THE FOLLOWING POEM WAS SELECTED IN WINGWORD POETRY PRIZE 2023 LONGLIST.
Farm fields and distant homes-
Oh, what a pleasure on Board!
I see golden Sun retreating shyly
From the tender swarms of mustard.
Yellow of the hue heightened
Among the white of Gulls.
Coconuts dangle and tease the guavas
While mangoes bud for springs.
Lush under calm foliage
Essays the twinkling Crimson.
Some distant merry hullabaloo
And it's inherent serenity.
Calmness in pristine solitude.
Aloof from the chaos of 'development',
From looming darks and mundane mornings,
From clamor of and for money,
From burden of luxury and pathos of ease,
From demons in humans-
This is indeed 'worth ignorance'.
Dragonflies swinging on yellow and green,
And fireflies shoving loom with sheen.
Trees stand erratically across
Like temples on streets.
Children cry playfully
In the tutelage of Moonlit doves.
The chatter of joy and tenseless gossip
And bells ringing among star fires at sunset.
Returning love, Smiling life!
Prosperous days,
Though purposeless,
Though prosperity deprived.
Hands working for stomach;
Unlike others, they are selfless.
Some modern arcs to revolutionize the scene
Hampering the surreal serendipity.
Blooming innocence, however,
Negates it.
Limping lamps shimmering negativities afar;
Luck showering from the stars.
Greenery grazing Cattle throughout the sight.
Crystal waters Reverberating ripples of scarlet gold.
Autumn striken ailing branches
Glaring; offensively resonating,
Highten the heavenly charm.
No pride or vices, orthodoxy may be.
Just some mind and heaven beholds.
Scarecrows scare what can be fooled-
The gullible kind hearts.
Rest, eat and sleep full and assured
Of a limited yet 'bright' future.
It's such simple, astonishingly: Life!