An Epistle to his Friend

                    

 

    Dear Friend! Which muse shall I invoke

    To praise your magnanimous acts? A stroke

    Of luck it seems for me to have in you

    A helping, noble-minded soul: in you

    A humane understanding do I find

    Unasked you blest me with your favour kind;

    Like the radiant sun which warms us all

    And breathes vital life without our call;

    Like the rain that pours itself from skies

    To water our fields and touches us with love

    Like God-sent benediction from above;

    Like the fruit-trees and flower-laden bush

    Like the cool moon in cloudy silver hush;

    A noble trait of God, to help unasked, I know;

    In you I find with gratitude I bow;

   How oft we see men with supreme intellect keen?

   How oft we see shrewd statesmen with jealousy green?

   And yet they lack the sincere spirit to feel

   The pulse of people and work for their weal;

   Your fluent speech on various occasions I hear

   Your wide horizons of knowledge I cheer;

   Your fond memories of old friends commend

   Your timely assistance to me a god-send;

   Reminds me of Krishna’s love and noble act

   Of blessing his friend with wealth, unsought;

   May God with all His might and mercy bless

   Thee as you did to me to ease my stress;

   May God bestow real peace and prosperity

   In all your walks of life with amity;

  This humble soul’s weak poetic greeting, may

  Please accept with a friendly smile, I pray.

           **************************

   28th February, 2022                     Somaseshu Gutala 

 

 

  

 

        

ODE TO Solitude

 

                               

   1)     Thou, dark mistress of silent tread!

            Afraid of thy grim looks I fled

            Yearning for human touch and tongue;

            No heavenly peace from thee has sprung

            No saint-like blessed mood

             No angelic revelation stood.

 

2)       Shadow of me wherever I go

           I dread to see thy tight-lipped face

           Thou hast not unlocked thy breast

           No heart-throbbing outflow

           Of feelings or friendly grace

           To stir my lonely bosom’s nest.

 

3)        No rosy passionate glow

           A sullen frowning brow; a slow

           Dragging pace as if ages passed

           With stony silence embossed;

            No lilt of dynamic warmth infused

            Thy iron grip makes me confused.

4)        Where are the charms that sages found in thee?

            What bliss serene that saints in thee have seen?

            What poetic zeal uplifted bards with glee?

            What made lovers seek relief in their grief?

            What made them in thee repose their belief?

            A dreary desolate island thou art

           With dreadful stillness in darkness caught.      

 

5)       Like a beast confined in a den

           Bereft of worldly vision;

           Thou, creature of the underworld

           Dark denizen of mystery hurled

           No friendly smile unfolds thy heart;

           Wedded to dark stillness thou art

           I know of weakened souls who depart

           Unable to forbear thy sickly state;

           Thy touch, a chilling reminder of our final fate.

 

6)        No praising paeans can I write

           Dumb, devilish sprite thou art;

           Breeding dark, melancholy thoughts;

           Gorgonic terror breeds thy sight

           No hopeful warmth, no prospects bright

           No philosophical magnitude

           Of noble thoughts, no positive attitude.

 

7)        Thou, sister of old age and death!

            Our final destination cold;

            Let loose thy weighty fetters hold;

            Before thy black gaze my weak breath

            Aggrieved runs like a deer

            Thy presence, a spine-chilling flash of fear;

             Thy bitter cup—none relishes, no cheer;

             May be a sage with godly mystic vision

             May be a bedlam fit for derision.

 

8)          And yet I keep thee in my bosom’s shrine

              Beyond the maddening din of reality;

              I choose thy serious, silent dusky mien;

              Untouched by transient fleeting levity;

              In thy dark depths I delve to find

              Thoughts too deep to my shallow mind;

              Like a diver I give up myself

              To view undiscovered precious pelf;

              Beyond the outer gleam of things

              Thy presence plucks my poetic strings.

  

9)           Welcome, dark denizen of my heart!

               Thy hard gaze hath its benign part;

                Show me thy mystic charms

                Glide swan-like with unseen tremor

                Into me with smooth gliding murmur.

 

10)           Like hard-shelled fruits with sweetest core

                 I feel thy delicious touch; no more

                 I shun thy serious looks that seem unkind;

                 A placid joy beyond outer veil I find

                 Be my life-long companion; come along                

                 Teach me thy peace and fortitude strong.

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

                            (O Solitude! where are the charms

                         That sages have seen in thy face?) – William Cowper.    

Gorgonic – monstrous : derived from the Greek monster, the Gorgon, who could turn anyone who looked at her into stone.

  Mien --- appearance   

          

     18th February, 2022                 Somaseshu Gutala

ODE TO MY MIND

 

          

                                               

  1.    How oft should I admonish you, Oh Mind!

         With you, I do not wish to be unkind;

         Though to my warnings you turned blind

          Oft crossing the limits meant for good

          You raged like a beast out of mood.

2.       How oft I warned you like a friend

          You rashly frowned, your ways you did not mend;

          With sense of defeat, you filled your heart

          And made others too sad for want of thought;

          In easy snare of pleasures, you were caught.

3.       What use your knowledge and wit I say

           You made your life a sordid play

           Of vicious thoughts and went astray;

           No ideals you have kept, a sheer pell-mell   

           No system, no rules, a confounded hell.

4.         A creature of chance in jig-jag ways

            You spent your fleeting days in idle ways

            Your words mismatched with your deeds

             A stagnant pool of idle creeds;

            While idle thoughts grow rapid like weeds.

5.         Of moral ways and goals so much you raved

            And yet to fleeting pleasures yourself enslaved;

            A road to hell with good intentions paved

            No more can I stand thy ways and wait

            I have to check thy ways and set you right.

 

6.         No more can I let loose thy senses free

            No more can I allow thy flippant spree

            Guided by reason you should strive

             In fickle ways you cannot thrive

             Listen to me; your hopes revive.

7.         Vain arguments lead you nowhere

            No reckless freedom can I spare;

            The yoke of morals you have to bear

            No tearful appeals, no pleading looks

            No clever allusions from learned books.

8.         No noble feelings you felt within

            In vain illusions do you spin;

            No feel of repentance or sin;

            No service motive for mankind

            In trivial worries yourself grind.

 

9.        Oh, Mind! Be calm like a bird in cage

            A beast deprived of furious rage

            Listen to me: my advice sage

            Haste not; be not a passion’s thrall

            Be wise and patient; act for good of all.

10.       Cool down, my mind, listen to noble call

            Find peace in helpful acts, though small

            You need not crave for ideals tall

            Please act with earnest faith in God

            He will guide you- no more discord.

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

     8th February, 2022                       Somaseshu Gutala