Poems published in October 2021

Islands in the Stream

a poem by Christuraj Alex

Had I not found joy on this Island, my maternal home?
Searching and finding inner peace, once, far-far did I roam!

Like the sun and the moon and the stars, and cosmos carefree,
Slept on shores; got sung lullabies by the waves of the sea!

Lo! Like the howl of a wolf or some chaste deer in great pain,
Or the beating of the sea, I hear cries again, again!

Being a seeker around the seas and learn wisdom vast,
I’ve flamed my spirit within, and stood as firm as a mast!

Island serene! Silent! Seas, like fancies of heart, uproar!
Pains of deaths of sons, buds yet to bloom, taunt me all the more!

Oh, dear, my elder chick! Dared to face bullets in the war!
Like an angel, you fly, in my heart’s highest heavens, far!

Wrecks of my ship of life I bear; my pains, as parrots, paint,
In knell-like gloomy minutes too, I never in fear faint!

My yearnings, like the wide-open sea and islands depthless,
Little feelings break like waves soothing deathlessly restless!

Life, in lands or seas or islands, though like rough battlefields,
Morals marred! Deaths and martyrdoms won! Yet, virtues wear shields!

Beyond love, law, and beauty so marvelous sights I see,
Amidst fear of death and decay, life seems gleefully free!