Worship

A thousand times I wet my head

with water from the holy rivers.

My silken robes ply softly

folds of purity tucked in my body.

With steady hands I draw

your sacred marks of graveyard ash.

The lamp glows calm

A golden drop, the conscious' shine

Your fragrance swells and overflows

as my breathing slows of its own will.

I chant the chants with utmost care

wincing at every word that comes imperfect.

The water flows unburdened

nectar it is, nectar flows.

And yet my Father...

Sans effort that yellow flower

has reached your feet already.

Orphaned Words

I pray to you my love;

Free these orphaned words of mine.

They come to your world,

innocent and blind

with no hand to hold.

Protect them, my Goddess;

From the viles of reason.

Let them not pursue ideals,

truths and praise,

for their weak feet will tire soon.

Bind them not, my Goddess;

In harsh fetters of grammar.

Let them not be stifled with craft,

genius and order,

for they have no discipline.

Free them, my Love;

Set them on a song, light and gentle.

Let them play in the sand,

dust and the streets,

for they can amount to nothing more.

Bless them, my Love;

So that they may sing

of your dark face like the mango leaf

your smile like the jasmine

for that will be their salvation.

Let them go no further My Love,

but just sing of you,

your home by the river under the mango tree

Of evenings, gilded sunsets,

of birds returning home

then...

fade gently into your night.

Portrait

Dusk's sun glows mellow

Your face yielding nascent smile

Who paints this eve gold?

Passion

Bent

drooping with lust wanton

Soft

heaving with desire brazen

Sweat

running like the river in abandon

Sighs

heavy like thunder distant

Hands

gripped firmly on shoulders

the cloud made love to the mountain.

Tamil

Solace

Life, a fickle companion

runs and strolls

one step ahead

one step behind.

I close my eyes

and breathe some in

breathe some out

life hides somewhere between the two.

T'wixt this perfumed garden

of bleeding roses and silent jasmines

of cold ivory and nectar fruits

of lilting flute and lotus eyes

T'wixt this raging fire

of burning passion and placid peace

of heartfelt love and wanton sin

of flaming heat and slain ashes

One thought runs soft

a refuge, a familiar nest

"All life's thralls shall fade soft

When death my love seals her kiss"

Sultry summer

My tired arms sigh

as your summer sweat is drunk

by a jealous sun

The summer bird

Summer bird I beseech thee

teach me a song as free as thee

lend my thoughts your wings, your sky

make my words light and spry

Colour my soul with your sight

mango blossoms and a sun so bright

Fill it brimming with a thousand blooms

of colours and light and sweet perfumes

Lead me through summer's lust

through heat and breeze and swirling dust

Tell me what secrets spake

the pigeon cooing to his mate

Hide my mind in a jasmine's breast

drown my heart in manna blest

Take me deep into her cove

take me into her sceret grove

Show me there her throbbing soul

Sloping valleys and sylvan knoll

Show me there in that single flower

A thousand blooms that live forever

Take me then on a butterfly's lips

humming through a hundred trips

to roses, violets and others untame

a thousand hearts for us to claim

Rest me awhile on a blade

of grass asleep in banyan shade

A dreamy sleep of sweat and heat

drinking noon sun's passion sweet

Carry me then on a sunbeam bent

to some sweet land with pastoral scent

of placid cows and cowherd's song

where evenings stretch languorously long

Fold your wings and sit by me

as dusk dies softly by a tree

Teach me silence that your heart holds

as the orange glow gently unfolds

Then take me home to a sylvan hutch

half asleep in the full moon's touch

Lay me there on simple earth

and let me sleep a sleep of death