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