LILY SWARN

 

 

Transitioning Through Life

 

O Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter

Robed and carrying a sheaf of grain

Did you unfold the mysteries of spring

During your sojourn in the underworld

 

O Soaring Eagle, you courageous one

Plucking your own feathers and talons

Shattering your own beak to reemerge

As a better version of yourself

 

O Ouroboros, you emblem of infinity

The divine cycle of death and rebirth

Are you the flaming Phoenix shaking off its ashes

Or the Lotus leading me from sin to salvation

A circular curve from a tangent alignment

A Mandala taking us to an exalted state

 

I have waded through life’s catastrophic whirlpools

Battled with eddies of agony and bliss

I have heard the music of the Anhad Naad

Each daffodil, crocus and Lily of the valley

Rejoicing at the earth’s power to reinvent itself

Why did I cry with falling leaves in Autumn

They knew they would be back with a fresh green hue

For each little seed carried within itself

A cosmos of ethereal promises

 

The preening butterfly knew it’s humble beginnings

As did the saint who came through 84 lakh rebirth cycles

The Dharmachakra emphasising renewal

To those who didn’t learn from the silvery silence

Of the waxing and waning moon

Or the breathtaking vistas of each

Orange dipped coral sunrise and sunset

 

Be the Egyptian Scarab beetle adorned on dead bodies

Resurrection, transformation and growth

Are the Eternal Truth

ਜਨਮ ਜਨਮ ਕਾ ਵਿਛੁੜਿਆ ਮਿਲਿਆ

Janam Janam Kaa Vishhurriaa Miliaa

ਸਾਧ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਤੇ ਸੂਕਾ ਹਰਿਆ ॥

Saadhh Kirapaa Thae Sookaa Hariaa

Copyright Lily Swarn

 

Light and Shadows

 

Accept me with my shadows

Don’t go looking for an insincere, saccharine human

Love my sinister, dark spaces

Just as you would the Amavasya night

Or my midnight black, star-spangled sari

That made you want to sing for me

 

Adore not just my limpid eyes with their worried irises

Find strength to caress my darkest fears and blackest doubts

Let my morbid depressions never trouble you

For they will be followed by the lush luminosity of my laughter

 

Ignite the darkness of your slumbering conscience

Instead of waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel

For those who don’t believe will always find shadows

Those who have faith will see the whole firmament in a blaze of light

Copyright Lily Swarn

 

LILY SWARN

 

LILY SWARN: She is as internationally acclaimed, multilingual poet, novelist, columnist and essayist has authored 10 books in different genres. She is the International Beat Poet Laureate India and a Peace and Humanity Ambassador. Her poetry has been translated into 21 languages and won around 70 awards like Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi award, Global Icon of Peace, Woman of Substance, Frang Bardhi award, Caesar Vallejo award. Married to an army veteran, Lily belongs to Chandigarh having studied in Carmel Convent School, GCG 11 and Panjab University English Department.