Life Lessons With Mani

There is a boy named Mani;
brings he to me, the sweetest honey.
Mani spares time to spend together;
Stories he tells, goes on forever.
Will the rats ever realize? time's no money!

Saravanan
(July 2018, Limerick)

The Impaired Civilization

Once there was a girl, bespectacled.
Nights turn bright when she smiled.
People called her disabled.
Some sympathized, rest hobbled.
She gave two hoots, unconcerned.
The Girl is all fine, others limped.

Saravanan

Poetic Style: Limerick

Waiting for your word!

Thousands of days have passed
Since we shook hands and
Travelled together all this while.

No tragedy has struck me so hard;
Miseries million moved me not, yet
Your killing silences pierces my heart.

Penning new sonnets of suffering,

Plenty of my pens have retired hence;

Resentful of the chap, hapless.

Thousands of nights, passed by.
Since we parted ways, this solitary heart
treaded trails of travails, all this while.

Lapsed are dark nights and cold moons
As I still stay recluse in my room,
Withering away, waiting for your word.

As time turns my hair grey;
And age wrinkles my youth away-
In my funeral, tell your grand son that

Here is a man, who spent all days
Withering away waiting for your word;
That is as buried as my soul in thy heart.

Saravanan

Guardians of Culture

Keep off the grass!
says a warning board.
but the little lilly 
awaits its ardent admirer.

From Plants to trees,

Shrubs and bushes- they're

cropped and trimmed

and axed to align.

Chirping birds sing

charming songs but 

the gates are fastened by 

the guards of the garden.

Keep off the grass!

says a warning board.

but the little lilly

awaits its ardent admirer. 

From children to teachers,

Big boys to small girls - 

there're orders and instruction

crafted to cultural perfection.

Chirping birds sing

charming songs but 

the doors of minds fastened 

by the lords of the land.

Trek through a forest- immerse
Into the wilderness of its wisdom
Immense possibilities exist
Choice is yours, forest or garden?

Saravanan

The Disputed Romance

I look for thee on the sky,
the moon whispers thy secrets.
Stars so engrossed in little gossips,
they stare at me and giggle.

I look for thee on the rainbow,
All its colors fritter away.
Rain drops hit; winds blow,
To set me free from your sway.

You be this, you be that.
Can I keep my eyes shut?
When you, my fair lady!
Move so elegantly as you strut?

Warmth of the Moon, I feel.
White bright circle is not all I see.
Little stories of the stars, I read- to
Look at the canvas is my heed.

Lonely passer-by passes by the river.
He has no intention to fish
In the running rage of a runnel.
He slurps a few water to nourish.

Now tell me, Oh sweet heart!
Need I to fathom
the depth of an ocean
to understand it's passion?

Truth has many colors.
Yours may be yellow.
Mine may be maroon- Yet
it's neither black, not white.

As I turn your book
page after page,
The world awaits
unspoken truth.

As I unwrap the gift of life
one after the other,
The beauty lays bare;
look how I found you in me!

Saravanan.

The Battle Within

After all the running around
for those reserved scholarships

that unpaid bills and

the piling up interests

still stare at you.

Who will but tell

the young generation

That life follows 

no linear equation.

that to work our way upwards 

thy career is no staircase

Semi-starved stomach

raise the rage of the heart-for

The struggle within is real.

Sulking at the office desk-

Where to survive 

is to thrive

join the capitalist 

drive to disaster!

Its competition model 

is to do or die.

Mirror their conscience.

embarass them,You'd.

There is a standard 

for everything.

any different you are; 

a problem hence -Your

unpredictability threatens!.

Success is such a shallow pond.

it lacks the wilderness 

of the river of passion.

Yet, when you walk away from it:

Like a firefly in a dark space

You remain an oddity of sort;

niether here nor there.

Schooling a herd mentality

is disrespect to diversity- Remember!

when the last door is closed

surrounded by smokescreen

one puff at a time- pristine souls

leave unannounced- for

the struggle within is real. 

Lonely nights would tell us how

our fragile spirits are torn

between the eerie silence

of the otherwise noisy world

and the vociferous voice 

from within that is 

otherwise calm and composed

You sleep over things 

that belong to the past;

brood over events yet to surpass.

Do you ever realize? You seek for 

truth that is beyond your bounds;

that truth, if you deserve it

will find its way through.

Saravanan

On the Moral Bankruptcy of Our Times:-

 If you observe closely, the average case in a market-driven society remains that: those who work solely for themselves (self-interest) get the best material benefits (reward) and those who work for their people (selfless) not only get the least benefits (demoralize) but also risk their lives. Did you check the market rate for selling your soul? Do it soon! Society is getting morally bankrupt faster than ever with absolutely no regard for the "moral limits of our markets"(Sandel,M) But why do you care? After all you're a product in the market. 🥂

Saravanan

Bullets of Misery: 

   As a conscious voter in a democratic society, if you do not vote for a compassionate, responsible and competent candidate as your representative- who does not make you believe in an imagined enemy out of your fellowmen -who abstains from drowning you into false promises but can deliver on what a moral and an inclusive leadership calls for- whose subscription to a party or an ideology does not eclipse his or her allegiance to the constitution-then be prepared to face the bullets of misery. When you cast your vote, solely or tacitly to further your interest on caste, religion and business, your society's path to hell is paved with all your dysfunctional votes for bigotry, hatred and despotism. Then the monster of violence (see, Khair,T) is clearly in your drawing room. Let that sink in. 

Not Yours, S