Poem of the day-22: “MUSIC: AN ODE" by A.C.Swinburne

I
Was it light that spake from the darkness, or music that shone from the word,
When the night was enkindled with sound of the sun or the first-born bird?
Souls enthralled and entrammelled in bondage of seasons that fall and rise,
Bound fast round with the fetters of flesh, and blinded with light that dies,
Lived not surely till music spake, and the spirit of life was heard.

II
Music, sister of sunrise, and herald of life to be,
Smiled as dawn on the spirit of man, and the thrall was free.
Slave of nature and serf of time, the bondman of life and death,
Dumb with passionless patience that breathed but forlorn and reluctant breath,
Heard, beheld, and his soul made answer, and communed aloud with the sea.

III
Morning spake, and he heard: and the passionate silent noon
Kept for him not silence: and soft from the mounting moon
Fell the sound of her splendour, heard as dawn's in the breathless night,
Not of men but of birds whose note bade man's soul quicken and leap to light:And the song of it spake, and the light and the darkness of earth were as chords in tune.

Wikipedia article on "A.C.SWINBURNE":
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Poem of the day-21: “PALANQUIN BEARERS by Sarojini Naidu”"

LIGHTLY, O lightly we bear her along,
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song;
She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream,
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream.
Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.
Softly, O softly we bear her along,
She hangs like a star in the dew of our song;
She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide,
She falls like a tear from the eyes of a bride.
Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.

Wikipedia article on "SAROJINI NAIDU":
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"Mahasakthi" by Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi

In the Light of the Moon I saw her!
And surrendered to Her in refuge.
All the senses I have conquered
And killed all desire of self.

To work without caring for fruit
And to do Bhakti, she taught me;
Freed of worry she did make me,
And all my suffering she did nip.

She did make the light of the stars.
And too the winds that blow;
She did make the Space on high,
And filled our hearts with Joy - Praise Be!

(Translated from Tamil to English by Professor S.G.Seshadri, former Principal, Rajah Serfoji Government College, Thanjavur)

Wikipedia article on "Subramaniya Bharathi":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subramanya_Bharathi

Grateful thanks to Professor S.G.Seshadri and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Shakespeare's Sonnets-1:

When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night,
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls all silvered o'er with white:
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard:
Then of thy beauty do I question make
That thou among the wastes of time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake,
And die as fast as they see others grow,
And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
Save breed to brave him, when he takes thee hence.

Wikipedia articles on "WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE" and "SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_Sonnets

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Poem of the day-20: "Cosmic Consciousness by Sri Aurobindo"

I have wrapped the wide world in my wider self
And Time and Space my spirit's seeing are.
I am the god and demon, ghost and elf,
I am the wind's speed and the blazing star.

All Nature is the nursling of my care,
I am its struggle and the eternal rest;
The world's joy thrilling runs through me, I bear
The sorrow of millions in my lonely breast.

I have learned a close identity with all,
Yet am by nothing bound that I become;
Carrying in me the universe's call
I mount to my imperishable home.

I pass beyond Time and life on measureless wings,
Yet still am one with born and unborn things.

Wikipedia article on "Sri AUROBINDO:":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurobindo

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The Song of Myself - Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi

I'm all the birds that fly in the sky;
I'm all the beasts that roam the earth;
I'm all the trees that grow in the wood;
I'm the wind, the rain and the sea.

I'm all the stars that shine on high;
I'm the vast expanse of widening space;
I'm all the worms that crawl on earth;
I'm all the life in the vasty deep!

All the poetry of Kamban am I;
And all the figures that artists draw;
The halls and bowers men wonder at
And all the beauteous towers amI.

In the music melodious of maidens I am;
And all the teeming pleasures I am;
I'm all the lies of the unworthy base;
I'm all the misery that endurance tests.

Master I am of a million mantras;
And Essence I am of all that moves;
Maker I am of a million tantras;
And He that proclaimed the Vedic Shastras.

I'm He that created the Universes all;
And made them revolve in their orbits true,
Unswerving a bit from their appointed paths;
I'm all the beneficent bands of power;
I'm the Cause and End of all!

I'm He that works the lie called 'I',
And swims through Wisdom's flaming sky;
I'm the Intelligence shining bright,
Oned with all, as the Primal Light!

Translated from Tamil to English by Prof.K.G.Seshadri, Former Principal, Rajah Serfoji Govt College, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India.

"Sakthi and Other Poems"
Poems of Subramania Bharathi -
Translated by Prof K G Seshadri
Published by T.R.N.Memorail Library and Publications
Thanjavur

Nellaiappan's Poems-1: "Thanksgiving"

Thanks Giving

I want to thank many people-
A few are not alive today;
Whereabouts of some not known;
Don’t even know the names of one or two.

Some seen only in books;
Many only heard about;
Yet want to thank them all,
For, I am what I am because of them.

Mother, for imbibing gentleness in me;
Father, for imparting the art of reasoning;
Elder brother, for demonstrating ethics and values;
Younger brother, for being my first friend.

Tamil teacher, for inculcating a love for languages;
Sanskrit master, for my English vocabulary;
Lord Alagappa, for my college education;
My old secondhand cycle, for the trips to and fro.

Friend Annamalai -
For introducing Lin Yutang and Dale Carnegie
And for chiseling some thing inside me

Penfriend Sala –
Deserves a handshake
Though faded away now
Like a passing cloud;
For filling a vacuum those days
When the very thought of a friend
in the opposite sex was exciting.
Author Naa.Paa. -
for molding my character;
Kalki -
for the inspiration to write in Tamil;
How one can forget Poorani and Aravindan,
Vanthiathevan challenging Alwarkkadiyan?

Given an opportunity to re-live,
Jeyakanthan’s and Balakumaran’s
Every word I shall read and re-read,
And a red salute to my Vairamuthu.

Who could match Valampuri John?
Voracious reader, Unique orator.
Though political misjudgments
Overshadow his fame;
I bow my head for whatever I learnt from him.

My friends-
Gentle Venkatachalam, busy Chandran,
Innocent Ramanathan and turbulent Mohan
everyone is important in their own way
either one’s company would wipe worries away.

At the career front
Many deserve my thanks -
From some I learnt what to do and how
From some others what not to do and why
Making me a manager and a trainer.

I still keep on learning-
For there is no end to learning;
As Tamil sage-poet would say
What we have learnt is only a handful
And what we have to is like the Universe.

At the home front -
My Kannamma for putting up
With my idiosyncrasies and shortcomings;
My beloved daughters for making
Life meaningful and worth living;
And for all the three of them
For being the driving force behind me.

I surrender at His holy feet
Myself and all that He has given me.
No regrets and no complaints;
I only wonder about His plans for me.