LOVE & PRIDE: two principles of the life force. Love & pride as opposite streams of the life force, together constitute life. They are opposite principles. The salvation of life lies in binding the opposite principles into a holistic harmony. Indians call the principles as Prikriti and Purusha facets of life and nature. Chinese represent it in Yin and Yang symbolisms. Almost all great civilizations of yore recognized the interplay of the negative and positive energies of nature that drive life and natural processes forward to a recondite objective. End indeed is incomprehensible. But means are within the reach of human experience. This volume of poetry is a labour to this end, an effort towards the recondite objective.
Love and pride are polar opposites, yet inseparable partners, siblings and comrades in arms in the evolution of nature and life processes. They are opposites, therefore inseparables. They are opposites, therefore inter alia spawned the nature and life that created us. They are opposites, therefore there cannot be love without pride and there cannot be pride without love. Love and pride are opposite and inter-complementary. That is the beauty of the nature and life. This volume of poetry strives to catch the sublime beauty in words.
In spiritual realms, love and pride represent divergent aspirations. Pride is emphatically treated as the antithesis of the love principle. Love expands and binds while pride restrains and divides. Love is treated as gateway to salvation while pride, a passage to hell and sufferings. Not really. Truth is that both love and pride are sheer life principles that render life rich, fertile and beautiful. As far as spiritual realms are concerned, both are blocks to that end. The concept of universal love no way contributes to the perfect detachment fundamental for uniting with the basic force behind all. Anyway, our concern is with our life and the nature around us, and love and pride are the principal directors guiding us in the drama that we unfold. Having come to life, we are under obligations to play our parts, and love and pride play important roles in fulfilling the obligations to our creator to reach our individual goals.
Love like Yin or Prikriti is considered female energy while Pride like Yang or Purusha is male. Pure female energy and pure male energy are just concepts and abstract. Everything in nature and life are constituted of these opposite energies in different shades. Love without pride and pride without love are sheer concepts and nonexistent or unstable like quarks and Higgs boson (God particle) in physical world. Love and pride together is life and nature. Poems in this volume represent this truth – hopes, fears, desires, frustrations, cravings, disillusions of life and the nature that guides life.
Truth is that love sans pride is impotent and insipid while pride sans love is hollow and directionless. Interplay of love and pride makes life what it is worth of – potent, tasteful, fertile and purposeful. Pride is incomplete without love and love is incomprehensible without pride. Love is all for pride, its hell or heaven while pride is the very oxygen by which love survives. This is the theme of this volume of poetry.
I have tried to describe love and pride individually and in their interplay in the poetry of this volume. Poems in this volume as a whole should be able to bring out the beauty of love and pride and various nuances of their interplays to the fore. Readers must judge how far I succeeded in this delicate objective.
This work would not have been possible without the inspiration of my father Shree R.D.Suvarna and active support of my son, Pratheek Praveen Kumar and wife, Jayashree. Also, my mother, Smt. B.Sarojini, my sister, Pramodini Ganesh, brother, Nishith Kumar, sister, Asha Narasimha and brother, Sushir Kumar stood behind me in this effort. I record my gratitude to all of them.
1. For online Links to his published articles in National Dailies and Periodicals, please go to following Link:
Excerpt
I was in deep sleep that winter night
And darkness did freeze the world around;
Not a single star twinkled in the sky,
Not a single streak of light anywhere;
Blind and cold and still, not a thing stirred;
I was living dead like a piece of wood,
Sinking deep in barren lifeless world.
- IN CELESTIAL RHYTHM
When I saw her alone in soft moonlit glow,
She stirred soul and caught me whole;
Shocked by her gentle divine grace,
I ravished her spell by my eyes
And drank those charms to my brim;
But, inexhaustible was her unbound beauty
And unending was my endearing thirst.
- SHE FLOODS MY SOUL
Barriers beyond human horizons
Keep us apart for unknown purpose;
Helpless as we are but for deep aches in souls
Yield to burning pan of time’s unkindness
And roast ourselves in flames of languor
Till impregnable bond restore us to each.
- OUR PATHS MUST CROSS
Nature is beauty in its pristine charm
In harmony with all, within, and calm,
Pure like sunshine, warm like its glow,
And leads all to its goal in moves though slow
In tune with the whole, in tune with all.
- LET EVERY FLOWER BLOSSOM IN ITS OWN BEAUTY
Though you left lasting imprints
On the loose sand bed of the fleeting time,
You transcend time, transcend weathering
And deeply embedded within my self,
And light hopes, zeal and joy of life.
- I NEVER REACH YOU
Like the morning sun, fresh and bright,
Stalking his path to new awakened world,
Filled with hopes of long day of toil and rest,
Of commotions and peace, of creative unrest –
I entered the new world with dazzle in eyes,
With bounce in strides, music in voice
To a buoyant reception of a thousand dreams.
- THE POLICE WORLD
Love is inner fusion, union of halves,
Binding of threads to grand completion,
…………………………………………
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Its paths are straight, simple and short
And readily loses track in life’s labyrinth
To run aimless through tortuous circuits
Till legs fail, spirit fleys and emotions flag,
But soul runs its course oblivious of pains.
- LOVE IS BOUNDLESS
Road we pursued was uncertain, full of turns and twists,
Thick fog of fears blocked visions of what lay ahead;
We, on the crust of mammoth tides in the ocean of life,
Rose and fell in turns, losing never our faith in other,
Never yielding dreams to the disaster of losing other;
……………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………….
Time unkind endlessly indeed ground us to helpless pulp
Only to find ourselves in unspeakable bond of strength
And in other’s inviting arms, we won our life’s end.
……………………………………………………….
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Run the path and bear pains with unyielding strength,
For, how long and deep are pains, so enduring are the ends,
Know that nothing comes out of nothing in this world;
How long and deep one pines and struggles hard to reach,
So soon and closer it comes, so much sweet is its taste,
Only long and bitter struggle moulds truly timeless bond.
- MARCH 29
Focus your soul to its inner glow,
Listen to what the soul speaks to it;
What you hear is the right judgment;
Stick to it like life does to sunlight.
- INNER LIGHT
Two souls, minds, hearts, bodies
So longing for each, believe me,
Will never never ever part.
Have trust in God,
Give God time to act;
Kindly do not lose heart,
Do not lose hope;
All will be all right
While time comes right.
- PARTING RHYMES
I was led in leash where destiny felt fit;
With trust in heart and gentleness of soul,
With faith in god and goodness of world,
I followed the lead to unspeakable grief
Of unbearable pains, of terminal wounds
To spirit and soul, to my pride and ego
And died slow death, desolate and lost.
…………………………………………..
…………………………………………..
A lion I lived, but to pack of wolves,
Fate threw me to howl and growl like them
And fight with them for crumbs of flesh;
……………………………………………
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While showers gentle mercy on good and bad alike,
Destiny struck hard my soul, mind, heart and body
Till I fell lifeless in pain, shame and indignities
And froze in dark womb of utter helplessness
And melted to nothingness in endless darkness.
- CONFESSION
They stared each across the time's widening gulf
And stared each other like staring a distant star
Till both grew indistinct and dissolved in distant space.
- PARTING
When in contemn for what the world did for me,
What talents did it fail and what grace did it cloud,
What noble thoughts it sunk in vile dins and sound,
In utter despair, my love, I, for light, seek thee.
What heights did I scale, to what vales was I shown,
What dreams streamed sublime were crushed and blown,
How unkindly was I put down and mercilessly thrown,
When, my love, I recount, you, fill in from horizons.
- DIVINE IS MY STATE
Be different, be the jewel of the crown,
Shine like the sun all over the heaven;
Stand up above the mediocre din
And show how high you are deep within;
Spread wide, afar and stand up truly tall;
From the impossible height, look one and all;
When height is true, things do to place themselves fall,
And doors open wide to greatness’ gold-lit hall.
- SHINE LIKE THE SUN
The cadence of life’s endless dance
Bridges our lives
And entwines the grief and joy of life;
The rhythmic spring of the life force
Make the world where we long to live,
Where laid our past, where lies our presence,
Where will lie our future in pains and pleasures.
- ACROSS THE GULF
Road to heaven is never smooth,
Rugged the path, more joy ahead,
No pain is a waste in God’s land;
They lived pain, now aglow in joy,
Discovered the truth from the love’s womb
That nothing in life equals true love.
- BLOOMED IN ENDLESS JOY
Be it a night of a new moon gloom,
Or a path of myriad roadblocks,
Be it madness or evil game,
While you walk towering high,
Do gods tread sideways and make way for you;
What mortals do, why you brood, walk algate upright.
- DEIGN NOT
The world revolves round and round
And all the times are eternally bound
In unending cycle of the rise and fall
Where all, in flux, yet immobile and still.
- PORTRAITS OF PASSION
She fell on the floor with no trace of pain,
For, the pain inside was no match for it;
She bled and bled alone and breathed last,
Alas, the world, an infinite beauty, forever lost.
Oh, how a thing of beauty, breeds that much pain!
How gentle love throttles joy, brings misfortunes!
Perchance, the world is yet imperfect for great things,
While like colossus, treads perfection, destruction it brings.
- SAPNA
Their hearts spoke, though they could not;
Chill was too deep to bear for them,
For, they must part, part forever
On divided roads to loathsome future;
How could they part, none of them know,
How could they live, bereft of each?
They met each other in gloom's deep pond
And found rare warmth, exclusive for them
That stirred all cool and thawed their moods.
- GULF OF LIFE AND DEATH
Across the pall of unending night,
You send happy signs of love and hope
From the sunny land of lustrous light,
Where you sit like god in stoic charm.
While I fill my soul with joyous snug past
To forget the scars inflicted by fate,
You rise from the heaps of time's grey ash
Like medicated fumes to soothe my strains.
- TIMELESS SONG
In moments of calm reflections,
I build long flights of tearing emotions
To the unknown hole where you sit alone
And transport me to spates of fancies.
- LOVE SONG
You, the gentle queen on inspiration's throne
In splendours of words, rhythms, colours,
Musics and passions in unending layers;
Come, sit on heart, build bridges to the mind,
Bring light to the eyes to choose a carriage
To carry your muse to gentle souls.
- POETRY
I probe your shades and ripples of passions,
Sty your hills, delve deep to dales,
Fulfill your needs of love and joy
And raise a new world of lonely fulgour
Where you, for me and I, for you
Live like gods of supreme benison.
- DISCOVERY
A hapless mother
Offers her to greed
To save her child from the hunger's death ;
No roof to hide, no cloth to cover,
No fire in heart to save honour ;
Dirt and filth, sickness everywhere,
Dirt and filth, sickness everywhere,
- HUMANITY
The golden queen in the stride of royal grace
Ascended heaven with gold dusts splayed
On the fading silk-carpet of the thin sunshine ;
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The night is full with beauty's sweet contrasts
Of peace and passions, stillness and motion
With shades and twilights of sensuous quietude!
- FULLMOON
No metaphors, no similies equal your height,
No meanings penetrate enough your depths;
The breadth of colours, your image shows up,
Leaks through weak, porous works of songs.
- TEMPLE OF WORDS
What brings those hues to youthful glows,
What brings those shapes to enchanting slopes,
What brings gentleness to graceful love,
What brings that beauty to the width of the sky,
To the height of hills and depth of seas,
To the shapes of clouds, to the moods of men
In liquid ease and endless abundance
That no more the world is what it is made of,
But, a celestial charm of unknown depth.
- WHO CREATED THIS BEAUTIFUL WORLD?
Every inch and curve, a masterly work;
Every hue and shade, an artistic stroke;
The gleam in eyes, the smile in face,
The youthful warmth on all her parts,
The subtle rich rays of love in heart,
Each shocks the heart with irresistible thirsts
To drink her charm and drown in daydreams
And deliquiesce to oblivion in ceaseless pleasure;
She is joy, the ultimate beauty,
The divine light that man seeks to reach.
- WINNOCKS OF BEAUTY
When the self stills and sky clears,
When you peep through winnocks of time,
New wings sprout, old resolves shout
And I shoot to open sky
To find a door form where I reach you.
- ETERNAL SEARCH
In unreserved joy, she uncovered her breasts
For the feast of her love’s glowing eyes.
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They rolled in pleasure, they heaved in joy;
They were drugged in mad desires for each;
She lived in his joy and he, in her,
They shed their selves to reach each other;
She found her world in him and he in her,
The eager loves sought to dissolve in the other;
- YOUNG ROMANCE
Healer, a great,l indeed is time
While past is past and present sits on the neck,
Yet, some pasts, too real to be past;
Dealer, a great, indeed is time
Who strikes steadily in subtle strokes
And blunts sharp edges of the painful past.
- BYGONES ARE BYGONES
The sun, so hot, none endeavour to reach;
The sun, so bright, none open their eyes;
The sun, the tough, proud, lonely splendour
Reigns over Heaven in imperial grace;
None reach his height, none withstand his might;
But, win his heart or avoid his sight.
- THE SUN IN CLOUDS
Professional Reviews
Comments on
CRYSTAL GLOW
Madhur Veena Comment: Who is she? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ....You write good!
Margaret Alice Comment: Beautiful, it stikes as heartfelt words and touches the heart, beautiful sentiments, sorry, I repeat myself, but I am delighted. Your poem is like the trinkets I collect to adorn my personal space, pure joy to read, wonderful! Only a beautiful mind can harbour such sentiments, you have a beautiful mind. I am glad you have found someone that inspires you to such heights and that you share it with us, you make the world a mroe wonderful place.
Margaret Alice Comment: Within the context set by the previous poem, “Cosmic Probe”, the description of a lover’s adoration for his beloved becomes a universal ode sung to the abstract values of love, joy and hope personified by light, colours, fragrance and beauty, qualities the poet assigns to his beloved, thus elevating her to the status of an uplifting force because she brings all these qualities to his attention. The poet recognises that these personified values brings him fulfilment and chose the image of a love relationship to illustrate how this comes about; thus a love poem becomes the vehicle to convey spiritual epiphany.
FRAGRANT JASMINE
Margaret Alice Comment: Your words seem to be directed to a divine entity, you seem to be addressing your adoration to a divinity, and it is wonderful to read of such sublime sentiments kindled in a human soul. Mankind is always lifted up by their vision and awareness of divinity, thank you for such pure, clear diction and sharing your awareness of the sublime with us, you have uplifted me so much by this vision you have created!
Margaret Alice Comment: The poet’s words seem to be directed to a divine entity, express adoration to a divinity who is the personification of wonderful qualities which awakens a sense of the sublime in the human soul. An uplifting vision and awareness of uplifting qualities of innocence represented by a beautiful person.
Nivedita Bagchi SPC UK Comment: Sir best poetry on flower I’ve ever read…you’ve placed and parked Jasmine to that celestial plane from where only Divinity transcends …metaphorical excellence on canvas of serenity purity and best attributes [un]imaginable painted in words …thanks for sharing…
I WENT THERE TO BID HER ADIEU
Kente Lucy Comment: wow great writing, what a way to bid farewell
Margaret Alice Comment: Sensory experience is elevated by its symbolical meaning, your description of the scene shows two souls becoming one and your awareness of the importance of tempory experience as a symbol of the eternal duration of love and companionship - were temporary experience only valid for one moment in time, it would be a sad world, but once it is seen as a symbol of eternal things, it becomes enchanting.
I’M INCOMPLETE WITHOUT YOU
Margaret Alice Comment: You elevate the humnan experience of longing for love to a striving for sublimity in uniting with a beloved person, and this poem is stirring, your style of writing is effective, everything flows together perfectly.
Margaret Alice Comment:
'To a resplendent glow of celestial flow
And two split halves unite never to part.'
Reading your fluent poems is a delight, I have to tear myself away and return to the life of a drudge, but what a treasure trove of jewels you made for the weary soul who needs to contemplate higher ideals from time to time!
IN CELESTIAL WINGS
Margaret Alice Comment: When you describe how you are strengthened by your loved one, it is clear that your inner flame is so strong that you need not fear growing old, your spirit seems to become stronger, you manage to convey this impression by your striking poetry. It is a privilege to read your work.
Obed Dela Cruz Comment: wow.... i remembered will shakespeare.... nice poem!
Margaret Alice Comment: The poet has transcended the barriers of time and space by becoming an image of his beloved and being able to find peace in the joy he confers to his beloved.
'You transcend my limits, transcend my soul, I forget my distress in your thoughts And discover my peace in your joy, For, I’m mere image of you, my beloved.'
Margaret Alice Comment: You are my peace and solace, I know, I am, yours too; A mere flash of your thoughts Enlivens my tired soul And fills me with light, peace and solace, A giant in new world, I become, I rise to divine heights in celestial wings. How I desire to reciprocate To fill you with light and inner strength raise you to divine heights; I must cross over nd hold you in arms, light up your soul, Fill you with strength from my inner core, Wipe away your tears burst out in pure joy How I yearn to instill hope and confidence in you we never part And we shall wait, till time comes right. the flame in my soul always seeks you, you transcend my limits, transcend my soul, I forget my distress in your thoughts And discover my peace in your joy, For, I’m mere image of you, my beloved.
RAGING FIRE
Margaret Alice Comment: As usual, it is the symbolism of making love that is important to me, you clearly depicts the sensual delight, which is fleeting, the enduring aspect of temporary sensory experience lies in its symbolism of unity and inifnite love and read within the context of your previous poems, I think the symbolism is present in this poem also.
Margaret Alice Comment: The symbolism of making love is important, the poem depicts sensual delights, which are fleeting, the enduring aspect of temporary experience lies in its symbolical value of unity and infinite love. Read within the context of the previous poems, the symbolism can be read in this poem also.
SHE SPELLS SIMPLICITY
Sarah Loves Comment: this is awesome
Margaret Alice Comment: Once again you weave the tapestry of the symbolical meaning of her presence in your life and create the context within which sensory experience of love is elevated to the sublime. I repeat myself, I know, but I love these themes.
Margaret Alice Comment: Weaving a tapestry, using a description of lovers to symbolise the presence of love in, creating the context within which sensory experience is elevated to the sublime.
WE DISSOLVED IN THE OTHER
Margaret Alice Comment: Still within context, the poet gives description of sensory love as a symbol of souls united in one goal, eternal love. Humanity is always in danger of separating the playful aspect of lovemaking from its deeper significance. When young, love is the best game their is with no strings attached, as people grow older, they discover how lovemaking becomes a symbol for real affection as loyalty and integrity to a loved one.
YOUNG ROMANCE
Margaret Alice Comment: The scene is very evocative, it could also be the description of sensual love without any other significance than momentary joy, the way young people love, abandoning themselves to physical pleasure without emotional involvement, since young people are on a voyage of discovery and making love is one of the stations along the way. Within the context of this series of poems, I assume the poet wishes to assign an emotional significance to the love he depicts, a love relationship that is meant to last. Very well written, you have done a splendid job.
Nivedita Bagchi SPC UK Comment: ‘She found her world in him, and he, in her, ‘The eager loves sought to dissolve in the other; ’ ~ May seem to others as lurid but Hon’ble Poet has maneuvered both words and emotions within poetic aesthetics…and climaxed in these two lines quoted… thanks for sharing
RHYTHMS OF LIFE
Guillermo Veloso Comment: What a wonderful manifesto. I have been thinking lately of life as a see-saw with our goal the fulcrum. your poem adds clarity to my journey. thank
you for sharing Praveen
I LOVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE
Hasmukh Amathalal Comment: Love sprouts in heart and sits in soul,
Love bounces from the soul to light up loved things,
Love lights steady flame of heavenly bliss
And melts all pride and binds loved ones....ya love bounces from soul to light... truely said... i liked the theme....10
A WALL OF TIME
Rose-marie Mitchell Comment: Nice poem! Nice words! - 'In the womb of deep slumber'.- very poetic.
WE LIVE IN HOPES
Jay greene Comment: amazing is the only word i can think of speechless 10+++++
SHE IS THIRTY, I’M SIXTY
Sadiqullah Khan Comment: This is simple mathematics. Use your lower half (sixty divided by two is equal to thirty) or wait another thirty years for her to become sixty.
BE YOU IN WORDS
Sadiqullah Khan Comment: Good advice, worth following. Will take it to my list, for reference. Thanks for sharing Praveen.10
Sumita Datta Comment: But... it's a recurring strokes... It won't stop...
BYGONES ARE BYGONES
Sumita Datta Comment: Actually, bygones are bygones.. liked your piece of work...
ETERNAL SEARCH
Bonnie Shipman Comment: Praveen, this is very beautiful. The words flow smoothly and finely. In it, I see God's search for man. Even when we would hide ourselves from the living God, He finds us and calls to us. We need only to respond.
Margaret Alice Comment:
'I chose words, I created worlds
To impale you in poetry's net; '
Struck me forcibly - to catch and hold through the power of words...
GENTLE LIGHT
Bonnie Shipman Comment: I am glad for the expression of this poem. But one question- what of the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit? It is the spirit which holds the most beauty.
I see music in his hands.
I see eloquence in her mouth.
I see dancing in his feet.
I see understanding in her eyes.
I see prayer in he knees.
I see giving in her arms.
I see compassion in his shoulders.
I see love in their eyes.
I see God in their soul.
Margaret Alice Comment: 'makes sorrow sweet and excess joy bitter
To guide the life through a healthy rich path
Of eternal peace and contentment; '
Eternal, the magic word, take sweetness from joy to sweeten sorrow...
COSMIC PROBE
Margaret Alice Comment: A cosmic scope, the speaker becomes a symbol of the dark earth [body] lying in wait for the power of light [spirit] to find and fill it with life and joy. The reader can find several symbols in the poem, find the image of imprisoned lover waiting to be found by the beloved who seeks him out in his despondency and brings hope and joy to his soul. the soul keeps seeking the physical body because it is home, allowing it to interact with other aspects of reality – or infinity. The lover and his beloved becomes a symbol of the unity between spirit and soul. It is a pleasure to come upon a poem that allows the reader scope to speculate in this way.
HER SWEET SOUL NEVER HURTS ANY
Margaret Alice Comment: The poet personifies the qualities of love, compassion, humility, upliftment, righteousness, as a “queen” that reigns over him and controls his actions. He uses the description of adoration for a beloved as a symbol to illustrate his relationship with these qualities that he admires so much. He assigns these admirable virtues to a powerful being who has the ability to reign over him.
IMPREGNABLE BOND
Margaret Alice Comment: The unity aspired to and attained in embracing a beloved can be seen symbolise the eternity of love – memories and thoughts are important as ties that bind the poet to the beloved – within the context of this series of poems the beloved is the personification of man’s higher aspirations. When memories and thoughts are lost, love remains and love is symbolised by unity.
IN NATURE’S CELESTIAL TIE
Margaret Alice Comment: 'I live in her, and she, in me, indivisible ever, '
A beautiful depiction of love and hope.
MY SELFLESS ANGEL
Margaret Alice Comment: 'She found her joy I could not give her In my barren shadow, sadly bleak and cold.'
What a strange poem, it can be interpreted in so many ways, within the context of these series, it seems that the virtues personified by the angel would not desert the poet even when he refused to embrace them wholly - I think.
SOUL BOUND TO SOUL
Margaret Alice Comment: 'We know we are one and destined to blend.'
'But, comes our time, all is worth of it.'
Now this is positive, what a great exmaple for the discouraged and tired seeker, keep the faith and all is worth it - great words, inspiring, lovely.
SAPNA
Margaret Alice Comment:
'Oh, how a thing of beauty, breeds that much pain!
How gentle love throttles joy, brings misfortunes! '
I always goes with Terry Pratchett's interpretations when confronted with sad tales like these - just as Romeo and Juliet should have checked for pulse before killing themselves, these characters should have acted in a different way - seems like Pratchett and I refuse to accept sad endings as inevitable - I never shall. Quantum physics says the universe splits every time a decision is made and quite the reverse takes place somewhere else - the universe split and in a parallel universe these two lovers are living happily!
SHE IS PURE GOLD
Margaret Alice Comment: “Wisdom” calling to foolish men and women mentioned to in Proverbs, the Bible, seems to be delineated in this description. Wisdom always seemed to be an aspect of beauty, because beauty without wisdom would lack harmony, balance, truth, joy, peace – this description seems to refer to the highest ideals men aspire to. Lovely way to put it.
WHILE TIME COMES RIGHT
Margaret Alice Comment:
'Yet, a distant glimmer deep in my heart
Distinctly whispers that all is not lost,
Everything will be right while time comes right.'
That's it, hope and trust always, it gives meaning to human lives and best of all, it creates a positive ending, if you don't waver, your wishes will be fulfilled.
SHE FLOODS MY SOUL
Margaret Alice Comment: 'She is the precious jewel I sought all my life.'
This reminds the reader of the parable in the New Testament, when a man found a precious jewel in a piece of land, he buried it again and went away and sold all his possessions and bought that piece of land to keep that jewel for himself.
SIMPLY YOURS
Nivedita Bagchi SPC UK Comment: ‘I’m “Simply Yours”’ a Romantic poem the …vibe spinning tangentially into horizon and picturesque…10
Margaret Alice Comment: You are my world, my light, You are my fulfillment, You are my reason, my meaning, You are my cause and target, Wherefore I move all through life.
Hasmukh Amathalal Comment:
You are my world, my light,
You are my fulfillment,
You are my reason, my meaning,
You are my cause and target,
Wherefore I move all through life............open and frank admission I am yours' so beautifully interwove3nwith clear heart and it has moved me with its words.. lovely sir.....10
“You fill me with such wealth that I, whether high or low,
Need no worldly grace or scope unto me ever flow.”
Ooo, wish all love was like this! I am paid to read dark letters of despair and your uplifting lines is taking me on a journey far away into a new universe of light, love, music and verse. You sing beautifully.
LOVE SONG
Margaret Alice Comment: 'With an ocean of emotions churning between.'
The universal human condition, yet we all live on surface, we never probe the ice-floes beneath...
TEMPLE OF WORDS
Margaret Alice Comment:
You bring huge waves in the ocean of soul
That washes the shores of heart and mind
With melodious tunes and passions' foams;
While low tides set on the soul's trough,
All go still and disturbingly calm.
This is striking rhythm and melody, oceans of soul and passion's foams, great imagery...
THE TOUCH OF SPRING
Margaret Alice Comment: Comfort, gentle care, warmth - this is real love, wonderful.
RECOLLECTIONS
Margaret Alice Comment: 'Make life a vaulting heaven, this world, a joy's holy shrine.'
'rousing pleasures' are fleeting, can be a trap, leaves the reveller feeling empty, but the last line is wonderful, the discovery of infinity in the here and now - that is something to dream about.
MY ELUSIVE PRETTY WIFE
Margaret Alice Comment: 'To seek, search and discover my elusive pretty wife. '
What a delightful ode to your wife! I am reading ice-cold words in official grey documents ashen with meaninglessness, therefore it is a delight to follow a series of poems in which a poet delineates love in spiritual terms and emotions are more important than rational logic.
ON HER
Margaret Alice Comment: What a lovely way to end the official day, words that remind of spiritual truths and joys in feelings and uplifting ideas!
TIMELESS SONG
Margaret Alice Comment: it is very difficult to read grey words after these beautiful visions
Margaret Alice Comment: you know not what you are for me, how deep and wide you fill my self,
I LOVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE
Margaret Alice Comment: 'Love is pure bliss, Love is pure feel'
thank you for this reminder that life is bigger than the small official space here and now...
Margaret Alice Comment:
'I love you for what you are,
Not for what you ought to be,
Nor for what you some day is;
You, as you are now, here and near, '
Unconditional love and acceptance, no ifs and buts and demands, to love because, not in spite of.
RISE AGAIN IN THE EAST
Margaret Alice Comment: “on immortal mortal face”
I love juxtapositions like this!
“unite in immortal love’s bond”
That is the only kind of love there is, immortal – I agree.
EVERLASTING JOY
Margaret Alice Comment:
'You made this life a dulcet music,
A passionate painting, a sensuous poetry.'
You felt this, or imagined it, the ability to feel so much and dream of such visions, it has me in thrall...
Margaret Alice Comment:
You made this life a dulcet music,
A passionate painting, a sensuous poetry.
You dyed my heart in everlasting beauty,
You dyed my soul in everlasting joy;
PRISTINE WORLD
Margaret Alice Comment: Enormous scope of your visions… bigger than anything I have ever thought about...
Margaret Alice Comment: Shades and hues of infinite joy It is a great world of divine joy Where divinity spreads in fluid opulence, Where love cries in unbound joy, sacred temple Where gods come to worship the queen Who created the world with her pristine charm And lord over it all over since then; The hymns of love and dim temple light Come across to reach only graceful souls. No dusts and smokes of forlorn years Ever ravage her pristine form, Ever disturb her unworldly love, She lives and lives forever and ever in the old world, in all new worlds too.
SHE SMILES FROM A MYSTIC LAND
Margaret Alice Comment: 'Where we dwell in immortal rest.'
Forever and immortal - concepts that give meaning to life.
IN COSMIC CYCLE
Margaret Alice Comment: 'In timeless love that blends our hearts.'
Key word: Timeless - the temporary world is but a window on the eternal timeless spirit that lives forever.
IN CELESTIAL RHYTHM
Margaret Alice Comment: 'She lives in me forever in the shine of my soul, '
'In every streak of love I find anywhere.'
Perfect, love as eternal, every instance of love is one more channel to the infinite source of love, one instance of love opened awareness to all other manifestations of love.
Nivedita Bagchi SPC UK Comment: Amazing…spellbound…full of wisdom…gleaming glittering with all noble thoughts… Finish is ‘We ride the tides of ruthless time/In timeless love that blends our hearts. ‘Ruthless time can’t shackle us where Love is the propelling force… We stay anchored in the sanctuary of Love. Finest diction and plenty of food for contemplation and deeply…10+
I HEAR ALL DAY YOUR LITTLE WHISPERS
Margaret Alice Comment: ', you are unbound joy, inner peace, sheer harmony, my beauty, my truth and essence.'
'nothing I find harder than knowing you'
So many of us share your quest for mental peace and spiritual joy!
CELESTIAL MUSIC
Margaret Alice Comment: 'find her lurking in all splendid things,
In all noble deeds, trusts and all human needs, '
Once again the theme of finding the constant wonder within changing things, finding the eternal beauty within the stream of life ever-changing - holding the eternal within.
I’M JUST NOUGHT WITHOUT HER
Lady Grace Comment: so nice..this poem talks a lot...well appreciated...very nice dear....smileeee
Margaret Alice Comment: “immortal flame of my soul / timeless together / endless bliss / endless future”
This is a language that stirs the soul, uncovers temporality to show the eternal spirit burning wondrously behind short-lived manifestations, the symbols of eternal consciousness.
Margaret Alice Comment: Sarva Karana Karanam, Cause of all causes, Root of all roots, Source of all sources is she.
HER RESOLVE
Yoonoos Peerbocus Comment: you control each stanza up to the theme/ nice write
ALONG THE VENNELS OF YORE
Margaret Alice Comment: 'And held me fast to her for all ages to come.'
Love enduring forever - that is the only true love, the only reality, it lives forever, it is eternity.
ACROSS THE GULF
Margaret Alice Comment: “endless dance, a world of everlasting love and trust”
“endless” and “everlasting”, words that hold more charm than any other in every universe
LOVE
Margaret Alice Comment: ”Unknown hopes Deepen passions and strengthen bonds.
love does not wait for time's swing, But bides on steadfast patient growth”
Love transcends time’s pendulum and instead of withering, keeps growing, across all intervening space, across the span of time.
Margaret Alice Comment: She sprang from time's tapestry, Like full moon, And streamed soft light all over him; She blew over his heart's barrenness Like the gust of westerly wind do to clouds And poured sprightly rain of joy.A skyward climb discovers descend, ”Unknown hopes Deepen passions and strengthen bonds. love does not wait for time's swing, But bides on steadfast patient growth”
My comment: Yes, love transcends time’s pendulum and instead of withering, keeps growing, across all intervening space.
PARTINGS MEANT TO DEEPEN BOND
Margaret Alice Comment: “While soul is on focus, no labours count, No obstacles haunt, no hurdles mount.”
Having a purpose and led by an ideal, no amount of sacrifice can hold us back, obstacles shrink away under inner power.
“Inseparably we are spliced in endless heavenly field,
Partings we suffer meant perchance to deepen bond.”
When the magnificent effect of temporary pain is understood and meekly submitted to, the pain creates a space for more joy and leaves no scar – we grow stronger at the places where life has broken us, and discover that pain changes us into glowing sticks if we let it!
Margaret Alice Comment: Intense like sun and soft like pure gold,
She stirred my soul to my singular goal
FROM UNKNOWN HORIZONS
Margaret Alice Comment: Perfect description of the soul becoming one with the all, although painful swelling of passion is stilled, the joy of inner experience as oneness is richer with feeling and experience than the physical world ever offered, and giving up the movement of passion is no sacrifice, but the door to a new horizon of celestial joy never experienced before.
“And absorbs me head-on like water on sand;
All passions still, but pure streaks of joy
And I glow as light in communion with light
I see with inner eyes and feel with inner mind;
The soul that drinks the divine glow,
No more sinks back to the hell of black passions.”
Margaret Alice Comment: The reason I love this poem is because it gives hope for transcendence into joy, not away from it. “And absorbs me head-on like water on sand; All passions still, but pure streaks of joy And I glow as light in communion with light I see with inner eyes and feel with inner mind; The soul that drinks the divine glow, No more sinks back to the hell of black passions.”
BLOOMED IN ENDLESS JOY
Margaret Alice Comment: 'Hearts seared in pain for each,
Now bloomed in endless joy; '
Wonderful, the steady, loyal heart recompensed, and even the journey only, the challenge, holds joy indescribable, love is its own recompense, if it also brings the travellers to their beloveds, just so much more beautiful!
IMMORTAL LIGHT
Margaret Alice Comment:
'What an immortal joy, you carried on you!
You came and you went, but the light persists all over.
the streams of immortal light, '
This is true love, when the appearance of the loved one changes the lover forever, the joy that was brought is immortal, the light persists even after the person left - the change is eternal and the lovers will be reunited after death for ever and ever. This is the only vision of love that makes life livable - and beautiful.
I KNOW HER
Margaret Alice Comment:
'For eternal commune of souls,
In ecstatic speck of continual 'now', '
Heidegger - in following Zen-Buddhism - experience wihout interpretation - phenomenology - eternal unity and ecstasy as one big eternal present tense - THIS is the perfect spiritual ideal, love becomes godly, the only kind of love to strive for, the dream and ideal...
THAT DAY
Margaret Alice Comment: An epic tale of cosmic dimensions...
'Her easy marking him shook deep his soul;
Like life to sunshine, soul to sweet notes,
Her heart danced wild in his warm presence; '
PARTING RHYMES
Margaret Alice Comment:
“Trust me”, cried I, “trust the divine designs,
I swear on my lovely Goddess, destiny shall shine bright;
All fears and tears just meant to deepen our mutual bonds;
Nothing shall stop me from bonding to my pretty queen,
IN CAGE
Margaret Alice Comment: Only shallow eyes do see me in cage.
MY MORTAL EYES
Margaret Alice Comment: How much I desire to take you in arms And hold you tight to my yearning heart! Tell me where you hide from my mortal eyes; I reach far worlds and find you there
MY LOVE
Margaret Alice Comment:
She is my rhythm, the perfect rhyme,
The cosmic dance that bounces worth.
The world is a desert without her presence,
A void is life, devoid of essence;
The spin of time, a whine of hollowness,
Cool and dull, whimpers of shallowness.
FREE WORLD
Booklover Tv Lounger Comment: Pretty cool. Sounds epic in my opinion, like it should belong to the beggining of an awesome movie or game. Great job! Keep it up
-SJD
FLOWERS
Abhinav Baruah Comment: Thank you
Beautiful fragrance and positive vibrant.....
10+
COMPROMISE
Abhinav Baruah Comment: 'Man loses to gain,
Falls to rise and bends to standup'
..... Beauty of living.....
Enjoyed..
THE NATURE
Indira Renganathan Comment: The nature is a clean mirror of the soul
Where the soul itself reflects for real,
Bright like the sun, yet soft like the moon
And refreshingly pure like the morning dews.
Amazing observation and study on nature....great
SHINE LIKE THE SUN
Margaret Alice Comment: The poem reminded me of the highest challenge for people who want to shine like the sun: ….. The ideal is to realize one’s full potential without infringing on the rights and happiness of other people. ….. The one who truly shines can love and accept unconditionally without expecting anything in return, ….. – who simply adores and loves the world and its people for the pure reason of the glory of their existence.
Margaret Alice Comment: This exhortation rings beautiful ….. it should be directed to every human being everywhere, …..
“Be different, be the jewel of the crown,
Shine like the sun all over the heaven;
Stand up above the mediocre din
And show how high you are deep within; ”
POETRY
Margaret Alice Comment: ….. the poet approaching the goddess and asking her to be his muse and share herself, her own inspiring mind and feelings with him, to inspire his poetry so that he can write about the sublime. …..
“Lo, poetry surfaces from discontented soul.
The outside world in the inner cauldron
Sublimates to hot soothing vapour
That lingers in soul like poetic notes;
Trivials of the world, while churned in self,
Coagulate soft and sweet precipitates
That raise this world to enlightenment”,
the poet is addressing his own soul and his own muse, …..
What can I hold to impale you in words,
You wait on the side-stage to dance to tunes
To enter centre-stage, to create new realms,
Build bridges to the mind,
….. it is beautifully written containing all the rhythms and rhymes,
“You pour live words of myriad hues
In forms and shapes and rhythms and depths” the poet is dreaming about.
WINNOCKS OF BEAUTY
Margaret Alice Comment: “as conceived by a poet in a great epic; ” what an overpowering beholder ….. to write an epic song like this, ….. celestial ideal, ….. style is a lovely, alliterative music and ….. take the reader on a heavenly journey –“where desires and peace rise hand in hand, where the heat and light of enlightenment grips the soul glows in divine passions.”
SELF-RESPECT
Margaret Alice Comment:
“The road is wild, but a pleasant pursuit
To walk, head held high, in proud respect,
Though hungry beasts with bloody teeth
Wait to pounce and tear her Self.
…..poem brings all the elements of self-respect together that make life worthwhile. The only beasts who can tear self-respect is the subject’s own vision and decision, nobody else’s criticism, opinions or action can ever touch self-respect – it is a citadel, a safe sanctuary, and the source of love – of self and everything else.
BUDDHA
Margaret Alice Comment:
The Buddha found his final solace in flight and passivity, the end of all change.
“In nirvana he found the supreme tool;
He attained awareness, he sought all his life;
Gouthama, the Sakyamuni, found abstinence
The cure for all the pain and sorrow.”
”He suffered for all, sacrificed all,
To find the path of deliverance;
He sought and lit the spiritual light
That illumed and liberated self and world
And cast gentle rays on the human race.”
The Buddha gave his life to help those who need to follow the road of sorrow to its very end and attain sainthood – a wonderful thing.
COSMIC GAME
Margaret Alice Comment:
”We partake in a mysterious game,
Where as mere tools, we play the game,
Though inside it, nowhere belong.”
I have great respect for all who share your sentiments and feel the alienation implied by these statements.
THOSE CAREFREE DAYS
Margaret Alice Comment:
“the world was a huge playground then,
but, trust and love filled my world;
the carefree days did light my spirit”
The poet creates a picture of a perfect childhood, an idyllic picture ….
BLUE BEAUTY
Margaret Alice Comment: Inspiration and ideal personified as a woman, which in turn can be read as the personification of the subconscious also –
POETIC INSPIRATION
Margaret Alice Comment: Theme of inspiration personified as a woman: Together “Blue Beauty and “Poetic Inspiration” form a wonderful whole and the personification of ….. Muse, ascribing sensory experience and inner feeling to the experience, makes it exciting and provocative – thank you for wording your ideas in this way!
LIFE AND COSMOS
Margaret Alice Comment: Thank you for writing a poem about life and its meaning.
“Life is a speck of light
In the womb of infinite darkness,
Life is a chance movement
In the ocean of ceaseless stillness.
Life is a celestial pinhole,
Where matter rocks in endless cycle”
Thank you for offering an opportunity to ponder these things.
I NEVER REACH YOU
Nivedita Bagchi SPC UK Comment: Indeed your poetic affect will ‘cynosure’ you … weather off … is just wreathing in … Excellent emotive poem... thro’ and thro’ vibe...oscillating…
Ms. Nivedita UK
PS 10
INDIA
Dilwyn Bowen Comment: Excellent piece of writing. Your pride and sadness come through with great skill. Must give this a ten and a favourite read.
Regards,
Dilwyn
UNKNOWN BEAUTY
Margaret Alice Comment: What a lovely way to describe finding an ideal, personifying the ideal as a woman and filling the poem with concrete images and enabling the reader to interact with the poem.
CYCLES
Venkatesh Ram Comment: marvellous.unguided it seems but in reality everything has a cyclic life
A POLICE officer and a prolific writer, Praveen Kumar, has published
another anthology ……….in the form of this book.……… "Policing the police"
acquires more relevance today in the context of the criminalisation of
not just politics, but of the services as well……….Coming as a sequel to
his earlier book Policing for the New Age, the author chooses to
describe policemen as "social doctors" and policing as a "surgical
operation to systematically remove cancerous growths from the body of
society”.
THE HINDU
Praveen Kumar is not only an upright police officer but also a poet and
a prolific writer.……..Policing the Police—an analytical Study of the
philosophy and field dynamics of the policing in practice highlight
various problem areas including defective selection and
recruitment,unsound training and unhealthy job culture and identifies
likely solutions for its redemption.
DECCAN HERALD
Praveen Kumar gives an insight into the Indian police set-up and
analyses the problems of the department, with interesting illustrations
from the field. Mr Kumar's book is a departure from the routine, where
he not only analyses the problems, but also suggests solutions.
THE ASIAN AGE
The author expresses concern over sycophants climbing the ladder and
reaching the top to hold the reins and guide the destiny of the police.
The result — a spiritless culture created by incompetent
leaders…….Policing the police involves self-policing. Through the book,
the author has made an honest effort to throw some light on the state of
affairs of Indian police.
THE TIMES OF INDIA
A police officer unravels his profession.
INDIA TODAY
Policing with a cause. Policing The Police by Praveen Kumar.…….delves
deeply on this core aspect of policing and lays bare the Indian Police
setup, sheath by sheath………He interprets police and policing through the
prism of a poet’s sensibilities.
THE HINDUSTAN TIMES
“The woman or man who is a poet, or fiction writer, or playwright, or all of these, is engaged constantly in a jazz ballet of vocabularies, passions, genders, histories, perspectives, death, love, and life. The music of revelation announces itself to
“The woman or man who is a poet, or fiction writer, or playwright, or all of these, is engaged constantly in a jazz ballet of vocabularies, passions, genders, histories, perspectives, death, love, and life. The music of revelation announces itself to
Still Living on my Feet is the follow up to Tichaona Chinyelu’s first book, In the Whirlwind, which was rooted in a sense of hard-hitting revolutionary black love. However, in this sophomore effort, Tichaona brings the revolutionary essence from deep
