“through the act of living, the discovery of oneself is made concurrently with the discovery of the world around us. . ."

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Thus spake the stone







Do not despair, my dear,

Deaf, I am not.

Do not wring your hands,

Hold them I would, if only I could!


Your lamp is bright, its light

Shines even in this dingy space

Where I am destined to be confined

Forever.


Do not be disillusioned, devotee,

Your offerings I accept; thank you!

Carved from stone, yes, I am

But believe me, I have a heart that bleeds.


I yearn to comfort, to hold you in my arms.

Do not ever think I do not exist;

I do, in you, in all life you see.


I am the silent bearer of your woes,

Of your sins, of all the sorrow

I am the mute spectator,

The detached observer,

The impotent, the sterile in you.


I am the one who laughs, who cries

With you, within you

Why to seek me in this stone,

In this picture, in this church

While I reside within you,

While I reside over there

In every blade of grass!


How insightful of you, men,

To chose stone for me!

I did not create you in my image,

But you did, in yours, me

Down to the last details -

Soulless, sightless and

A heart made of stone.


Imprisoned in this solitary cell,

I cannot move, I cannot talk

Dank, dark, thick slime and oil

Dampens this cell and my soul.


Open these doors, break these shackles

Let me out into the open skies

Out, into the bright sun, the breeze

To the green pastures where cows graze.


Open, open, thy windows and doors

Open thy house to one and all!

********* Balachandran V, Trivandrum, 25.01.2011

10 comments:

  1. A Shakespearean penning for sure. Painted with austere images and feeling....Magnificient Balan..

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  2. Jesus had a lot of contact with rocks and stones during His ministry. He walked on them, sat on them, prayed on them, wept on them and bled on them. If those stones that Jesus came into contact with could talk, what stories would they tell?

    If the stones could speak you know what they would be saying? Just the same things that you and I ought to be saying today. As we stand here on the threshold of a New Year, we ought to get about the business of declaring our failures to a lost and dying world. If the stones were to speak, they would be doing our job.

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  3. " Philosophers Stone",That is what man is in search of!
    If stones can speak and if stones can breathe life.....
    You have conveyed the message startlingly. Let us now hope that the ones who must think on these lines will .

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  4. that was brilliant.in content and form!

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  5. "I did not create you in my image,
    But you did, in yours, me"

    Beautiful lines. Sums up the entire essence of the poem.

    People did worship the nature - the sun, the trees, the rainbow. But one fine day may be the man thought 'man' is superior to any other and carved out a shape of man in stone and accepted that to be his God. Assumed superhuman powers, built supernatural stories and gave a fierce or pretty faces. Others followed and still follow.

    But as long as some sculptor or carpenter can find his livelihood out of it, why bother? So be it.

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  6. Balan,

    You continue to baffle me. Each line is a reflection of what I continue to think...

    Once again; seems as if I have known you for long time.

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  7. @Insignia: The more woe to you! Sometimes I wonder why I make myself miserable with such thoughts. How easy it would be to believe in a comforting and comfortable God! But then, how can I tell of the brightness of realization!

    @ Thampi: Truth is so simple and direct, isn't it? But, Sreejith, I don't agree with that 'Why bother?'.

    @Sandy: Thanks.

    @Dr Antony: 'If the stones were to speak, they would be doing our job.". Instead, we are doing their job, aren't we?

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