STASIS

 

                            

                                                            

              

                                            

 1)  The reckless rushing stream with gushing speed

      Wandered jig-jag losing his own control

      Through ups and downs with selfish pride and greed

      Losing himself in wayward ways with no clear goal

      Through many curves and twists with rapid speed

      Through marshy ground infested with mossy weeds

      At last, with all his force drained out to fill

      A stagnant pool exhausted and death-still.

 

2)  Proud of his tall majestic height and size

     Covered with dense green branches and leaves

     With gigantic height into the sky the tree doth rise

     Gloating with pride to touch the stars he perceives

     Blind to the source of strength he sucks from the ground

     The coolest nourishing springs that make no sound

     Buffeted by winds, lightning and battering rain

     Struck by lightning fell like Goliath by David slain.

 

3) That holy shrine which once seemed like heaven in sight

    Which once with sculptures and frescoes did shine

    With dazzling gems, flowers and twinkling lights

    With rhythmic sounds of music and dance divine   

    With columns and friezes fraught with intricate art

    With surging devotion filling every heart

    Now seen with broken idols and faded paintings pale

    Time-battered sculptures convey a tragic tale.

 

4) The lofty castles and palaces of royal pride and lust

    With many halls and chambers in so many rows

    With rich designs embossed with gold and marble busts

    Now lie in dust with weeds and nobody knows;

    Their tombs too lie untraced ruined by the foes

    On their graves no laurels, but wild grass grows;

    Their hope of eternalizing their status great

    Now lies inert, frozen in static state.

 

5) Youth and beauty vanish like dew on grass

    Even the wealth of Croesus melts like snow

    The craze for name and fame breaks up like glass

    Swelling power bursts like bubbles in ocean’s flow;      

    Though men strive to grasp at whatever cost    

    All their achievements will not forever last;

    Whatever we struggle to seize by selfish will

    At last ends in nothing; static and death-still.

 

6)  Our proud beginnings flourish forever not

     The flowers that blossom today will have to fade

     A grassy glade one day will be a desert hot;

     Our lives, a mixed fabric of light and shade;

     Though many bragged about their skills sublime

      They vanish soon in the torrential tide of time.

      Never build airy castles with egoistic thrill

      The stream of life turns silent and death-still.

                    *********************

      7th April, 2021                         Somaseshu Gutala  

  

Ref : Goliath by David slain – Goliath, a philistine giant was killed by David, a shepherd boy just by hurling a stone from  a sling.       

The wealth of Croesus -- King of Lydia renowned for his wealth.

 Stasis --- inactive or inert state. A stage in the cycle of creation.

 All worldly possessions flourish for some time and finally dissolve into passive state.