friends

i have friends in both camps

in which you are denied

and in that you are affirmed

i have some in that middle too

hence i easily walk in and walk out

into all camps, knowing too well

neither my aflame affirmations

nor my denials make your being

and what matters is my becoming

a friend affirming strengths inbuilt

for both affirmation,  or denial

of you beyond that fragile me in all

henry victor          13.04.2010

kiss from my granddaughter

she knows to kiss

and many kisses on my cheeks

she has stamped

and that too lovingly

so from her

i plead for a kiss

holding her closer

to my wrinkled face

she licks my face

as if painting with her tongue

and then giggles

as if, now, it’s done

henry victor          08.07.2018

painting fresh

let me wipe your canvas

erasing the previous scribbles

you may once again paint

paint your fresh pictures

your new grace, or roll

on it as you drool

from your soft lips

that have kissed me much

or can i pick the raspberries

from my bush i have grown

before, to me, you were visible

and blow the worms away

henry victor          22.07.2018

    

echoes of fear

i loved her with the power

of the morning sun

but that love’s only echoes

are those of fear as stark

as the darkest night

with neither love’s closest moon

not its most distant star;

did a secret worm

enter my heart to infect my love

that now resonates in her heart

as horror prompting her

to distance herself from me

henry victor        04.02.2010

my predicament

with my right hand

i held tight the head

of the creepy creature

curled around my body

lest she stung

while like a monkey

i clung

with my left

on to the ladder

that led to my safety

floorboard

at the end, in middle

i did hang

unable to let go

from my hand

her flexible

but venomous head

attached stiffly

to the body

coiled to mine

that i could not

pull up

or let it down

to my deathbed

henry victor      03.01.2007

 

health is my wealth

too much food

and all kinds of drink

alcoholic

brings me headache

also much sleepiness

i keep it away

i may have more health

and that’s my wealth

henry victor      01.01.2007

growing stature and status

i am growing, increasing in size

with more wisdom, needing for self

yet another leg that third leg

to lift all that extra weight

i am growing, increasing in stature

and status; hence towards a cozy couch

to which i would be guided

with much praise and fan-fare

that comfy bed, to me will provide

an uninterrupted sleep

with neither nightmares of jealousies

nor daydreams of self-pomposity

henry victor      14.01.2007

dreaming the destiny

from wilderness i returned home

journeying by shallow but longer channels

creeping also through constricting tunnels!

i did move fast on a flat road

by a motorized vehicle

continuously getting wet

and traveling with the threat

of being run over by trains

coming from the opposite direction

with no space to step out

of the narrow burrows

making longer waiting a necessity!

and more were temptations to pick

unwanted luggage strewn and scattered

by an earlier trekker like me

helplessly lost control of his walk

henry victor     03.01.2007

beyond the psalm twenty-nine

when the ideals of the Nazarene

evaporates in the crucible

of the empty episcopacy

filled to the brim with hypocrisy

then it slips into putting on

a magnificent clothing

enjoying the political influence

it can exert  and the tribal strength

assigning self-glory and power

speaking with arrogance

and thundering over those paid reverence

to the humble man from Nazareth!

there the episcopal voice

breaks the cedars

making Edmonton skip like a calf

and the new immigrant like an ox

young but wild

the brutal feminine voice

flashes forth flames of fire
bringing to knees

the Asian and the African wise men!

this vicious voice causes

also the withering of oaks, stripping

the forest bare and the temple pews empty

henry victor      07.01.2007

names and not titles

in the spirit i was lifted up

to see angels calling names

names after names

mentioning not a single title

as they opened that single gate

to heaven like the custom officer

letting passengers through

that single door

to an outgoing flight

the rest the angels

pushed them into hell

as if pushing empty cans

into the garbage

the dump

even if they had letters

that are official

in that port the only criterion

for entrance being

that which is real

the stamp on the conscience

henry victor      08.02.2007

forgive me for seeking forgiveness

foolishly i feel guilty

and turn to you for mercy

and pardon in the past

many times

for sins of my adolescent

and youth-filled years

for wrongs

i was not responsible

but dictated and delivered

beyond my will

by the testosterone

or another hormone

deposited deep within self

forgive me now

for seeking forgiveness

and deny me help

if out of lazy foolishness

i turn to you

instead of investigating

deep within my body

and mind

the way to control

my urge

henry victor      22.02.2007

escape impossible

with hardly a few drizzle

from the sky

the rain flooded the road

pouring water from roof top

also into the house

as if a giant bath tap

open now from a height

unreachable

putting me and my household

out of our comfortable bed;

add to that i saw water

flowing from the road

through the door into our abode

and the waves in the ocean

nearby rising higher

as if giving birth to a monster

a monstrous tsunami

making an escape impossible!

and as i reflected i wondered

whether the end was imminent

henry victor      23.02.2007

two little goslings

as the sun went down to settle

in his home before the nightfall 

i went for a stroll

along a man-made canal

and in the twilight my eyes fell

now on a gosling stuck

on a cement crack

making her un-swim able

to run to her company

and she pulled and pulled until

a piece of skin too was floating

so i bent down to pick

to hold and to heal

the injured gosling

but trusting not my stance

that was nothing but pastoral

she swam as fast as she could

with one hand holding the hanging piece

i walked further and much farther

with a helpless thought

and a new pain in my heart

only to encounter yet another

gosling lost and lonely

and again i stretched my hand

picking her from waters cold

to hold her closer to my warm chest

while she trustingly

settled in my palm

henry victor       28.03.2007

 

melting glaciers

two little glaciers

on my neighbour’s roof

receding, melting

to create little streams

that waters

my neighbour’s lawn

soon, i know

there will be green

hardness

and stubborn cold

will be no more

in my heart

henry victor      07.03.2007

healing

healing i need to focus

i need to grasp

but it is a little stone

smooth and slippery

too small

for my oily fingers

to confidently grip

to store in my soul

but more colourful

and easily graspable

distract my eyes to play

with, tempting my fingers

but i remain resolute

to that stone, uncut

appropriating in heart

the healing to heal

henry victor      07.03.2007

grace to serve

my love for winged creatures

dragged me into the wilderness

the home of the wild beasts

my focus on feathers blinded

me utterly until i was just behind

the lioness following a little rabbit

now aware of grace

that saved me i quickly climbed

a wall to walk out of the wilds

only to encounter a tiger

that graciously gave me

just a mere eye contact

and let me walk through

dodging a herd of elephants

i may save my brother pursued

by two domestic wild angry dogs!

henry victor      02.03.2007

 

death desired

death desired not for self

but the mice in my house

remaining invincibly invisible

but leaving exact evidence

than the invisible God

demanding

my undivided attention!

pain in my heart is perplexing

when food offered is dodged

and not consumed

though the very best

nourishment is presented

with delicate care

for my fingers

lest they get trapped

henry victor      01.03.2007

etching not my image

after sufficiently resting

i now sit silently

in my quiet home

neither hot nor cold

i sit with my note pad

and pen with desire to write

desiring also to teach

transform my daughter’s heart

but i know too well

gods and goddesses will permit

not to etch my image in her soul

or my mind to dream for her

a Lewis Stephen

a Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

or another simpleton, an activist

a campaigner of clean air for all

i also know, for sure, that boat

making is never taught

but only caught

in silent shores of the deep river

henry victor      12.03.2007

 

the monster in human

the monster in human

grew bigger and bigger

like the jinni in the bottle

becoming dangerously dreadful

so i departed from the human

habitation going into the wilderness

deeper and much deeper

but i still smelt, i heard, i felt

the monster in human;

and in my mental eyes

with no eyelids i still saw

clearly and very clearly the monster

henry victor      13.04.2007

too early

too early to dive, to swim

or for fishing

too early to make love

to make a nest, or for dreaming

some yell at the lake still frozen

to dive, swim, or fishing

some, perhaps, more matured

wait, patiently, until the wind blows

and the sun softens to melt

thick ice to water

that the fish may come up

to peep, to celebrate the spring

and sacrifice their flesh

that you may eat and drink

to make love

and multiply before you leave

henry victor      11.04.2007

stopping by an unkempt lawn

the train journey was long!

the whole night it did prolong

but i was down, from train, by dawn 

beside an unkempt lawn

neither my family nor me

knew why we got off at such a wee

hour of the day when destination

had not arrived; nor was this a station

for a train to stop! but white bunnies

two that drew my immediate notice

and at the end, i happened to learn

that these two, the only i did yearn

not to own did i, with folks, stop here

but with spouse and spawn to care!

my destiny did pass through this land

this lonely prairie property so grand

someone content with their lot of no gain

earlier, too had stopped to touch the pain

the wounds of these helpless creatures

and it is my turn now to love the bunnies

henry victor      21.04.2007

kiss from y granddaughter

she knows to kiss

and many kisses on my cheeks

she has stamped

and that too lovingly

so from her

i plead for a kiss

holding h

er closer

to my wrinkled face

she licks my face

as if painting with her tongue

and then giggles

as if, now, it’s done

henry victor          08.07.2018

refusing the crown

what makes me a poet

whose thoughts are drawn

and constructed in series

of ‘broken line’

that many in portals

of academia

may eventually sideline

considering it a wasted talent

is it my inclination

to refuse the crown

with my protesting

to act as the crowd clown

entertaining

not like a man

with a herd instinct

with no mind to own

henry victor      17.04.2007

marching to a different beat

i do all the times

in academia among assess

that carry heavy books

in ecclesia among foxes

that carry a single book

and also in malls

in the absence of relevance

referring to books

i march to a different beat

marching to a different beat

i do all the times

suffering pain

with loss of gain

and pushed out of circle

until much later i stumble

alone, and stride

re-coiling

and re-circling

putting me back

into the loop

marching to a different beat

i do all the times

in the company of Copernicus

Jan Hus, and that ‘us’

the single most catalyst

to save multitude of ‘them’

otherwise thrown out

from that distinct sphere

marching to a different beat

i do all the times

and walk towards the cup of poison

to be served as a reward

and towards that crown of thorns

to be worn

but naked

as i march forward

towards a contemporary cross

to be condemned

henry victor      24.04.2007

racism: a reverse evolution

i put on the skin of a prairie buffalo

to keep my chin up cheerfully

at a time when i am unemployed

in this land of plentitude of prejudice

my wearing of this skin for too long

makes my heart pound like a buffalo’s

even as i now feel like this hardy creature

becoming extinct in its chosen territory

the stink emanating from this skin

permeates into to my blood stream

feeding my brain to think like a buffalo

as i roam in this green land

i have in the past heard of reincarnation

and have explored the natural selection

as i studied in school theories of evolution

but reverse i see: an immigrant to a buffalo

henry victor      25.04.2007