1 ) Under the shell, our secret self we hide On false hypocrisy do we ride Between our acts and thoughts, a hiatus wide To civic rules and laws we seem to abide ; 2) Beneath we gloat with no responsible sense Darkness unshells our vicious desires dense Like worms our wants do crawl and creep Our ideals lulled and buried deep 3) Ourselves we split under the societal grip Between society and self we toss and trip No shell, the real intelligence needs Let light come in to scorch these undesirable weeds.
"Don't get too close, it's dark inside It's where demons hide."
When beloved friends are drifted away by fateful chance When wants are extinguished by cruel circumstance When love turns to mockery and lacerates like a lance When ideals fly beyond our reach with a deriding glance We feel forlorn, a single leaf, at the tip of a withered branch Trembling at every gust of wind, and turns too blanch The worldly wise who once bewitched the cheering mass Like fallen mansions dwindle when their days are gone, alas ! Blessed are they who have the gift of gaining succor Of God, by constant touch of Him, with prayer They shine without becoming dead with mental strain They find their bliss, stable, unmoved by loss or gain ; Yet this requires a humble mind which harps on Lord Above these maddening joys and woes, unchained and unbarred. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 24th November, 2016 Somaseshu Gutala
1) My eyes too weak to see Thy holy feet My ears too deaf to hear Thy voice sweet My smell too dull to sense Thy presence fine My tongue too numb to chant Thy name divine. 2) My touch too inert to touch Thy sacred heart My mind too ruffled with distractions fraught My span of thought too short to soar and fly To reach Thy heavenly realms too high. 3) Thou, boundless ocean of Love and Mercy ! Thy name enough to cross this turbulent sea Of earthly troubles of egoistic illusion And grant Thy beatific thrilling vision ! 4) Ev'n beasts and birds have found Thy grace Why can't my mind with intelligence trace Thy cool benign presence within my heart Like lovely sunbeams by red lotus caught. 5) With a language bestowed with meaningful sounds Yet still I can't know Thee-- beyond my bounds ! I can't decode Thy mysterious thought and sense With my intellect clouded with delusions dense. 6) Flitting like a bee from flower to flower I ran after worldly wealth, joys and power Not a moment I found to sit calm and quiet To gaze upon Thy feet and feel really blest. 7) Trapped like a rat in momentary pleasures I found scarce time for silent, serene leisure To pray to Thee with tearful gratitude Set me free from these temptations crude.
8) These vile passions, like vixen wait for chance to find To pounce upon my fickle and tottering mind My worldly knowledge no match to fight and decide The righteous path and resist their raging pride. 9) My limping mind too weak to give a firm, strong hold Thinking too long my woes become too manifold -- My wisdom is but a frail leaking ship ; How can I come out of their crushing python-grip ? 10) Only Thy name to liberate me from this maze No masterly guidance to brighten my dismal gaze No yogic mysterious skills for me to dream No more dallying with my musings, my Lord supreme ! ******************************* 16th November, 2016 Somaseshu Gutala
Mother of all worlds ! What use to force Thy thoughts ? A foolish thought indeed ! All-knowing One ! Time's meed You give-- not more or less -- we ignorantly plead Forgetful of this truth ; our fate is already wrought None can ingeniously escape from his lot ; You smile, I know, Thou, blessed fount of glee ! You know our ultimate ends and we like feeble reeds Move to and fro in winds of anxiety caught. Ignorant of our goals of where we end We strive to strike new ways to alter and mend Our ways, though we do know -- beyond our hands How selfish people seem ! In spite of burning sands We dream of rich harvests to suit our greedy taste Craving beyond what we deserve, our peculiar state. ####################### 5th November, 2016 Somaseshu Gutala
It is no more a festival of lights I found It is a pandemonium of deafening sounds It is no more a joyous occasion to wait It is an unavoidable, expensive plight ; No more do we aspire for shooting stars Our purse is burnt too much with scars ; No time to invite and honor our in-laws Behind our mirth there lurks a pinching loss ; The rich may rave and sound their joys to the skies The poor man's hut in darkness lies ;
( I I )
When every heart is lit with mercy and wisdom When earth becomes a heavenly kingdom When every hut and hamlet smiles with delight When every man respects others' true rights When every house is free from habits vile When every heart is free from hatred and guile Then the real festive glow in true spirit I find In every eye and heart and mind ; Till then this is but a poor pantomime A flashy show of lights without reason or rhyme. *****************************
