-K Radhakumar
The sun has set
The evening primroses have opened
And the evening star is seen in the western sky.
My heart knocks wildly.
The west of my life –
It has become a reality.
I have read about the prairies
The American and Canadian prairies
In my schooldays.
Big Ben!
The ruins of Babylon
Of ancient Mesopotamia!
The bazaars of Samarkand!
An evening in Paris –
Why have I no time to go shopping
Hand in hand with my wife
Before we leave our homeland
For either heaven or hell.
I don’t live here.
I’m just visiting.
The call of the New World!
Until now I’ve never been to New York
And the darkling evening cries
‘You haven’t lived’.
The world has become one place
And the different places are not dots
On the surface of globe.
My wife worries herself sick
About my high blood pressure
And blood sugar level.
Birth and death
Are they friends of mine
Or are they everybody’s birthright?
Birth, growth, ageing process and decay –
These are the moments of truth
In the normal course of events called life.
There’s no sense
In worrying about birth and death.
There’s a lot of sense
In making the words
Live before you die
A philosophy, a way of life.
In doing so
I know what I was born for
And also know why I am dying.
Who says travelling is a fool’s paradise?
No. It’s not.
The world is your oyster.
Rise and rise early
To enjoy the dawn chorus.