Lift up the Lowly

The rich are arrogant
Trusting in their wealth
That they robbed from the poor
In a variety of most decent ways

Lord, make the poor resent
Resent very effectively
Until the rich go empty
And the poor filled with riches

Lord, make the poor impatient
With all kinds of aid
Including the live and sport aid
Until the poor aid themselves

The rich tell us
That the bounty they have
Is the bounty of the Lord
Never realizing that it is the bounty of the poor

Lord, make the poor reject
All the Holy Heresies
Always substantiated by the Holy Bible
No matter whether they come from the Ordained or the Lay

Lord, make the poor awake
To the raw realities of history and politics
Also to religion
That keeps the poor always asleep. Amen and Amen.

* I wrote this in 1986 and was first published in UK!

a shut exit

i am that wild cat
that attempts
acutely, or playfully
i know not
but creep through
or, at least, put his mitt
if walking is not possible
through the exit

the other side
that which is beyond
always is my goal
while, for me, a shut exit
never is a closed gate
or, a no is ever an answer

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 maneuvering
with it, they also shut out, all traces of truth

* Picture taken as soon as we drove into PEI through the Confederation Bridge in 2006. It was a beautiful day. Out Station Wagon is parked in the parking lot in front of the Information Centre at PEI.

you are my shepherd

you have been my guide
like a shepherd with his attendance
pasturing his humble sheep
making them to lie down on green pasture
and leading to waters still and clean

your guiding presence i have seen
every time i drive through dunstable
in the darkest hour of the night

you pump into my heart courage
as i drive through pitch darkness
and i fear deer diving down my path

you inspire wisdom and fill me with patience
when my car have to wade through the knee-deep snow
while, in my mind, you keep increasing
a sense of alertness as i coerce
my wagon during total whiteout

you cover me with your blanket
when my journey is done
in temperatures below minus forty

you hold me straight
when i drive through
roads that are winding and slippery

surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
and i shall cherish your presence
that increases my resilience
making me a good sheep
walking to the butcher’s blade to serve yours

* Photograph taken by Gitanjali Victor!At Great Falls in New Brunswick as we drove across Canada, that large country with variety, in May 2006.

psalm twenty-three

you with blatant disregard for certainty
have made me a sure slave of eternity
despite my constant and unsuccessful
revolts against your shepherding, control

you make me walk in your garden
with chaotic colours in which my eyes
see disorder with patches of randomly planted
vegetables and herbs unsuitable to my taste buds

you expect me to see life, life of victory
in demolitions, destructions and in exilic slavery
where opportunities one by one evaporates
like the quickly melting winter snow

but did i hear you whispering, in my ears, thanks
when i cursed you and confirmed yours as messy mess
with much disregard to your making meaning
in your own terms, your space and moment