Between the Pink: H.S. Shiva Prakash
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1.O spring! Why do you refuse to go? My longing is so long that I long for longing Odysseus too is tired of adventures Centuries of struggles have brought no joy “Age of liberty!” they shout, “Plenty has arrived.” “To hell with you,” said God to creation I have thrown my pen away. But lo! |
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2.Your next life won’t be at all in the future Who said time moves on and on? Though devoured Progress at all costs is today’s mantra Spare me my foes, the suns of todays and tomorrows Be reborn as a lost dazzling jasmine grove Welcome back, O light jeweled Atlantis before Future is banished from my broken durbar Cease my gazelle-eyed gazal, Shiva said. You are back. |
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3.The poem is a stubborn pilgrim ill-fated Whatever be his destination, it’s not reached The dreamland of gardens and angels draws him Yeats wanted to reach his passion, Mod Gonn The poem is a river never reaching the ocean The heavenly downpour meant for earth heavenlier The poem is the brother of all revolutions Lovers vowed to be always together I have challenged destiny that I will reach you To wait O Shiva forever is your heart fated |
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4.It’s not the pink you wore that drove me mad You came before me like the pink sun How do you know pink is my desire In that irresistible dimple, your smile’s friend A furtive glance or a treacherous glance Between the pink of sunrise and of sunset In a pink ocean I am drowning like day Before night engulfs me with inconstant stars Blue and black is my sky’s eternal nature By a pink moment was my eternity made |
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5.Four yuga’s have come and gone With four flowers I have decked Your silken hair In four sounds your name Here, my four fatal poems, I have sung of freedom |
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6.Why do your sweet lips taste bitter. Why? What arrested the mad heart’s beating? The sheikh has got down heavenly fruit The princess found her beloved’s body The revolutionaries founded the new order The desire to win makes all goals die |