A few from the collections...

I had been reading Vikram Seth's collected poems recently. Although I admit this is my first encounter with his writings I did like going through some of his works. In this post, I am mentioning some of his octates and quatrains. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I do. By the way, this is certainly not exhaustive list, there are some more, but i will try and keep my post shorter. :)

GOD'S LOVE

God loves us all, I'm pleased to say -
Or those who love him anyway -
Or those who love him and are good.
Or so they say. Or so he should.

CONDITION

I have to speak - I must - I should - I ought...
I'd tell you how much I love you if I thought
The world would end tomorrow afternoon.
But short of that... well, it might be too soon.

INTERPRETATION

Somewhere within your loving look I sense,
Without least intention to deceive,
Without suspicion, without evidence,
Somewhere within your heart the heart to leave.

PASSAGE

Your eyes, my understanding, all will rot;
The trees we see, the books we read, will go;
The way that we use words, as like as not,
And we are fortunate that this is so.

VOICES

Voices in my head,
Chanting, 'Kisses. Bread.
Prove yourself. Fight. Shove.
Learn. Earn. Look for love,'

Drown a leser voice.
Silent now of choice;
'Breathe in peace, and be
Still, for once, like me.'

ALL YOU WHO SLEEP TONIGHT

All you who sleep tonight
Far from the onces you love,
No habd to left or right,
And emptiness above -

Know that you aren't alone.
The whole world shares your tears,
Some for two nights or one,
And some for all their years.

LAST NIGHT
(Translated from the urdu of Faiz Ahmed Faiz)

Last night your faded memory came to me
As in the wilderness spring comes quietly,
As, slowly, in the deser moves the breeze,
As, to a sick men, without cause, comes peace.

DISTRESSFUL HOMONYMS

Since for me now you have no warmth to spare
I sense I must adopt a sane and spare

Philosophy to ease a restless state
Fuelled by this uncaring. It will state

A very meagre truth: love, like the rest
Of our emotions, sometimes needs a rest.

Happiness, too, no doubt; and so, why even
Hope that the course of true love' could run even?

(Notice the rhyming words above!!!)

PROTOCOLS

What can I say to you? How can I now retract
All that that fool, my voice has spoken -
Now that the facts are plain, the placid surface cracked,
The protocols of friendship broken?

I cannot walk by day as now I walk by dawn
Past the still house where you lie sleeping
May the sun burn away these footprints on the lawn
And hold you in its warmth and keeping.

ACROSS

Across the miles I wish you well.
May nothing haunt your heart but sleep.
May you not sense what I don't tell
may you not dream, or doubt, or weep.

May what my pen this peaceless day
Writes on this page not reach your view
Till its deferred print lets you say
It speaks to someone else than you.


Each of them is complete in itself. I couldn't finding anything to add or comment. Just read and think it over. :)