TEMPTATIONS

 

 

                          

     

 

                                     

                      

So many sages often warn Thee, Oh fool!

Yield not to senses and become their tool

They drag you down like glittering pools

They burden you with woes and make thee a mule;

Like devil’s floating fire they tempt your eye

An unending series of struggles till you die;

Distant pools of nectar in deserts dry;

They make you run and cheat you to cry;

A tempting carnivorous coiled net they spread

And catch you unawares and suck you dead;

Like gigantic waves they lift you high

And dash you down to drown and die;

In dreamy world too, none they spare

Pouncing like hounds your bosom to tear;

Buffeted by winds and rain rocks may break

But not these growing desires, you fool, awake!

They bloat your mind with egoistic pride

Feigning like friends, they promise and misguide;

In their Circean smiles do not fall

They make you a brute, a life-long thrall

And once you are in, no passage out

Into dying dungeon you move, no doubt;

They tickle your mind with rosy lips

They make you do unpardonable slips

And mock at your failures till the end

Of your life with no chance to mend;

They spur your passions, greed and lust

And make you pine and pine till you turn to dust;

A fool presumes himself a mighty man

And wastes in idle pleasures his life span;

                              ( I I )

A false fantasy-heaven they tend to create

Nothing remains at last; to feel despair too late;

Like gods they seem with devilish intent

They drive you mad for vain goals hell-bent; 

They make you forget your value in fact

And drive you crazy to foolishly act;

No distinction of age and creed they find

They worm their way even into a dying mind;

They leave their marks like gashes deep;

Unfulfilled and cheated you have to weep;

They blind your vision with delusions false

They push you down, an irreparable loss;

In saintly garb sometimes they make their way

And break your conscience and lead you astray;

Temptations test even noble souls in vain

And try to damn them with material gain;

Yield not to them and entertain

You will be left with unforgettable pain;

Like weird witches of the blasted heath

Their foul intentions are hidden beneath;

Their provocations seem innocent and pure

They fill your mind with greedy thoughts impure;

Like beggars who ride on wishful horses’ backs

Left at last with irrecoverable shock;

In the false mirror of your ego

Magic notions of yourself they throw

Like a drunkard unconscious of his deeds

They fill your mind with darkest weeds;

What you assume as heavenly bliss

Knocks you down into deepest abyss;

Evaluate yourself and your worth ere you aspire

Like naughty goblins they falsely inspire;

With waxen wings to soar high if you dare

You plunge yourself into darkest despair;

                        ( I I I )

No use of blaming destiny and fate

No use of cursing others about your state;

You fell into the magic trap on your own

False illusions about yourself have sown;

Entangled in your foolish hopes you waste

Your precious time and then repent too late;

Time will mock at your foolish thoughts and acts

And what you did in haste cannot retract;

You ruined yourself with false illusions

You wasted your life with these tempting visions;

What use when you wake up from your drunken sleep?

You can’t undo your acts; their fruits you have to reap; 

So many people depraved, cheated and undone

These temptations one has to resist and shun;

Seek God’s grace and listen your conscience sound

Act not in haste; think cool; be within your bounds;

Be not too proud, think not that ever you are right

Be sympathetic to others and feel their plight;

Think of your worth ere you desire in proper ways

Nothing drops from above and nothing stays.

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   14th April, 2020                               Somaseshu Gutala

 Note :

   1)   Circean smiles -- Circe, a sea-nymph in Greek mythology. She with her knowledge of herbs and potions, used to tempt sailors and transform them into animals. here it means " dangerously attractive and misleading smiles." 

    2)   Devil's floating fire -- Will-O'-the-wisp is flame like vapor formed by gases in marshy places. People used to believe it was a spirit. Foolish travellers tried to follow the light which led them astray. In Latin it is called "ignis fatuus" which means "foolish fire." Here it means any "foolish impractical goal."

   3) Distant pools of nectar -- Mirage-- an optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions in a desert.

   4) Temptations test even noble souls -- refers to temptation of Christ by Satan in the desert.

   5) Like weird witches of the blasted heath -- reference to Shakespeare's play "Macbeth". Macbeth, a Scottish General,  meets three witches in a barren land while he was going to Forres where King Duncan's castle is located. They deceive Macbeth by prophesying that he was going to become the king of Scotland. 

  6)  Like beggars who ride on wishful horses' backs -- reference to a Scottish nursery rhyme"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride" which means that if wishing could make things happen, then most destitute people would have everything they wanted.

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