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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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