Log and Speck

My left hand moved swiftly to remove
the log in my left eye, sitting there
obstructing my vision of the globe
leading to an erroneous measure!

But my right did travel much more swift
to prevent that left arm serving good
thwarting the removal of wood
to enhance my vision of planet!

My left eye joined the protest of right
complaining saw dust in my neighbour’s
demanding that my left hand too joins
the right to remove my neighbour’s speck!

Henry Victor 23.09.2003

Persistent Protest

Neatly made walking trails
along the winding river are marked
by mutual protest, natures’s to human encroachment
and human doggedness to nature’s subversive-ness
reminding me of the bleeding of the eternal enemies
the coiling cobra and the menacing mongoose

At the end, who will triumph
in that inhuman battle against nature
to enhance egotistical human culture

Silently I stay and survey, singing simultaneously
songs of miserable melancholy
and ecstatic exultation

Henry Victor 18.06.2003

Untitled

Bless my little note pad
Oh my dear Lord
May this inspire me
And lead me
Into your city
Where I pity
Not myself but rejoice
In your grace that is my choice!

Henry Victor 13.08.2004

My Green Wheelbarrow

I remember carrying on head
and then on shoulders
sometimes with both hands
sand for building and cow dung
raw for holding dust and bricks
dry for growing beans and drumsticks!

I remember borrowing
for that very same purpose
an old wheelbarrow
from a neighbour
sometimes from my brother
with it hearing more grumbling!

I remember the wheelbarrow, green
new, and my own
the much sand and cow dung
it carried for me
to keep at bay all puddle
and keep it greener with no complaint!

Henry Victor 12.09.2004

Forbidden Fruit

Are you that donkey?
A writer!
Then better bray
nothing but madness

Then, and only then
you will contribute
towards an understanding
that litter, that self in fetter

Then, someone there will dare
to celebrate
that forbidden fruit
your wisdom saying: “awesome”!

Henry Victor 28.10.2004

More Ramblings of Alice!

Walking in the woods
thinking
concepts and words
beyond a secured civility
with questions untamed
and comments wild
I talk, and talk
as I walk
overcoming my fear
of the other
and my own nervousness
of the unknown
discovering only one:

In woods, always
there are two ways
two signs that point to the same:

One said:
“Tweedledum’s House”

The other read:
“To the House of Tweedledee”

Henry Victor 04.12.2004

Alice’s Ramblings!

Just a gnat, yet
you make them bigger
with a big name: butterfly
bread-and-butter-fly
horse fly
and rocking-horse fly
dragonfly
and snapdragon fly

If they were to drop the name
will they be smaller?
I wonder
as I wander
through this forest
and listen to the buzzing of gnats
that whine over
their lack of dominion
despite their names so superior

My name
the best
the sweetest
the only, I know
a human -
at which all run like a fawn

Without that name
I’m nothing!

Henry Victor 04.12.2004

Cobras

Pretty young cobra, just out of shell
With that cute hood, the unique stamp
Marked with an omega, or some read
On that hat, that unrelenting Om!

I walked too close with that kerosene can
In mind not harm but desire to own
But now I see hissing, so sudden
Cobras, diverse color, in dozen

From that very empty sandy ant hill
Moving into protect the small snake
I took a step behind, me to wake
And think of that strange dreaming still

Henry Victor 15.07.2003

Note: Photograph provided by Gitanjali Victor

Butterfly

Fluttering butter-
Fly that I saw in daylight
Yet I saw not self

Henry Victor 11.04.2003

Greatest Orator!

Cowardly cowboy, I saw, binding hand
of the desert Bedouin masculine man
with the help of his gutless allies
fastening iron arms with filthy sanctions

Then from close range, and guided missiles
shooting right in chest of the courageous
bare-fisted hero, while the murderous
hand, for years shivered, quivered and shook

Spineless weakling then declared himself
the super-power of global town
reminding me: “In world of the dumb
stutterer is the greatest orator”

Henry Victor 14.04.2003

Walking With Ease

More I anxiously think of my pelt wallet
I realize I’m constantly pushed into a closet
Less my father went for his leather purse
I remember that he walked with greater ease

Henry Victor 28.09.2003

Work the Faith

You have been set free
To set others free
Faith is not
A spectator sport
Learn a simple truth
Share it
Discover your gift
And release it
Hook up
On a project
Not as the boss
But as a partner
Give your ear
Not your tongue
To talk her story
Look for opportunities
And meet the needs
Others passed
By the other side

Henry Victor 17.01.2003

That Distant Star

He was like that gliding eagle high above
far, farther away from frenzied flock
of little stupid sparrows fretting -
sweating small stuff and silly substance!

I saw him that lonely snowy owl
far apart from flying frightened flock
but with telescopical eyes and night vision
getting rid of rodents that rot life!

He is that singular prophetic poet
singing not for juvenile strollers
neither dancing for cheap applauses
shinning fearless like that distant star!

Henry Victor 02.04.2003

Consecrated Cemetery

Your holy temple you loaned me to carry
I have transformed into a cemetery to bury
turkey, chicken, cow, pig, lamb and many
bird and animal carcass

Your sacred space you cherished
is, now, stinking with many stench
while flies of many kinds hover and buzz

polluting the fragrant air disturbing

your rhythmic music that heals

my hurt heart and the swollen silly soul

Henry Victor 10.11.2003

Chemistry Controls!

Unlike the orang-utan, my physical needs
To eat, drink, and have sex
Earlier I thought, was controlled
By my highly evolved metaphysical will
Being watched over by a guardian angel
Spying also my activities in that secret space

But after much struggle and constant defeat
I discover, very much to my relief
I cannot alter my chemistry that controls
And the present Master Chemist
Is that all-inclusive Merciful Ruler
Who leaves no space for another monster!

Henry Victor 26.10.2003

I Beg!

Returning to that very source of all beings
I beg from that foundation of my existence

For a single ray of light in the sun
That I may never be confounded in confusion

For a piece of cool calmness of the moon
that I may never loose my serenity

For a sparkle of that unceasing dance of the fire
that I may never fail to warm another soul

For a moment in that swiftness of the lightning
that I may never procrastinate my responsibility

For a bit of gentleness of that gentle breeze
that I may not snuff out a dream of a fragile human

For a morsel of depth of the ocean
that I may not bear a pharisaic hypocrisy, superficiality

For a scrap of firmness of the rock
that in me others may discover a security

For a crumb of stability of the mother earth
that I may be found dependable as I journey the globe

Henry Victor 01.12.2003

true credibility

rock is my celebrity

by her refusal to join

the rat race

leading to an accrual

an immoral increase

eating the inner soul

the true individual

and human culture

rock, an icon

i carved for my spirituality

leading to a firm non-conformist spirit

within

living beyond a craving

to receive, or give

boosting ego

absent in a godly soul

rock, then, inspires

my true credibility

emerging from the strength of self

neither to absorb

nor to react

but sit, simply wait

letting praise go

and curse pass-by  

henry victor 05.12.2003

Greater Inspiration!

Energy in the libido
gets activated to do
like an hiss of a cobra
when eyes by chance
at a changing of costume, gaze
mostly the opposite gender
sparking off either
a poetic lead
or, an urge to proceed
confirming the age old fact
that not in a full exposure
but from half nakedness
the spirit emerges to inspire!

Henry Victor 08.12.2003

Happiness I See

I am angry
and I see all
as a blank wall

I begin to stare
placing words on paper
in front of me

And now

happiness I see

Henry Victor 27.11.2003

i worked my creed

at thirteen i was an expert

in using a hoe, a mann-vetty
we called it then!

with my brothers

i joined my dad digging our well
mom too joining us very cheerful!

i discovered also the way to use a pickaxe

that we took frequently to the blacksmith
who dipped in fire before beating it well!

i learnt the art to split

the wood with an axe
to bring firewood to cook!

then my palm was hard

while my heart and mind
became firm to run our farm!

these lessons i had

and experiences i accumulated
moulded my creed to make it tough!

 

henry victor 05.12.2003

A Defence!

Barren and empty
Covered with wit and noise
The shell that house like a tortoise
To pull self in
When someone for wisdom look in
My direction!

Putting head out
Just for moments to tell
My greatness, and yell
Neighbour’s smallness
Calling it orthodoxy, a defence
For my master’s silence!

Henry Victor 05.12.2003

The Dead!

I pity my younger brother died
first, at his prime youth
after living a stormy life
in a world that he saw as too wild!

I love my mother, died
before her time was right
seeing less of a loving company
in a world that she saw as too cold!

I respect my father, died
living a full fourscore years
enjoying with joy both good and evil
in a world which the victor is the bold!

Henry Victor 30.11.2003

Power of Powerlessness

I quest after that power
that puts Jesus of Nazareth
not among the earthly leaders
enthroned by the history of humanity!

I quest after that power
that Son of Mary was clothed
while freely feeling the skin
the leper wore while walking the street!

I quest after that power
that the Galilean carpenter
carried as his trusted tool
chiselling the decaying logs of Palestine!

I quest after that power
that was in the Prince of Peace
even when that final betrayal
arrived in haste through that trusted friend!

I quest after that power
lasting only on the loin cloth
the Son of Man wore
as he gave up his ghost at the gallows!

Henry Victor 21.12.2003

An Immigrant’s Prayer!

I’m uprooted
disconnected from soil
waiting for you
the Master Gardner
to replant
or, instruct your assistant
to tenderly pot
that I may grow to bloom
and bring into being a fruit
or, at least
grow up just with leaves
to add a little green
to your garden that repair
brokenness of big and small
and announce your grandeur

Henry Victor 12.12.2003

desert rock

my wrinkled heart like the desert rock
is indifferent to the passers by
neither the scorching sun of the day
nor the coldest wind leaves a mark

my skinny frame desires none, needing

no one to admire, or to consider
for a keep sake for a shorter, or
a longer care for her safekeeping

my matured mind needs no props, support

from dogma, or assurance with cultic
promises for sailing across the gigantic
ocean, for i’m a rock in the desert

© henry victor     17.02.2003

misappropriation

misappropriating the language
of love, i have seen many acting keen
the life of lust doing much damage
for themselves like that honey bee, drone

temple cat too does not hesitate
to embezzle the sacred idiom
much freely, more than a crafty priest
thinking they are in heavenly room

hypocrisy he hates more than denial
intentions he inspects in the heart
being true to ourselves is that full
what heaven above from us expect

henry victor 19.02.2003

waiting for maturity

my heart is filled with tranquility

now that i am older and feebler
with that my youthful tribulations
and middle age totally disappeared

my feelings were similar earlier

as i became a youth beyond teen
with that no more ailment of a kid
remembering a previous feeling

my wait now for death, the final maturity

with which feebleness and helplessness
will be gone forever and there will be
no more hurting and no more crying

© henry victor     16.02.2003

Bird in Bush!

Life I take in hand like grabbing the bird in bush
And begin to beat, bang, battle and bounce
As if I am beating, battling and bouncing clay
To make a flawless cup
From which I may sip, and at other times gulp
Deriving a pleasing taste for tongue
That my mind may announce to soul: ‘indeed pleasure’
But only to end up with great pain
While my being fly and flee like the bird in bush!

This time I let life pick me like that bird in bush
Picking a worthless, wriggling worm
She picks, pecks, pinching me into pieces
To make me a faultless sup
For herself, her offspring, and then their poop
Deriving from my life a quick kick
While I mumble within my restless soul: ‘painful pain’
A whispering not heard outside my heart
As life is perished inside the belly of a bird in bush!

Henry Victor 15.12.2005

picking cowry shells

while wandering in eternity

i happen to be shipwrecked
and was surely stranded
in those isolated islands

whose seas i sometimes easily crossed

by swimming, at other times struggled
much to escape those pounding waves
clutching currents, and swallowing whales

when i did not have to battle monsters

desperately desiring to make short
my looming living, i spent my moments
picking cowry shells, smooth and glossy

these shells attracted me, ceaselessly creating

a tranquil music in a terrified heart
with a sturdy hope in mind, one day to trade
them for a better life in a yonder world

henry victor 04.01.2003

You the Nameless

pitching, always, Your tent
where I have pitched mine
beside my neighbor’s tent
You ever remain my Lord

You are peace from above
You are light from heaven
with life, that ever-flowing
river, You quench my thirst

You are that glorious whole
You are the most holy one
with praise, my feeble feet
in Your place, discover rest

You are that pioneer
You are that stone in corner
by being my servant
that serves in my need

Henry Victor 02.02.2003

Torment Me Not with Your Absence

despite my running into that abyss
for four decades
the reason for my absence from your grace

You still, to enable me to sublimate
my ever-flowing, limitless libido
the cause of the ill impact
of your grace on me and mine

visited me in that smiling baby
causing also guilt to another
teaching me, an old dog, some new tricks
that I may hound you, the hound of heaven
hounding me, before and beyond, those forty years

but, again, I have fallen from Your mercy
that was short lived in my life
making me now, to wander as a mad dog
looking for one more piece of bone
of seeing that smiling face, Your earlier grace
that I may peep at You, just once more

hence I drive to the west, then to east
looking also in south
sweeping your space from north
beyond Leduc and Millet, the city and the hamlet
while You torment me with Your absence

Henry Victor 14.09.2008

Acrostic Poem in Proverbs Thirty-One

A capable wife is far more precious than jewels.

Best wife she is and the husband will lack none.

Caring him, she does good, all the days of her life.

Diligently she seeks wool and flax, working with willing hands.

Eager she is like a ship of the merchant to bring food.

For she rises while it is still night to provide task for her household.

Goes to consider and buy a field with her money to plant.

Her mind she girds with strength and makes her arms strong.

I see her profitable produce and her lamp never goes out at night.

Joining those weaving clothes, she holds the spindle.

Keenly she opens her hand to the poor, reaching out to the needy.

Leaves out fear for her home when it snows.

Makes herself coverings and her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Never her husband is unknown in the city gates.

On account of her industriousness she makes garments to sell.
Power and pride are her clothing, and she laughs at all times.

Quenches she, the quest for wisdom, teaching kindness.
Reading well the ways of her family, she inspires hard work.
Sooner her children rise up, they call her happy.
Too many have done excellently, but a good wife surpasses them.

Unnecessary is charm, but a God fearing woman is to be praised.

Value her, giving the right share, and acknowledging her worth.
Worthy is a woman striving to be a good wife.

X-ray tube is as a good wife that generates healing and energy.

Yama, the god of the dead, too will bow down seeing a good wife.
Zillion praises are offered to a good wife, with the ultimate being.

Henry Victor 22.01.2003

Jesus, the Nazarene

when i was, with joy and confidence
shouting the name jesus, the christ
in smaller churches, and taller cathedrals
marketing his name and brand, while
others were advertising their own products
to consumers in home, and far away, in overseas

jesus of nazareth, the man who hung on the cross
with only his loincloth, softly spoke to summon
with tone so temperate that one can hardly hear

to come and live with him, to see for my self
those birds that have nests and foxes that have holes
where he, the son of mary, the nazarene
had neither a place to live nor possession to protect

reminding me that he had nothing to loose, or advertise
nor anything to market but only a cause
to live, a life to suffer pain

to offer more life for the little

Henry Victor 26.01.2003

My New Wound

I drove my new red ford focus
into my friend’s old ford truck
when a hook in back of the truck
on bumper of my station wagon
made a stab, thin but permanent

the unease caused by the wound
with a few scratch and scrape
on otherwise the spotless sedan
led me to fix a fresh bumper
with no concern for my purse

but now I see a festering sore
in the deep depth of my spirit!

Henry Victor 25.01.2003

Prison to Pearl

I am –
No, we are
For no longer I feel alone
Strangely, there is togetherness
That surrounds me
Wrapping me
With warmth
And increasing in my soul
That poise
The quietness in my heart
Sense of comfort in mind –

We are
Trapped and imprisoned
With cunning motions
And crafty resolutions
That the so called crazy
Democracy
The seven blind
From the seventy dumb
Weave together
Through sly scheme
Like the spider web

But we
Like that trapped
Raindrop grow
Gradually into a pearl
Of great price
That could neither
Be destroyed, nor
Ignored, waiting in our prison
For forty years like Mandela
To guide the nation
That had bled for too long

Henry Victor 14.02.2008

An Accent

To the pond behind my yard
I saw strolling a frog and a toad
They were there on that rainy day to breed
But the two soon began chatting their creed

Said the frog: “You a Bufonidae
You disturb my peace with your croak”
Protested the toad: “You a rascal Ranidae
You scare me to my death with your squeak”

Friendly chatting now turned to a dispute
They leapt across belittling each other
And there crept the water snake, moving softly
Swallowed the frog, proceeding next to the toad!

Henry Victor 01.04.2005

Disabled Soul!

I know not why I’m here
I want not to discern
I’m just a robot
Like that landed in Mars
With no mind of it’s own

I keep filling my wallet
I keep grabbing for self
And I pause not to question
That will slow me down
The pace of my seizing more

At the end of my mission
Or, when my eyes fail in vision
I know not whether I will be re-cycled
Or, dumped to rot
To complete that disintegration

That inbuilt greed
For more, for much more
Simple commands
Programmed within
Disables my soul

Henry Victor 05.06.2008

My Song!

Santa Claus has walked into that closed
Box with no opening from inside
He is trapped and suffers much
With claustrophobia
Who misled him?
Why has this happened to him?

I wake up at five
And roll in bed till seven
Sip coffee till nine
My breakfast at ten
Protesting against heaven
Even beyond eleven
That my life is too short!

Jingle bell has gone too long
Too much fun and no pain
Though my garment is always red
With that I wear my white beard
Pretending to be very old and wise
Repeating the same Christmas song!

Henry Victor 06.06.2008

Note: Photo taken by Gitanjali Victor

Eighth Anniversary!

Eight years may have elapsed
But our pain have not ceased
For forty that suddenly collapsed
Including twenty-six pre-matured souls
Mostly in teens, and rest in adolescent age
Amirtha, Kavitha, Sumithra and Regina
Amala Viji and Navamany Mithura
Balachandran Rajitha and Ranjithkumar Rajitha
Tharsini, Methini and Thushanthini
Palani, another Tharsini, and Usanthini
Thavaseelan and Sanmugavadivelan
Nagalogini and Gananathan
Senthilvel, Sakunthala and Umathevy
Venu, Ragavan, Sellam and Vasanthakumar
All in a single cowardly aerial attack
(On Nagerkovil Maha Vidiyalayam
On September 22nd of 1995)
Performed with meticulous planning
By the Sri Lanka Air Force
Backed by a Woman Chief
While the well fed elsewhere, hypocritically
Bemoan the LTTE recruiting child soldiers
While keeping mum their mummified mouth
As human bodies and souls become a pile of dirt
In the very premise where human rights is learnt

Henry Victor 22.09.2003

Imitate the Cougar

Help me imitate
The patient placidness
And the love that let goes
That is inbuilt in the psyche
Controlling the strong and swift
Slender mother cougar

Let the same permeate my mind
Nerves, and pervade my life
Even as I prepare
My only daughter for her life ahead
Knowing, at the end I cannot
Live my daughter’s life!

Help me learn my lessons
From the truly self-governing
Sage of the jungle!

Henry Victor 20.09.2003

Mythical Dove!

Picking my shoe
I walked to hit, to kill
The cockroach
Hovering under my table
Like a fighter helicopter
Even as my horror
And anger ascended
I saw a dove like bird
That descended
And picked the roach
Before it multiplied
Her kind, a nuisance
And in my heart
The sense of annoyance

Henry Victor 23.11.2007

Holy Club!

That tremendum mysterion
The sense of Holy, I saw
I sensed strongly around
Hence I joined that club
Named: holy catholic church
Wheeling and dealing on holy
And I saw them
Bathing in the river
Walking further
The upstream I dipped
Myself in clean water
Returning I found
Myself out of that club

Henry Victor 18.08.2008

Shut Out

Mother embraced me despite my errors
Numerously that I committed so frequently
Patiently seated with me on the ground
Holding my untrained hands gently, but so firmly
She taught me numbers, also the alphabet
Until my feeble being, transformed into a man of letters

Power in Church shut me out, fearing errors
Even before I could vocalize the inherent faith
Impatiently, stamping boisterously on the ground
Holding clenched fists above head
While the hierarchy was so reluctantly manoeuvring
With it, they also shut out, all traces of truth

Henry Victor 31.02.1995

Why Weep?

O Willow!
O Willow!
Why weep?
When you neither
Have to hoard those flowers
Nor to guard those fruits
But are free to dance
With winds in summer
And snow flakes in winter

Henry Victor 13.01.2003

Change

“Twice, no one can enter
The very same river”
Two point five millenniums ago
Buddha, succinctly, said so
Which has been too true
More than any other truth

Change, for me, not
From dog to horse
Neither from that simple
Travois to mighty truck
Nor from carrying that spear
To take up an AK

But sure change is my worth
From considering my breed
More important than the other
Is that little, I left behind
I’ve begun to think, for sure
With my big learning, I
Equal with that janitor so couth

Henry Victor 03.05.2001

I Sketch the Path

In the midst of evil, sufferings and corruption
From where there is much anger, hatred and dissention
And in the context of conflicts, confusions and ignorance
That I sketch the path I intend to smoothly traverse

Every time I come up with an answer that is convincing
And I am about to settle down with some certainty
My feeble hopes get thoroughly shattered
Like the sand castles of children washed by the unmindful waves

Again I strive for better and unmistakable answers
For my puzzling complex questions pertaining to life
That needs to be worked out for settling of my soul
But this time even with greater force I am drowned

Oh you, the mysterious mystery
Will you not satisfy my searching mind
And eventually calm my wandering soul
While reducing my burden that I may with ease wade across

Henry Victor 26.11.1992

All a Yard Sale!

The Mongolic King
And the Burger King
Facing each other
Tanning
With Vo’s Nails
And Super Cuts
Sharing the same yard -
One Parking Lot
Ricky’s All Day Grill
Grilling
Night and day
While Booster Juice
Doing the rest
For those walking
Into Liquor Depot
Claiming
To Save-on Food!

Henry Victor 11.11.2004

Fashioned to Fashion

Your right hand made me
While your left arm cuddled
Me towards your breast
I’m now an earth-seed
I am flesh and blood
Aware of my puny self
And shaping, and re-shaping you
In my own indistinct, murky image
Until I mature to bear
Fruit of self-giving
And my flesh is warm enough
To incubate another life
The very purpose and destiny
That prompted you
To fashion, and re-fashion
My being in your distinct image!

Henry Victor 15.04.2004

Wider Vision I Pray For!

Help me see that beyond
Through the thick glass I erect
And the smooth mirror in front
That my vision may stretch
Catching the wider width
Delighting in length
Height and depth
That none is excluded
And none is blocked
By that which already is within
Refusing a disposal into commode
Lest my occasional fart
Stink and drive my neighbours out
Far away from my clouded self

Henry Victor 17.09.2004

Synchronicity

A synchronicity in the number plates
I see of the automobiles
On the road in a given spot and moment
This increases my curiosity filling heart
With amazement
And my mind with a mull over
In all this, my number
Two three six remain at the bottom
With my will to synchronize the dissimilar
To create a colourful harmony
And recognize that underlying unity
Beyond the apparent dissimilarity!

Henry Victor 17.09.2004