PADMAJA IYENGAR-PADDY

 

Music Of The Heart

 

As the music from his flute fills the air,

A gentle calm prevails everywhere.

Leaves move sensuously to the music,

While the flowers bloom in its magic.

 

Birds are spellbound by the melody utter,

They neither twitter nor their wings flutter.

The captivating music draws all into it,

As their senses surrender to it bit by bit.

 

As his flute plays on, imploring her to come,

Her heart beats faster yet her senses go numb

The music from his flute pervades her being,

From her body, she feels her senses fleeing.

 

As the music is able to contain her no more,

With gushing love, she rushes out of the door,

Only to find the exit from her house barricaded

By societal and religious norms that had graded

Her as an upper caste and him as a nobody,

Their love and union regarded by all as lowly.

 

Even if the society and the times were against them,

He hoped someday this caste-rot would surely stem.

With his flute he continued to chant her name,

Praying their love will always remain the same.

 

As he plays the flute, his eyes look for her,

Till he sees her he decided, he will not stir.

Will she ever heed his flute or his heart beats?

Or will he be kept standing forever on his feet?

 

Where Love Has Gone …

 

With love gone

Gone seems life

Life chugs along

 

Along the lines

Lines of fate

Fate none can fight

 

Fight one’s destiny

Destiny is the horizon

Horizon none can reach

 

Reach for the stars

Stars foretell a lot

Lot of life, of love

 

Love seems gone

Gone with it life

Life chugs along

 

Along crisscross paths

Lovers do meet

Meet and then part.

 

Part of life seems gone

Gone with the love

Love that bid goodbye

 

Love, Go Away …

 

Love

Go away

Never come back

For when you’re

Within me

You gnaw at my insides

You pain me

You hurt me

And I am so helpless

 

As much as the one

Whom I love

Lives without me

I too wish to live

Without the one

I love so much

 

So much that

The love I have

For that special one

Gnaws at my insides

Ruptures my routine

Leaves me empty

Leaves me blank

 

Love

Go away

Never come back

For when you’re

Within me

I become your slave

Losing my self

Under your shadow

 

PADMAJA IYENGAR-PADDY

 

PADMAJA IYENGAR-PADDY formerly a senior banker and an urban governance consultant, is currently President, Connecting Across Borders (CAB), and Vice President of Poetry India International (PII). Her poetry collection “P-EN-CHANTS” has been recognized by the India Book of Records for never-before-attempted movie reviews and management topics in rhyming poetry.  Paddy’s poems, articles and short stories (some of them prize winners) are published in various anthologies, newspapers, e-zines and print journals. A recipient of several awards, Paddy has compiled and edited 6 international multilingual poetry anthologies of which “Amaravati Poetic Prism” 2016 to 2019 have been successively recognized by the Limca Book of Records as “Poetry Anthology in Most Languages”. “P-EN-CHANTS…Again” is Paddy’s recently published poetry collection.