry dreams wing out"

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Poor Night

© S K Iyer

Poor night, oft falls

In the dark and breaks.

And scatters

The glittering tiny pieces

In the sky -

the backyard of the Universe.

In the glittering light the night

Walks toward dawn

To melt away in the daylight!

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First Drops Of Nature's Love

© S K Iyer

Dark clouds travel on the winds,

Toward mountains, behind dry fields,

Plants bow before mighty wind,

Dust fills the air, shielding the sun behind,

Sky hides behind the clouds,

Whole village merrily dances

To welcome the season's first shower

Of the nectar the nature's favour.

Clouds kiss the mountain heads,

So tender are their hearts,

In the mountain's mighty arms,

Melt away, in love, the clouds.

The first drops of pouring love,

Fill the earth's heart with love,

Arouses the scent of wet soil,

And peasants get ready to toil.

The seeds wake up from their long sleep,

Eager to break their shells and leap

Into the fresh world of foliage,

To double the beauty of the village!

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False Eye

© S K Iyer

All smiles are not alike,

Yet, they're, smiles, all like,

But the face, that is mysterious,

Wears the mask of diplomacy.

However pure and innocent is love,

The world goes the other way round,

Behind the mask hides the reality.

In the nook of human's mind,

Truth, lies in fetters of falsehood,

That all are but just humans!

Yet human in the run for supremacy,

Wearing the cloak of selfishness,

Ascends the throne of self-made realms,

And smiles -

a smile of victory over his own clan!

False? Or true? Knows not unwary mind,

But a false eye will never see the truth.

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