Lawrence Hall HSG
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                            You are Going to Write a Poem Today

                             A poet's words can outlive empires
                             and shake the foundations of tyrants.

                                              -Yevtushenko

You are going to write a poem today
Although you will never finish it
For the hours, or a person from Porlock
Will lead you to pause your thought for a time

Your poem will repose as a meditation
A word upon the altar of your mind
And even as you are distracted at Mass
Your poem becomes a tiny sip of salvation

All the truthing words that have come to you -
There on your mindful altar they bless the world

Poets and flowers persist alike
They both bloom and wither away while they align
To the harsh winters, the shifting currents of life
has to offer

Will you gently dance with me
till I too,
wither?

And will you hold my petals
as if you were to
kiss the palm of my hand too
as we both sway away,
as we both drift together?

© fey (16/05/24)

Thou art my last hope
Do my best I shall, not to mope
Thanks to you, and you alone
Because, you have been through so much pain
Yet, have you always emerged strong
Very rarely, has your judgement been wrong
These days, I seem to be doing nothing right
But thanks to you, do I somehow manage to see the light
You motivate me so much
That I feel like I am on a beach
Watching the waves rise and fall
And being at peace, all in all
Suddenly, do I begin to feel
That the possibility of achieving the impossible is very real
Always, have you been a fighter
Pushing harder and harder
Against the tallest of odds
Carrying an extremely heavy load
On your already weary shoulders
Really, are you a warrior!

Thou art my last hope
Even when there is a queen-sized gap
Between expectations and reality
Never do you think of giving up
Because, so much do you care about humanity
Thanks to you, will I try my best not to give up
Always, do you have the mindset
That there is nothing to lose
And never do you mind, being imperfect
Even when there is everything to lose
You are the person, who puts a smile on my face
During my darkest times
If I emerge successful in life
Remember you I will, for sure
For inspiring me during times of strife
Never do you put on airs
Defined are you, by your humility
Totally can I relate, to your brutal honesty
Truly, are you a lioness
Perfectly fits you, does the Tamil hit song 'Badass'
You are one of the bravest Indian women
A bulwark against upper caste male *******
And in spite of the numerous activities you have been doing
Your maternal instincts continue to remain very strong
Really, are you an allrounder
And I can totally feel your righteous anger
Whenever there is even the tiniest injustice
Above all, do you dream of peace
And a much better world
Well, are you absolute gold
As far as character is concerned
Therefore, you are a person whom I've always greatly admired
Indeed, thou art my last hope
Hence, for you will I always clap
Please keep fighting and keep inspiring
And may the Lord bless you with everything
Which you have ever dreamed of!!

Thou art an amazing human being
Your poetry is something
That I could go on reading and reading
And never feel bored at all
Because, I love how you make the mighty fall
Showing the world that they truly are
Which is, nothing but a bunch of pretentious bores!

Thou art an amazing human being
Thanks to whom, are things always happening
Always, do you hit the bull's eye
When it cometh to calling out casteism and misogyny
Not to mention, are you incredibly courageous
What you write, has often been called "outrageous"
However, in my opinion
Nothing could ever come closer to the truth
And never have I been prouder of any person
Especially given that, nowadays, is there a dearth
Of truly radical thinkers
With the system, does nobody dare to tinker!!

Thou art an amazing human being
I find your books extremely inspiring
Not to mention, is your activism of supreme importance
Particularly given that, nowadays, very few dare to take a chance
And challenge the existing class and caste structure
A role model are you, for everyone who aspires
To try and bring about a societal transformation
Not to mention, repeatedly have you breached the bastion
Of cis hetero male *******!!

Thou art an amazing human being
Never do you give up on anything
Compassionate are you, to the core
A very caring mother
Who somehow manages to devote time to her children
In spite of being in the midst of so much action
Not to mention, a lot of genuine respect do you have
For your fans and admirers
Something that we greatly love
Oh, and ***** your haters!!
Just be the way you are
And may Jesus bless you, for now and forever!!

You make me so proud
Because, always do you say it so loud
A powerful crusader against injustice
Often, do you stand on the edge of a precipice
And scream so that the whole world can hear
Year after year
How ****** up is our country
An utter sham of a democracy
Always, do you walk the talk
Haters may say you often sulk
However, they cannot be more wrong
Because, like a honeybee, do you sting
Where it hurts them the most
Really, art thou the best
When it cometh to using words as a weapon
Your books are an emotion
And your activism gives us all hope
You certainly are not one to sit down and mope
Even while the world comes crashing down
No matter what, do it you can
Because, you are the fire that burns
Even when it rains cats and dogs!

You make me so proud
Thanks to you, is it not so hard
To believe that we can truly annihilate caste
We will ensure your pathbreaking work does not go waste
Thou art one of the bravest parents
Because, never do you allow motherhood to dent
In any way, your never-ending fight for social justice
In fact, you redefine independence
Doing almost everything on your own
Braving storm after storm
And yet managing to maintain a modicum of calm
As you set forth on an absolutely brutal journey
In a tearing hurry
In order to reclaim your stolen freedom
Truly, are you a powerful beam
Of light that never fades
By the rules, you do not abide
Because, you are simply a force of nature
A human being most mature
I repeat, you make me so proud
That I want to say it loud
VAAZHGA DR. MEENA KANDASAMY!!

I look up to you greatly
Thou art an amazing lady
In you, do I see a fire
That refuses to die, no matter what
You lay your soul threadbare
Wit, is one of your greatest assets
Never do you back down from a fight
In a tunnel full of never-ending darkness
Are you the light
Which keeps emptiness and depression at bay
And puts us firmly on the path to happiness
Come what may!

I look up to you greatly
Your writing is so fiery
That it can spark a raging inferno
Full of righteous anger
Against all the injustice perpetrated by the Indian State
The lynchings that refuse to abate
Poor and underprivileged children dying of hunger
People being denied homes due to their caste
While the government has the sheer nerve to boast
About its so-called achievements
Your poems are a testament
To the famous saying "The pen is mightier than the sword"
Very hard-hitting indeed, are your words!!

I look up to you greatly
Never dost thou fail to amaze
Every story of yours is a maze
Full of character arcs and plot twists
Ensuring we get hooked very fast
And by the time we finally put the book down
Our minds would have been blown!!

I look up to you greatly
Never dost thou fail to raise your voice
When it cometh to social justice
Yet, somehow do you manage to maintain your poise
In the face of never-ending malice
Which is constantly thrown your way
The way you keep your detractors at bay
Is something we must all learn
Thanks to people like you, have I gradually started to unlearn
Certain things I once considered gospel truth
Excel do you, at transforming the narrative
When it cometh to our Hindu myths
For your community, do you live
Not yourself
Hopefully, more books of yours may soon adorn my shelf!!

I look up to you greatly
Thou art a wonderful role model
Bestsellers, are your novels
You love your profession
As much as Israel loves to lie
You yourself are an institution
And always do you aim for the sky
So much have you done for our society
With an absolutely brutal honesty
That beggars belief
Your writings provide some much-needed relief
In these dark and difficult times
Where even mere dissent is often treated as a crime!!

I look up to you greatly
For you, is impossible nothing
And social justice, everything!!
By the Grace of God
May all your dreams come true
And may you have nothing to rue
Finally, must I say
More power to you, Meena!!

You are an amazing writer
And one hell of a character
I love the way you think
In your armour, are there no chinks
Precisely do you know how to attract readers
In your world, there ain't no order!
Thou art the mistress of chaos
To your writings, if people are averse
Then it is their loss
Because you are an absolute diamond
And for you, never does learning end!!

You are an amazing writer
And a stellar storyteller
You always call a ***** a *****
By rules, you do not abide
When you are angry
We all are angry
Because we cannot stand injustice
And you yourself are Lady Justice!!

You are an amazing writer
Sure, you do have your share of haters
But that only serves to underscore the sheer impact you produce
Truly, art thou a natural force!!
Smashing the Brahminical patriarchy looks not impossible
Only because your spirit is unbreakable!!

You are an amazing writer
And an even better reciter
Your poetry is simply revolutionary
And though your critics are often reactionary
You simply let your keyboard do the talking
Thus reducing them to effectively nothing!!

You are an amazing writer
And we are your debtors
Because, you are one of those fearless critics
Whom the government always tries to silence
But you brave storm after storm
In order to try and ensure justice for the downtrodden
You are the oasis that represents hope
In a desert full of despair

You are an amazing writer
Who doesn't give two hoots about her detractors
You are the true face of intersectional feminism
In a land full of Savarna feminism
Which is as fake as Israeli democracy
Thanks to you, gender equality is not a mere fantasy!!
Most important of all, though
Is your anti-caste activism
In the never-ending battle against casteism
You are one of the fiercest warriors
May you eventually succeed in breaking all the barriers
Which stand between you and annihilation of caste!!
Jai Bhim!! Vaazhga Periyar!!