Siddartha and the Buddha

A full moon night:

Away from his famed palace

in the woods dumb and grim

dwells Siddhartha.

Sees he the three alone:

the sick,

the aged,

and the dead.

Groans he

in fear, grief, and despair.

A full moon light:

Away from dumb and grim woods

in the flaming streets of his kingdom

walks the Buddha.

Sees he the three alone:

the sick,

the aged,

and the dead.

Smiles he

in love, sorrow, and compassion.

RAJAN CHANDERA

WHY?

Why, of all creatures,
Humans alone are born crying?
Why they alone are born
With feet and fists clenched?

Of all creatures
Is humankind deeper and darker?

AT THE AGE OF FIVE

At the age of five
I wanted to be a bird
That soars in the sky
And perches on treetops

But when I saw men
Hound and hunt the birds
I thought it is terrible
To be just a bird.

Then I wanted to be a cobra
That slithers hither, thither
And everywhere.
A cobra that can also stand
On its tail and spread its hood.

But when I saw men
Kill and skin the snakes
I thought it is terrible
To be a cobra or a boa.

Later I thought of being
The wind in the trees
The winding river on the hillside,
The sand on the seashore,
An idol hidden in a temple,
A bible held in the palms,
Alms in the bowl of a beggar,
A scowling owl in the hollow of a willow
And many many things.

Now that I have grown up and up
I only want to be that kid
Who wanted to be some kind of bird
That soars in the sky
And perches on tree tops.

THE NIGHT BUS

The bus at the stop
very late in the morning cools off
in the sun.

The vacant seats
still under the strain of travels
made to and fro.

The window panes
in silent quakes.

The lights all out
the spirit all spent
this phantom of the road
lies for a while

again in the night
to go up the hill
to come down the hill

like Sisyphus of old.

DEAD

Dead
among the dry leaves
a dragonfly

its wings in prayer joined
its head in surrender bent
its tail stiff and feelers numb.

Around it
nothing is a bit changed.

The sun is as bright as ever.

The sky cloudless looks very high and
haughty.
The wind is sprinting from tree to tree
leaving them astir in its wake.

One,two,three..the time passes.
The dragonfly still lies there.

Maybe later the ants will come
to carry it off to the world of the dead

THE POOL AND I

The pool
cool and collected
mirroring the sky blue and clean
turns all muddled
when I step in.

When I step out
the ripples cease
and the sky comes
clean and blue back to the pool
calm and cool.

IMAGES TOO HOMELY

An uneasy calm
prevails on the house

till the sun downs.

Then she returns from her work.

A gentle tap at the door dozing in wait.

He opens the door.
She smiles into his eyes.
He frowns first, then sighs.

The door all awake shuts them inside.

The fridge in the corner pricks up its ears.
The screen of the TV bursts into hues.
The plants on the sills are all upright.

Waving the drapes wind joins.

The lights shine brighter
the air turns warm
as she gently slips into the chair.

An easy peace settles in the home

till the morning breaks.