Hope

The 11th Edition of the Guntur International Poetry Festival was organised at Guntur, AP from September 20 to September 22, 2018. I recited my poem "Hope" which is included in the anthology "Tranquil Muse" edited by Prof Gopichand and Prof Nagasuseela.

Look into the eyes of our countrymen

Look deep within and you will see hope

hope that survived, over 5000 years

hope that couldn’t be erased

by physical or mental invasions, aplenty!

The essence of our cultural ethos

our great civilization- of inclusion and acceptance

is so powerful,  so strong...

that It remains the bedrock

for our people, who never give up hope

for their hope is not built on one man

on one or other faith, or ideology

It is built on a belief in universal love

and  hope in mankind!

Polarization

Has the polarization flu, of all hues,
spread its tentacles, across the globe-
with groups of people, preferring ignorance
not exposed to alternative views, perception
closing their eyes, to create darkness?

Reading only, those newspapers/seeing TV channels
that trumpet one's own views
interacting socially, mostly with
those similar, and shutting out
all contrary opinion,viewpoint...?

No wonder, there is a lot more
hate, suspicion and despair today!

It is easy, to hate someone,
you hardly know...

Choosing a Motto for Living

Living within one's means
the old fashioned dictum
replaced today with the
motto of "Living on credit"-
"beg, borrow or steal" but live!
You only live once! 

Old, they say is gold
every old saying had a meaning
a golden reason-
credit card living add up
before you know it, the legitimate means
fall short of illegitimate needs
or rather nonessential needs

The new motto, maxim for living
drives one to a life of waywardness,
away from one of righteousness,
peace and happiness...

Handling the Seesaw of Life

The life of the guy next door
the average, simple,ordinary person
may seem riddled with cycles of "Hope" & "Despair"
with one endlessly following the other...

yet, perhaps,we can all shorten
the cycle of despair, by dwelling
more and more on "Hope"
and less and less on "Despair"...