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