UNDER THE SHELL ( Between Two Worlds)

           



















                           



       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."



                                           
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    28th November, 2016                          Somaseshu Gutala

                   

WHEN ???

   

                       

           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


         
     
    
        

MUSINGS

 











                                                                 
















                  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 !

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      16th November, 2016                                    Somaseshu Gutala




   
                     

WHAT USE ?

               




















                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.

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  5th November, 2016                                       Somaseshu Gutala
              


              
                     


                   

THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

                                   

                                                                    (  I  )

                            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.

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

      
  1st November, 2016                                      Somaseshu Gutala