LILY SWARN

 

Beyond

 

Traversing the bloody corridors of my heart

I crossed over to a land far beyond

Where the sheep were quenching their thirst along with the lions

No one was questioning my race

Everyone thought brown skin was attractive

And my caste had no effect on my well being

The sunshine was mellow

Inebriating was the scent of Chameli

Creeping aggressively over my perplexed flesh and bones

You should meet me there, where no walls exist

Where the green of the moss mingles with the brown of my eyes

And the tremors of your lips are soothed by the breeze

I will be waiting with your favourite flower

Just you wait and see

 

Maya

 

When the earth totters precariously on its axis

And the bold full moon gazes enraptured

At the slaving minions under her hypnotic spell

A wailing sound rips achingly out of the

Wounded bamboo of the flute

It wakes the deathly cold souls in oblivious slumber

And shakes them out of their ignorant stupor

Plaintive poignant prayers for succor

From the octopus tentacles of Maya 

The witch that knows Wicca chants

Keeping one tethered like an ageing horse

Mooning around in his white fenced paddock

Till the dreaded day of Qayamat

 

A Forbidden Kiss

 

Love grows on my fanciful earth

Like crocus blooms in spring

Hesitant at first, demure and shy

 

Soon it grows valiant, almost shameless

It doesn’t need your day dear St Valentine

 

It’s force is like an avalanche in the Himalayas some days

You need to keep out of its destructive path

 

My love is as swift as the California fires next

It’s flames light up your latent desires in clear amber light

 

My love is like the rivers of Punjab now

Making the wheat grains plump with passion

Sweetening the red carrots ready for a succulent gajrela

 

My love is a marble slab in the precincts of Golden Temple

Divine like the prayer beads which you keep rotating on your fingers

 

Will you come someday to hazard a forbidden kiss?

Even if it means an afterlife in the horrors of hell?

 

LILY SWARN

 

LILY SWARN: Internationally acclaimed, multilingual poet, author, columnist, gold medalist, university colour holder, radio show host, Peace and Humanity Ambassador is from Chandigarh (U.T) . Books-A Trellis of Ecstasy, The Gypsy Trail, Lilies of the Valley, History on My Plate Rippling Moonbeams, Yeh Na Thi Hamaari Qismat, (urdu)A Passionate Affair with Trees. She won over 70 international and national awards like Reuel International Prize for Poetry, Global Icon of Peace, Sahitya Rattan Award, Gujarat Sahitya Akademi Award, 2020, 2021 Order of Shakespeare Medal. Featured in international anthologies and magazines. Lily’s poetry has been translated into over 21 languages. Best Indian Author Award 2021 ‘for History on my Plate, Lily is the recipient of Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi Award for Rippling Moonbeams. Lily has been recently appointed ambassador of World Union of Writers and Artistes from Portugal. The Global Leaders Alliance conferred Diploma of Merit on her. “For her remarkable career in the fields of letters and culture generating an intangible heritage for future generations”