WHERE CAN POETRY COME FROM ?

Where can poetry come from ?

Mind facing slow desertification, a creeping death,

Advancing age crippling faculties, putting them in bind

Myself feeling lonely and forlorn

There might be a patch of fertile land

Hugging the mind here and there

But who will sow the seed or water the plant

Withered plants strewn all over

Land turning more gravely as days pass by

Who can stop the process or reverse the trend

Man is no god and has to face the inevitable one day.

The child is lucky that way

It too cannot stand erect, nor walk straight,

Falls to the ground each time with bruises all over,

But rescued always with a warm hug by the loving mother

While in bed the child is lulled to sleep with a lullaby

The child hugging mother’s bosom while asleep, its sheet anchor,

The child smiles wandering in a dreamland undisturbed

Producing low musical sounds, its poetry culled from the stellar regions,

But for me it is gloom all over

Desertification spreading, covering pores in the mind;

Is there no balm to restore calm to an agonising soul

And allow it to sprout new seeds of joy and hope ?

“How can poetry come ?” the mind persists

“Give courage, give confidence, give security” beams a voice from inside

Poetry will blossom then, like the triple stream

The mythical Saraswati

Bubbling and bursting, piercing the layers of the earth

To reach the surface

Spreading greenery all over the land.