VIRULENT

 

VIRULENT

 

 

Awaken the heart well influence,

Paradise on Earth allures intense,

The verdures and landscape song,

Drunken mind captive lifelong, (1)

 

The picturesque river, mountain,

Kissing horizons valleys fountain,

Rural farmlands, granaries swell,

Bountiful soil sacred patriot hail, (2)

 

Realized a billion soul hunger met,

Prosperity significant living great,

Affluent, poverty line uplifted best,

Growing population happy attest, (3)

 

Mud houses or paddy straw roofs,

Concrete towers, highways proofs,

Touching skyline glass tower tall,

Reflect brilliant sunlight enthrall, (4)

 

Once lived poor lives yet suffered,

A curse for human poverty offered,

Sickness, illiteracy, savage state,

Jobless, landless, homeless, waste, (5)

 

Cries vibrated silent night horror,

The untimely death of a child or mother,

Life sunken, shrunken eyes, blank,

Yester years voter promise prank, (6)

 

List food, house, cloth, employment,

Election date over lo temperament,

Forgotten promise exploiting country,

Democracy crippled sign no entry, (7)

 

Changed miraculously city, village,

Prosperous, joyous, peaceful craze,

Disbelieve, how possibly changed,

Rejected by people, plot, avenged, (viii)

 

Revenge in heart, spitting venom,

Toxic worm instilled time inform,

Fratricidal war engineered, angry,

Lost power, lost favor, vote, hungry, (9)

 

Burning streets looted shops, sadly,

Cruelty inhabits life, acting madly,

Dividing yet united as never before,

Cohesion, fraternity pricks torture, (10)

 

Mandates country has seen twice,

Strengthened hard work, sacrifice,

Rejected fraudsters replace honest,

Country progress, selfless behest, (11)

 

One nation, one rule, one boundary,

Dismantle bulldozed walls cursory,

Underworld trampled if gun silent,

Safety and security stable resilient, (12)

 

The growing strength, womanhood,

Astonishing growth life withstood,

Skilled battle-ready fighter pilots,

Female portrait educated ballots, (13)

 

President, misters, leader, female,

Harmonistic male chauvinism fail,

The golden period erased slavery,

Centuries of colonial rule savagery, (14)

 

Millennium invaders looted, burned,

Ancient past charred, liberty earned,

Still lurks in mind treason virulent,

Shadowy figures pen in guise, silent, (15)

 

The country still fears dark blind alleys,

Enemies wait to attack virulent parleys. (16)

 

Pen: Bijayananda Mishra

Title of Poem: Virulent

Themes: Fifth columnist viral lurks

Written: 20th August 2023, Cuttack

@ Copywrite 

 

VENERABLE

 

VENERABLE

 

 

Confess an inglorious past now,

Reluctant to open his heart vow,

Knows the world around bright,

Education gave him an insight, (1)

 

Underneath darkness existence, 

His cursed teenage hurt intense,

Poverty less self-chosen happens,

Sorrows behind hunger sharpen, (2)

 

Assume razor-sharp knife thirst,

Reject to drink water, hunt past,

Thirsts were lost parent street child,

Never could know his past wild, (3)

 

Alas, parents forgot him on the street,

Collected by city authority greet,

Feed him well-offered clothes, love,

His life had no identity less solve, (4)

 

Studied well free schooling dwell,

Merit the gift of a cruel fate hail,

Succeeded in career scholarship,

Charity from senior person leap, (5)

 

The gown gold medal university,

Called this person uncle sanity,

Prompting him to study higher,

Praised the performance assure, (6)

 

Money no concern uncle provide,

His top post, police officer pride,

Never asked for his gratitude money,

Uncle loved him, distance funny, (7)

 

Fewer uncles accept credits, assure,

He acted as an umbrella secure,

Pointedly advised for a marriage,

He remembered teenage mirage, (viii)

 

Sobbed not few tears, he smiled,

God stole his parent's lives mild,

The orphanage, then uncle restored,

Dreams he less dared procured, (9)

 

No relatives, father, mother, sis,

No brother lo uncle prefers to kiss,

Never told, like his son, openly,

His fatherly protection solemnly, (10)

 

Confess the inglorious past well,

Left on a street, today honor fuel,

The ambit of emotion ruptured duet,

His wife, children, and life promulgate, (11)

 

God is not fate merciless, beacon,

Time heals wounds, life reckon,

Discover humanity exists visible,

Cruelty, poverty, illiteracy simple, (12)

 

Guesses soul search, frequent,

Where are his parents, relevant,

Pray against his raw wound little,

May Lord help him trace belittle, (13)

 

Their blood flows in his vein raw,

Found his mother's embrace, saw,

Guess his mother, undone indeed,

Must be crying a lot curse deed, (14)

 

Father, if ashamed, less forgiven,

Whether he searched him given,

A police officer has seen a couple,

Poverty social restriction topple, (15)

 

Inter-caste, interfaith conflicts,

The child before a marriage inflicts,

Unemployment insolvency hunt,

Unwanted child shameful taunt, (16)

 

His police officer training, strong,

Forgave his parents, deeds wrong,

No more pittance askance love,

Search his venerable link resolve. (17)

 

Pen: Bijayananda Mishra

Title of Poem: Venerable

Themes: Precious parents

Written: 19th August 2023, Cuttack

@ Copywrite

 

 

HEARTH

 

HEARTH

 

 

Eulogize the poor man's hearth,

Incomparable, won eons, earth,

Time changes everything cruelly,

Erase spectacularly extensively, (1)

 

Disappear, nothing permanent,

Inventions appear as instruments,

Flooded home craze modernity,

Hearth inconspicuous a reality, (2)

 

Firewood earthen hearth duet,

Stood millennia boiling create,

Added earthen pots sun-baked,

Are relevant to kitchen racked (3)

 

Home food rice dal vegetable fry,

Villages procure from fields rely on,

The river bends beside a village,

Variety of fish turns curry craze, (4)

 

Roasted potato and vegetables,

Charcoal burns tastes, enables,

The pillowing smoke intoxicates,

Spreading aroma spices, detects, (5)

 

Cow in the backyard, life remember,

The oven was the earthen hearth, user,

Cheese, butter, ghee, and cakes,

Milk home produced, makes, (6)

 

It was seven decades ago to wait,

Still in a village home perfect,

The sweet taste is unique,

Lingered still today feel piqué, (7)

 

The village produces oils varieties, 

Pure little adulterated facilities,

Simple folks lack amenities,

Unthinkable urban life reality, (viii)

 

Grew but accustomed time recognize,

The difference between a city surprise,

The gas burner, cooking gas,

Electric oven microwave alas, (9)

 

Thousands are paid costly, yet,

No smoke automatic estimate,

In a minute, prepare dishes well,

The charm of hearth withstood, (10)

 

Incomparable taste purity well,

Not packaged ingredients fail,

Tasty leaves or fresh vegetables,

Collected fish from river treble, (11)

 

No way ice-packed fish or meat,

The village produce and a hearth fit,

Homemade spices and aromatic,

Reminded a past teenage, exotic, (12)

 

Village women, if busy cooking,

Attract homemade cakes ring,

Life changed to city life, honestly,

Opportunity for work earnestly, (13)

 

The left village, the hearth got silent,

Vanished the dreamy lives vent,

Missed warmth of hearth recall,

Cold season lo burning charcoal, (14)

 

Sit around in a group of siblings tight,

Mustard oil, fried rice, onion, light,

The gossip endlessly hunts memory,

Missed our hearth n warmth sorry... (15)

 

Pen: Bijayananda Mishra

Title of Poem: Hearth

Themes: Village cooking places alluring

Written: 18th August 2023, Cuttack

@ Copywrite

    

BENUMBED

 

BENUMBED

 

There was a knock opened the door,

A postman in front money order,

She signed yes and received the cash,

Only a thousand notes she counted,

Closed the door and sat on the bed,

Tearful lost in thought for an hour,

She was without food for a few days,

Got respite to pay for groceries,

For weeks she bought couldn't pay,

The shop owner was kind enough,

But that was the end of goods on loan,

There is not a morsel of food, rice,

Paid back the money to buy a few,

Essential items, ration for weeks,

Small house, two rooms her home,

End of a street blind alley narrow,

She lives alone with her son abroad

Her husband met an accident,

Couldn't survive shattered her,

Only earning member wife and son,

Left suddenly mourned family,

She worked as a domestic servant,

Stitching lady's garments at home,

Her son studied at school passed,

Scholarship and study loans helped,

Completed higher education degree,

Overseas career invited him and job,

He stays abroad for years,

Left his mother alone no contact,

The lady is sick no more can work,

Meager money from stitching managed,

Medicine costs bending her back,

Failed to contact her son no reply,

Settled to her plight, clueless lonely,

Poverty disconnected her from rest,

She had in-laws, her brothers wealthy,

But life checkmated her links, sadly,

Her life is a forgotten world separated,

The dark lane neighbors feel pity,

Provide compassionate help limit,

Surprisingly brittle fate lo fractured,

Her son she lost contact with presumed,

That he is lost to her too, fate plays,

The white patches on black hair,

Eyes moist, heavy eyebrows, face pale,

Tender frame weak and sick often,

Knew her life at fag end of the story,

Knew the end feared to arrive abruptly,

She may collapse on the ground,

Reluctant to pray Lord smiles a bit,

Press her lips with your teeth, hold her,

Rejected crying shedding tears,

She has done her duty for the child,

The remnant of her beloved living,

Secured, she served her husband,

May his soul be happy, his son stable,

Wait to quit the Blind Alley unable,

Socked to get a money order surprised,

Confused puzzling his son remembers,

Remember his mother in the world,

Living still hand to mouth lost hope,

Can no way contact him, she thought,

Felt tears allowed to flow, cried a little,

It happened, and she knew it would happen,

Discovered in a hospital bed critical,

She fell, got a head injury, fortunate,

Neighbors helped to hospital kindly,

Her son is back home with family,

Returned and accepted a job here,

He took his mother home, relieved,

Benumbed his mother looking,

Her hopes were lost, but she wanted to live... 

 

Pen: Bijayananda Mishra

Title of Poem: Benumbed 

Themes: Hops lost a blind alley fades

Written: 17th August 2023, Cuttack

@ Copywrite