How I saved Planet Earth by Raj Arumugam
How I saved Planet Earth by Raj Arumugam in the deserted streets last night the Aliens pointed their laser and equipment at me and one of them said: “Take me to your Leader.” And hoping to pocket all the presents they might have brought I said: “Well, I am the Leader of all Planet Earth.” […]
how far are you? by Raj Arumugam
how far are you? by Raj Arumugam how far gone gentle breathing partner how far gone from me are you in your sleep? how deep in your dreams and away from each other? how far are you gentle living partner how far gone within far, far, far within such unmeasured distance are you gone from […]
Hey birds by Raj Arumugam
Hey birds by Raj Arumugam Hey birds you rosellas and mynas and magpies it’s nice Spring and the flowers are in bloom in my garden; and it’s good to see you flying about as in a Walt Disney movie and see you hover at the flowers or on the lawn but really, must you sit […]
four legs good, two legs badOwl Hoots and Grasshopper Sings by Raj Arumugam
four legs good, two legs badOwl Hoots and Grasshopper Sings by Raj Arumugam Owl slept in the tree’s hollow but the silly Grasshopper on the branch outside made incessant noise ‘Kind Sir,’ said Owl, ‘would you stop singing and allow me to sleep? I’m nocturnal and sleep by day and so I need some quiet […]
four legs good, two legs bad by Raj Arumugam
four legs good, two legs bad by Raj Arumugam four legs good, two legs bad you believe in God good if not you believe in the Devil it’s this or that, you see? four legs good, two legs bad what I know is right you are wrong cos four legs good, two legs bad you […]
five moons for earth by Raj Arumugam
five moons for earth by Raj Arumugam sometimes I wish dear moon sometimes I wish the earth had five moons and all so positioned we can see one every night and then in twos and in threes never four (just so for mystery’s sake) and then all five all in perfect alignment once a year […]
emotional bond by Raj Arumugam
emotional bond by Raj Arumugam O setting Sun do not drag my heart down with you; for it’s known in nations where you do not shine as often you bring cheer and smiles away till you come again; do not let then my heart dear Sun sink with you Copyright ©: Raj Arumugam ————— The […]
dear owl, forlorn like King Lear by Raj Arumugam
dear owl, forlorn like King Lear by Raj Arumugam dear owl, where is your home after all the day and night of rains that you should sit forlorn like Lear on the pavement this cold, sunless morning? you will make one again dear owl and you will hoot again in nights and stay discreet in […]
dear moon, you will understand by Raj Arumugam
dear moon, you will understand by Raj Arumugam darling moon dear moon do not be offended we have stripped you down to rock and a plain face and we show pictures of you in black, gray and white; and though a writer of verse, in this verse, I strip you of your romance and aura; […]
days of quiet by Raj Arumugam
days of quiet by Raj Arumugam here is the forest the world withdraws a little; quiet, silent and calm the trees wait in their own nature The morning is beautiful, the progress of the day smooth and the evening pleasant and the nights pensive and still. Time moves slowly and thought is as radiant as […]
dance of life by Raj Arumugam
dance of life by Raj Arumugam we bring you life today sway right and left and forward and back and gyrate and turn and twist; and life is fruit and flesh and it is pleasure and joy too and we bring in our bodies in our bodies, in our nakedness we bring you mystery and […]
Daddy, daddy, I can’t go to school by Raj Arumugam
Daddy, daddy, I can’t go to school by Raj Arumugam daddy, daddy, I can’t go to school why darling, what’s wrong with you? I’ve got a runny nose, daddy – can’t you see? and my cheeks are blue I just think I’ve got the flu but sweetheart, you look as fresh as the rose outside […]
complete text of the discovery of Kama Sutra by Raj Arumugam
Part 1 At the Saint’s Book Store (Singapore, 1970) when I was just 15 and just after a trip to the National Library I saw a slim volume at the Saint’s Book Store (named after a TV series and true to the borrowed name, a second-hand book store) and its spine said: Kama Sutra Now […]
an evening’s music by Raj Arumugam
come, it is a cool evening; it is time for the body to rest and the mind to withdraw within; let us play then a raga for this evening: notes and a rhythm and a flow that shall bring quiet, peace and calm in one’s being; and perhaps as you play the melody and magic […]
ah poor moon by Raj Arumugam
ah poor moon by Raj Arumugam ah poor moon you’re just hanging around and through no fault of your own you attract all these weirdos these lunatics and the vampires and the blood-sucking bats and the sleep-walkers and murderers and the flesh-eaters (the moon made me do it!) and the lunatics and the werewolves and […]
ah, happy crow by Raj Arumugam
ah, happy crow by Raj Arumugam ah, happy crow (uncaring that humans may not find you very pleasant) you sit on the branch of that shady tree and you peck at a bone you’ve brought yourself and you are busy, busy, busy eating; and I, happy too, sit here at a table, eating my sandwich […]
absent-mindedness; or I Dream of Spices by Raj Arumugam
1 My mother would say: “Little boy Raj… Go to Muthu’s and get some cinnamon, betel leaves and ginger and garlic” And so I go to the shops singing all the way and when Muthu asks me what I’d want I rattle off a list: “Sesame seeds, onions tomatoes and pickles” And back home, Mother […]
a gentle day by Raj Arumugam
a gentle day by Raj Arumugam easy and smooth the day comes and goes like a falling leaf or a graceful cat on the roof; perhaps like drops of dew drip drip drip gently into the lake of time below; dawn morning midday afternoon evening sunset dusk twilight night and I’m left in quiet and […]
In The Bazaars of Hyderabad by Sarojini Naidu
Richly your wares are displayed. Turbans of crimson and silver, Tunics of purple brocade, Mirrors with panels of amber, Daggers with handles of jade. What do you weigh, O ye vendors? Saffron and lentil and rice. What do you grind, O ye maidens? Sandalwood, henna, and spice. What do you call , O ye pedlars? […]
Transcience by Sarojini Naidu
Dawn will not veil her spleandor for your grief, Nor spring deny their bright, appointed beauty To lotus blossom and ashoka leaf. Nay, do not pine, tho’ life be dark with trouble, Time will not pause or tarry on his way; To-day that seems so long, so strange, so bitter, Will soon be some forgotten […]
Past and Future by Sarojini Naidu
And so the past becomes a mountain-cell, Where lone, apart, old hermit-memories dwell In consecrated calm, forgotten yet Of the keen heart that hastens to forget Old longings in fulfilling new desires. And now the Soul stands in a vague, intense Expectancy and anguish of suspense, On the dim chamber-threshold . . . lo! he […]
Palanquin Bearers by Sarojini Naidu
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song; She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream, She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream. Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing, We bear her along like a pearl on a string. Softly, O softly we […]
Nightfall In The City Of Hyderabad by Sarojini Naidu
Jewelled with embers of opal and peridote. See the white river that flashes and scintillates, Curved like a tusk from the mouth of the city-gates. Hark, from the minaret, how the muezzin’s call Floats like a battle-flag over the city wall. From trellised balconies, languid and luminous Faces gleam, veiled in a splendour voluminous. Leisurely […]
Leili by Sarojini Naidu
The fireflies light the soundless panther’s way To tangled paths where shy gazelles are straying, And parrot-plumes outshine the dying day. O soft! the lotus-buds upon the stream Are stirring like sweet maidens when they dream. A caste-mark on the azure brows of Heaven, The golden moon burns sacred, solemn, bright The winds are dancing […]
Indian Weavers by Sarojini Naidu
Why do you weave a garment so gay? . . . Blue as the wing of a halcyon wild, We weave the robes of a new-born child. Weavers, weaving at fall of night, Why do you weave a garment so bright? . . . Like the plumes of a peacock, purple and green, We weave […]
Indian Dancers by Sarojini Naidu
Drink deep of the hush of the hyacinth heavens that glimmer around them in fountains of light; O wild and entrancing the strain of keen music that cleaveth the stars like a wail of desire, And beautiful dancers with houri-like faces bewitch the voluptuous watches of night. The scents of red roses and sandalwood flutter […]
Indian Dancer by Sarojini Naidu
Drink deep of the hush of the hyacinth heavens that glimmer around them in fountains of light; O wild and entrancing the strain of keen music that cleaveth the stars like a wail of desire, And beautiful dancers with houri-like faces bewitch the voluptuous watches of night. The scents of red roses and sandalwood flutter […]
In Salutation to the Eternal Peace by Sarojini Naidu
And all life’s ripening harvest-fields await The restless sickle of relentless fate. But I, sweet Soul, rejoice that I was born, When from the climbing terraces of corn I watch the golden orioles of Thy morn. What care I for the world’s desire and pride, Who know the silver wings that gleam and glide, The […]
In Praise Of Henna by Sarojini Naidu
Lira! liree! Lira! liree! Hasten, maidens, hasten away To gather the leaves of the henna-tree. Send your pitchers afloat on the tide, Gather the leaves ere the dawn be old, Grind them in mortars of amber and gold, The fresh green leaves of the henna-tree. A kokila called from a henna-spray: Lira! liree! Lira! liree! […]
Autumn Song by Sarojini Naidu
The sunset hangs on a cloud; A golden storm of glittering sheaves, Of fair and frail and fluttering leaves, The wild wind blows in a cloud. Hark to a voice that is calling To my heart in the voice of the wind: My heart is weary and sad and alone, For its dreams like the […]
Wishes by Satish Verma
Nothing was beholden. Colony counts were perfect. You were never guaranteed and exit. I am stalked by lips of a black tulip holding a moonbeam. The world moves wearing a shell of emptiness in a cosmos, inviolable. Aggrandizement beyond the bluffing. More beliefs and many withdrawls. You will not kill me? Half-way to soothing words of ecstasy. Satish Verma Poetry In Englishwww.poetry.monster
WINGS ATTACHED by Satish Verma
In slap at your icarian path the call was not taken from inside me. Anxiety in a troupe of clouds was rising. A deep dissent within winds surfaces after sunset. On the footpath comes a noun in the land of abuses, taking a vow of silence. The moon becomes green in a blue sky to get the blessings of surging frost. Knew nothing […]
WHAT ASYLUM! by Satish Verma
Come and meet me in chamber of death where the tempest comes every night. I start disrobing the anger to find the eye of the moon. Where do I get that ink that writes an unwritten poem on water of eyes when the ship was burning after a rare landing. Come and meet me in sleep of an infant. It […]
WARMING UP by Satish Verma
You could feel it. The fear in that pristine howl writhing in throat. Something was wrong with the sunflowers. A genital cutting had brought the snowdusting on mutilated emotions. A premonition warns. We are shining on wrong side, under dictates of religion. The cult will take care of mouth. You will celebrate the breaking up of man. The bone between the lips. I am […]
VOICES by Satish Verma
When the sun goes down bleeding beyond the hills yonder, I will meet you under the acacias. As a souvenir I will keep your lips in my books for history. As a gift I will give you my tears. This desert of hate has bleached my fingers, bone white. I cannot write a monologue of death in waning light. I wake to sleep in […]
Unsung Hands by Satish Verma
How can you unsee an etched wound? The name will tell the moon. An empty sky now calls for the rains. What was it- the ceremonial farewell? A dependable pain now starts pulling out the sharpnels from the body. You may call it meaningless. My poem now moves between the stings. Somebody was going for a merciless kill. Satish Verma Poetry In Englishwww.poetry.monster
Unstitching by Satish Verma
Do not take a vow of silence. Death will find its home. The circus has taken over the needles.Who will stitch the wounds of earth. A man walks into sunset carrying a bowl of tears. The sit-in was going to resist a poem of life. Would you unrobe your identity in public one day? Always I am punctuated at night by […]
Unspoken by Satish Verma
It was not dark in a killing field. A primitivism has prevailed upon an intimate hate crime for brand mnemonics. A bronzed moon will come out tonight. The glances were missing and you – cannot see properly. The blue bird was nesting in a pink cloud, when you were -, less than half. Killed but not raped. Who rattles the montage? Let the etiolation speak. Blood was scarped off, but […]
Unruffled by Satish Verma
Was I sane? Like poetry infiltrating, when you were eating grass? And money was walking free. The hollow eyes had the moral authority to expunge the fidelity from the book. Are the blue needles hurting you, I was asking moon? Moon’s stony eyes started watering. Strangers in bed, the trust had a different taste, another […]
UNREADABLE by Satish Verma
It was a fake time, moon will not rise. Words were afloat on junk dna. A stonefaced pseudonym dies point-blank. The surprise, the speed was not on our radar. The ravenous siblings now asleep on walls. Naive or disingenuous. A sitting Buddha will decide. Satish Verma Poetry In Englishwww.poetry.monster