On Love

By, Kaushik Paul

Photo: Kaushik Paul

I’ve heard many tales of love,

Been in one of them, too.

But when asked, “What is Love?”

Words I find are so few.

And when, with great courage,

I ever tried to say.

My bosom was overwhelmed,

With memories of joy and dismay.

---xxx---

The Sun Returns

The Sun Returns

By,
Kaushik Paul

All misery and pain,
An iron will will always burn.
After every deep dark eclipse,
Returns the brilliant Sun.

To face all the fears,
A bold heart will always turn.
After every deep dark eclipse,
Returns the daring Sun.

Virtue from all the good-bad,
A calm mind will always churn.
After every deep dark eclipse,
Returns the victorious Sun.

In the course of time,
Despair-delight will always run.
Inspite of every eclipse,
Prevails the eternal Sun.

---xxx---

Meanders

Meanders

By, Kaushik Paul

Friends of mine from childhood days,

You stood by me through life’s different phases.

Do you miss the fun times we spent,

Or are they just sands left on the meander’s bent?

O’ sweetheart of my early youth,

You were once my love in sooth.

Do you still remember the love I sent,

Or are they just sands left on the meander’s bent?

Relatives of mine, seniors and small,

You taught me to smile and to stand tall.

Do you remember our sharing moments,

Or are they just sands left on the meander’s bent?

O’ my dear foes and arch-enemies,

You helped bring out the best in me.

Do you still turn green with my each ascent,

Or are they just sands left on the meander’s bent?

Of this world, O’ people, so fine,

To whom I leave behind these absurd lines.

Would you remember what this poet meant,

Or would I be among the sands left on the meander’s bent?

-xxx-

Faces of Facade

Faces of Facade

By, Kaushik Paul

One fine day, I was walking the streets of Venice.
Where the carnival rolled with cheer and bliss.

Showered the roads, the people of the city,

With colourful dresses and masked faces happy.

Such liveliness they showed that one’d ever see.

But the poor one without a mask, was just me.

Oh! A part of them, how much, I’d love to be.

Alas, the only one left out, was just me.

Then suddenly, a thought cut me through.
Was my own human face, true?

With worried hands, my face, I did touch,

My face slipped off, surprising me much.

And as I looked beside into a mirrored frame,

Beneath my face was a mask, looking just the same.

-xxx-

The Endurance of Mahadev

The Endurance of Mahadev

by Kaushik Paul

Me:

"Angry like a raging flame, yet calm as snow.

Master of all dance forms, that we might ever know.

Ash-clad life in the hostile, how do you pull off?

Oh Crescent-mooned Yogi, tell me, how are you so tough?

Binding in your jata, you tamed the Ganga, rough.

Oh Destroyer of Evil, tell me, how are you so tough?"

Shiva:

"When to withstand the deadly Halahal,

The endurance of the Mahadev himself wasn't enough.

What saved the day, then was,

Oozing out of Tara's bosom, a drop of pure Love."

-xxx-

Who Am I?

Who Am I?

by Kaushik Paul

Once in a dream, I asked myself, "Who am I?"
To find a whirlwind wrapping me in the sky.
Faces of people I knew came out of the smoke,
Various earthly memories, they did provoke.
When I wiped it off in a blinding rage,
I found myself as a soul out of its cage.
Alas, soon the Maya engulfed me again,
And then I was trapped in a similar pain.

And the cycle went on as an eternal truth,
Unless I myself realized the sooth.
"There's only one way, the Maya, you can beat.
And that way is, to be, indifferent to it."
And thus the Maya continued to swirl,
But me, still being inside, was out of the whirl.

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The Glacier

The Glacier

By, Kaushik Paul

Long long ago, there was a huge glacier,
Who sat on a valley like a king on a throne.
Cold he was; cooler he grew with time,
But melting into a river, he wasn’t prone.

Snow kissed him with her soft flakes,
“Feel my tender touch, be soft like me.”
King Glacier, “Ha ha! Your snow will become
Hard as ice, staying in my company.”

The winds tried hard to force him down,
“Roar! Roar!” The Mad Wind did blow.
King Glacier, “I won’t budge, try all you can.”
Alas not even a slight motion did he show.

“Look at the tormented animals,
The dry plants; moisture they lack.
Please have pity on them.”
Said old Earth with wrinkles and cracks.

King Glacier, “Bringing them moisture or
Quenching their thirst isn’t my responsibility.”
He still sat cold on his valley throne,
With no kindness, nor pity.

And then one day, the Sun came up,
The whole world was bright and warm.
Sun, “O’ Glacier King, why don’t you melt?
It’d help many but do you no harm.”

King Glacier, “A lie it is.
If I melt and flow like water.
I’d lose my identity and my throne
And fall from my grace and splatter.”

Sun, “I’ve honourably burn myself all eternity,
To light up the solar family.
Take my warmth and melt into a river,
Help people and win your share of glory.”

Inspired by Sun, the rigid Glacier did melt,
And flowed into meandering streams without strife.
Nurturing and enriching whomever he merged with,
And thus gaining a new name, “LIFE”.

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