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

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Do Not Pluck Flowers



Do not pluck flowers, please
Do not walk on the grass.
Do not cut the trees, please
Do not set  forests on fire.

Flowers have a purpose, Lord
Flowers have to blossom,
Flowers have to spread fragrance,
Flowers have to bear fruits.

You would remember us
Sitting cross-legged on the floor
Before you, before the lighted lamps
The flickering flames casting shadows
On your impassive face.

Shadows fall on our faces, Lord
Shadows of doubts, of disbelief
Suspicion rise, like a snake's tongue
Our minds flick, sense
Your presence, our enemy.

You are our enemy, Lord,
You are the enemy of life.
We are not of your image
Nor are we your creations.

Faith, you made us have
Faith in you.
Trust, you tricked us to have
Trust in you.
Love, oh, we never knew,
We squandered on one that never was.

Born, we were, of the seeds
Blown in by the winds of time.
Blighted, we would be and
Blown out, into oblivion.

But let us be, let us
Bask in the sun, let us
Be drenched in the rain.
Let us smell the earth
Let us find joy in living
And let us fade and fall
Like flowers, at dusk.


Do not pluck flowers, Lord
Do not stamp on the grass.
Let the flowers laugh
Let the grass dance
Let birds perch on the trees
Let life bloom, let rivers flow.

*******
P S: I am anguished at the loss of young lives – and devastated to realize that there is no 'meaning' to life...



5 comments:

  1. Intense.. To read about such unfortunate things makes your heart wrench. What have such young lives done to deserve such a fate. Yet...the one up above is a puppeteer.

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    1. To be honest, I am not a believer in God; but I speak for those who do, so earnestly, so deeply and then when misfortune falls, are left bewildered and confused. I am irate at such powers if there are any, for leading them into the false security, the utmost faith and trust they give to such powers, so misplaced and wasted... Those girls in the picture are around 16-17 - what a way to go! In the eyes of Mubashira or Safina or whoever I see the sparkle of dreams. It hurts so much...

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  2. There you are again ! Loved the lines so much that as always I am confused to discipline my thoughts here.Well,I feel the pain,the trauma of being 'human' in all those verses there..

    "Born, we were, of the seeds
    Blown in by the winds of time.
    Blighted, we would be and
    Blown out, into oblivion."
    I have this to show my daughter since she is into this kind of poems of late.

    And some thoughts Balachandran..

    I beleive 'faith' can't go with 'trust'.Faith is a dead belief where as when we reach trust there is nothing more between us.We already had the confusions,thoughts and arguments and settled completely;into TRUST.Trust emerges from real soulful thoughts.Here I see Balachandran the confused or agonist.We all are,to some extent.People like Philip M.prasad say that being an agonist is my right.True,isn't it ? These are the situations where we may go deep into the so called 'existence' of God.But I admit have gone far from there.
    But let us be, let us
    Feel the sun, let us
    Be drenched in the rain.
    Let us smell the earth
    Let us find joy in living
    And let us fade and fall
    Like flowers, at dusk.
    (This is what I LOVED so much here.But on another note,I would love to say it's not about 'plucking flowers'.It's about us.We have to live each moment we live.How many of us do that Balachandran ? better to balance us and LIVE so that we LIVE forever !)

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    1. I do not usually strain for rhyming, but if the choice of words are appropriate, I do like rhyming. Great to know that your daughter is into poetry! If she enjoys playing with the language, there is nothing like poetry, so gratifying!

      Like I told Bindu, I am not the one speaking here, because I am not sure of the existence of God, though culturally compelled to believe. I perfectly understand the irrationality and futility of placing oneself before the 'unseen' powers, but I feel the pain of those who do, those who cry out Eli eli Iama sabachtani. I am not confused, but I do feel agonized.

      I am trying hard to forget the past, not to worry too much about the future. I tell myself that the present is the important thing. But it is not quite easy, M. One hopes to make adequate provisions ( read financial) for the future, but nothing seems enough! So one keeps on having a miserable 'present' in order for a happy future that may or may not come...

      .

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  3. Balan Sir: I love the poetry yet have hard time understanding the below lines:

    You are our enemy, Lord
    You are the enemy of life ...

    Would you mind explaining your thoughts behind that?

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