Lily Swarn: Three poems
The Good Earth
Why should we look for a heaven beyond
Tennyson’s brook,gold strewn streams,
aesthetic formations of monsoon clouds,
When the good earth stretches
its lithe toned limbs for us
Each oxygen rich life breath given freely
Each glorious sunrise injecting life in creation
Cereals feeding conglomerations of humanity
Fruits dangling seductively from verdant green
The alarm bells ringing loudly
Hark !It could have been a dirge
Time may be running out on us
A planet raped,abused,lynched ,
Mobbed, destroyed, plundered
Wild animals cowering In fear
Their habitat getting smaller
Air emitting toxins,pollutants
Waters poisonous,cadaver ridden
Pesticides growing inedible food
O save our world dear Lord !
Forgive us our trespasses
Stop us from staining sins
Keep showering your mercy
The Good Earth writhes in pain
Hullabaloo of Life
Amidst all this hullabaloo of striving for happiness
Let’s try and remember
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you “
Isn’t that what we learnt in moral science lessons ?
The Golden Rule which we conveniently forgot!
Creating a new selfish world order
Bizarre,Grabbing ,egocentric
Self absorbed,self seeking ,self serving
Has the world changed its axis
And the moon lost its silver sheen
Are human beings gradually vanishing from the earth
To make way for big headed superior creatures
With smaller hearts like peas instead of fists
With chemicals floating in veins instead of blood plasma
With oversized brains ticking overtime
Planning , plotting , scheming
How to annihilate the rest of the world in order to survive
Have we forgotten that others of our species
Are born of the same love as we are
That we need each other for survival
Isolation may save us from pandemics
But loneliness is more potent than solitary living
You can die with depression too
Let the world enter your periphery at least
Allow yourself to be loved
Give of yourself wholeheartedly
Don’t hold back
Why live a loveless life?
Rather be dead
The World is One
Your freckled pink skin will blend with
my whipped coffee one
Opaque yellow tints highlight rich ebony hues
Carolina blue eyes play with brandy brown snifters
Champagne flutes of amber warmth lock eyes with black beauties
And the world will live as one
Alpine snows bow lovingly towards hairy Tibetan yaks
Kangaroos hop across to nibble at Steppe grasslands green
Tawny eyed snow leopards nudge African tuskers
Dolphins dive deftly with lazily snoozing alligators
Peacocks pirouette alongside red cardinals
And the world will live as one
He won’t pull a gun if a man says Astagfirullah instead of Lord forgive me
Mobs won’t lynch me if I wear a sacred mark on my forehead
She won’t murder if her daughter marries a turbaned gent
Strangely any coloured cap will match any style of beard
And the world will live as one
* Lily Swarn, multilingual poet, author, columnist is a gold medallist and university colour holder; writes with a poignant touch in English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. Her poetry collection, “A Trellis Of Ecstasy was called a veritable delight by The Journal of Commonwealth literature, London. Her novel ,”The Gypsy Trail “was launched by the Governor of Punjab.”Lilies of the Valley “ is her highly appreciated book of essays. Her latest book , “History on My Plate” was recently launched to rave reviews .
She has won 39 International and national awards like the Reuel International Prize for Poetry 2016, Global Poet Encomium Of Peace and Universal Love, Global Icon of Peace, Virtuoso Award, Elizabeth Barrett Browning International Award ,”An Icon "award at Chandigarh Establishment day, Master of Creative Impulse and Sarojini Naidu Award. The coveted "Frang Bardhi "International award, Albania, World Icon of Literature, Pride of India and Amrita Pritam Award, Poetic Star of the World, Peru, Venezuela, Kazakhstan awards .
Lily’s poetry has been translated into 15 European and Asian languages. She is a Peace and Humanity ambassador for institutions in Morocco and Ghana.
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