SAVE THE PLANET
  
Jewel celestial in cosmic space,
Unique sphere with snowy mounts,
Valleys verdant, hoary hills,
Sylvan slopes and sparkling rills,
Shimmering lakes and limpid streams,
Endless expanse of oceans blue,
Surf-washed shores, golden sands
And beaches fringed with swinging palms,
Miles and miles of waving fields,
Evergreen woods swaying in the breeze,
Teeming with lovely birds and beasts,
Charming retreats for pleasure and peace.
    
Marvels of nature's grand creation
Are marching fast towards destruction.
Ever increasing human need,
Callousness and endless greed,
Ever expanding cities and towns
And mushrooming of ugly slums,
Hills denuded and plains encroached,
High-rise buildings, crowded roads,
Chimneys spewing clouds of smoke
Poison air with deadly fumes,
Methane and Carbon-dioxide,
Stinking effluents from broken pipes
And plastic waste clogging drains
Fill rivers and oceans with filth and foam,
Turn green slopes into arid mounds.
It is time to stem this terrible tide
That threatens imminent destruction
Of nature's beauty and magnificence
And save this splendid planet,
Mankind's 'only home'!
             **       M.G.N.Murthy,
Hyderabad, India.

END THIS MENACE SOON
Leaping flames and rising fumes
Billowing through shattered panes
Of Mumbai's majestic Taj Hotel,
Choked the helpless inmates
Who knew not why and what
Had caused the terrible blast:
Trapped inside burning rooms,
Scampered and struggled                              in vain
To flee from the spreading flames
And bullets fired from Kasab's
guns.
Shocked and stunned,
the whole nation
Watched with horror and bated
breath,
On TV screens the terrorists' siege
And the commandos' daring acts
To rescue victims and seize
the fanatics
Who maimed and killed innocent guests
And left painful scars, indelible,
On the minds and hearts
of survivors.
When will the world find strategies
To end this menace of
recurring crimes
And save peace loving people
in  all nations?
        * M.G.N.Murthy
Hyderabad, India.

Brilliant sunshine on trees in bloom
On the majestic mountain *****
And the sparkling, sprawling lake -
A vast mirror to the bright, blue sky
And the gliding clouds, snowy white -
An exhilarating, heavenly sight!
        
Strolling happily under lush green trees
Along the side of the glistening lake,
Deep in my heart, I keenly felt
A saintly poet's unseen presence
And recalled his rare, mystic experience -
Re-lived that " serene and blessed mood *  
In which the affections gently lead us on,
Until the breath of this corporeal frame
And even the motion of our human blood
Almost suspended, we are laid asleep
While with an eye made quiet by the power
Of harmony and the deep power of joy,
We see into the life of things." *  
An endless echo of the ancient Yogic voice
Revealing the ecstasy of spiritual communion
With the inherent,  divine presence,
All pervasive in the boundless Universe!
             **** M.G.Narasimha Murthy,
Hyderabad, India

Thoughts in a Garden
               *
Crimson glow of the morning sun                           
 Along the rosy horizon                                           
Set ablaze the floating clouds
With edges embroidered
In flaming gold,
Ushered in a brilliant dawn.
Sunbeams on the mountain slopes                     
Uncovered valleys verdant and
Gurgling streams:
Darting rays through gnarled
                                         trees
Adorned with foliage of emarald
                                         green,
Illumined the serene garden
                                        scene.
Genial warmth of the morning
                                            sun
Opened rows and rows of white      
                                        jasmine
And filled the air with fragrance
                                           sweet
While mother nature sprinkled
Smiles in a shower of roses
Of delicate hues.
Hummingbirds and honey-bees
Hovered over colourful flowers
Big and small.
Shy flowers,like blushing brides,
 Allured passersby to pause
A while and admire their beauty
And bewitching smile.
Basking in sunshine under
The azure sky and stretching
On grass in chequered shades,
My questioning mind
Probed in vain,
The enigma of nature's creation,
Its amazing harmony
And violent ire
And the aim of evolving human
                                               life:
Eager to grasp what the future
                                             holds,
Indulged in reveries undisturbed, oblivious of
Fortune's ebb and tide
Until twilight showed
The early stars
And the evening shadows
                   looming large,
Restrained my restless mind.
In darkness dissolved
                      the lovely scene.
Soon, the vision of rapture
Was a waking dream:
A foretaste of life merging
With the cosmic stream!
              **.  M.G.N.Murthy
Hyderabad, India.
                                   
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JESUS CHRIST, THE HEAVENLY LIGHT *
      
May the colourful Christmas lights
Radiate joy,  show delightful sights
And soon bring to an end
The ever-widening violent trend.  
May there be no fearful threats
Of brutal, ****** fights,
No dark clouds of deadly smoke,
No pungent smell of burning sulphur,
No deafening thunder of terrible gunfire,
No ugly scenes of ruined homes
And piteous orphans' cries
And parents' heart-rending wails,
No sorrow that dims the light
In anyone's eyes.
May the light of knowledge and wisdom
Illumine the path to happiness,
May the light of joy and love
Sparkle in everyone's eyes
In every humble home.  
May the divine voice of Jesus Christ
Lead all mankind from darkness to Light.
              **       M.G.N.Murthy,
Hyderabad, India

FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS*
  
May countless lights
Show delightful sights:
May there be no threats
Of ****** fights,
No clouds of smoke,  
No smell of sulphur,
No noise of gunfire,
No scenes of ruined homes
And orphans' cries
And parents' heart-rending wails,
No sorrow that dims the light
In anyone's eyes.
May the light of knowledge and wisdom
Illumine the path to happiness:
May the light of joy and love
Sparkle in everyone's eyes
In every humble home.
May our fervent prayer -
Lead mankind from darkness to Light'
"Tamasoma Jyothirgamaya."
May all nations together strive
To pave the way to harmony and peace.
                   M.G.N.Murthy
Hyderabad, India

LEARN FROM THE OWL!
Many of us think of the owl
As a foolish, ugly fowl:
It can neither strut like a peacock,
Flaunting colourful plumes,
Nor, like the shy nightingale,
Sweetly sing, every spring:
But the sages of ancient Greece,
Seeing  the night bird's virtues rare,
Said nothing foul about the owl,
Admired its bright round eyes,
Sharp and keen, able to see its way
And fly in the darkness of night:
Eyes, quite strange, looking not sideways,
But always straight and always right
And quickly turn its agile neck
And see all things happening
Behind its back as  well as front!
In all directions ,the owl can see
But, from different angles do we ever see?
Boastful humans, full of pride,
Who speak ill of the humble owl
Can scarcely match the skilful owl,
And a poet who loved this little bird, wrote -
"A wise old owl sat on an oak,
The more he saw, the less he spoke,
  The less he spoke the more he heard,
   Why can't we be, like the wise old bird!?"
                  *** M.G.Narasimha Murthy,
Hyderabad, India.