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 A Tribute to Kamalesh Biswas
A Tribute to Kamalesh Biswas
A man who brightens the day
with his smile and laughter.
A priest who visits the sick
and comforts the bereaved.
A leader who invites others
to actively participate
A pastor who calls the flock
to gather and dine around the table
with the Indian food he makes.
A husband who upholds his wife
in front of his friends and comrades.
A father who honours the land
by calling his two sons, Dan and Mark.
A counsellor who saves crumbling marriages
with his visits, prayers and friendship.
A pioneer that sees twenty four hours
so short a time to give life to his mission in life.
A world citizen that designs
programs for dialogue and tolerance
between Muslims and Christians
Buddhists and Hindus, monks,
priests and imams, bishops and laymen.
An organizer that arranges excursions
for Danes, foreigners and immigrants
paving the way to better understanding
on Denmark’s historical and cultural sites.
A great friend in joy and sorrow
who never forgets to phone
by asking, “How are you” or affirming a job well done
Or never forgetting at the end to say a prayer
to assure God`s love and ever-dwelling company.
Kamalesh Biswas,
You know it is never easy to
say goodbye to you.
Rest in peace
You live in our hearts and in the memories
of your loving,caring and serving humanity.
________________
Written after I received the news about his death.
Read before the delegates of the Intercultural Center`s Conference: “Understanding People of Other Faiths”
Tværkulturelt Center
November 6, 2009, Copenhagen, Denmark
For my Tutor, Ellias Mallon, in December
You came like a transient shadow
short-lived, unnoticed,
like this winter course at Bossey
that culminates,
like a snow that melts
like all the season that
simply come and go.
But in short flow of the days
you have ceased to be a shadow
but an arresting presence
that cannot disappear
at the hiding of the sun.
For you spread yourself
like the golden leaves on the ground
upon which we tread on
day by day as learners,
for you stand firmly
on what is true and beautiful
like the evergreen leaves
that cannot fall in winter.
Why is there transiency
in human encounters?
(written during a winter course at the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey, World Council of Churches, Celigny, Switzerland. EPO)
The Inevitable
The Inevitable
One day at the mirror
the inevitable reveals her face -
wrinkles on the forehead
gray hair on the head-
a witness to the passing years
entombed in mind and space.
One day at the mirror
the inevitable ridicules
anyone who cannot accept
the change in time
and who glories beauty
over the face of a child.
One day at the mirror
we shall all stand
condemned and gladdened
that one day at last
our time has past.
Beauty in time is in the heart
and not what the mirror has judged.
The inevitable comes to visit us all
and we might as well accept and be glad.
Congratulations to the new General Secretary of NATO
Congratulations, Fogh
You`ve finally made it, Fogh
to climb up through the top
In the mouth of Obama, Zakozy
and Merkel you are a sweet honey
while Turkey takes you
to the judgment table for your snobbery.
But you made it, Fogh
with bright flyging colours
in spite of a threat of a possible veto.
Congratulations, Fogh!
Now you are the head of NATO.
We say goodbye to you
and welcome Lars Løkke
as your appointed new.
Congratulations, Fogh,
for your office opens a window
to greater responsibility
for peace and solidarity.
Lamentation over Philippine Elections
Lamentation overthe Philippine Election
At election time Filipino voters
are proclaimed masters
Politicians avow servanthood
The lowly servants seek to win
hearts and mind of the masters,
to conquer the will of the voters,
by the ultimate conquest of love.
The servant proffers before the master
the loaf of wisdom
and the cup of humility.
The master renews the covenant
to support and uphold.
But Philippine politics
is a shadow play of words
Promises.
A game of hope.
Merciless visions.
Master and servant distorted
and malformed.
Brilliant oration and confidential whispers!
What a drama of mud in black propaganda!
Grand plans and artful schemes!
What a darkness imprisons the good!
Guns, goons and gold
still hold the land
and its people in a death grip.
Fear reverberates.
Human will subverted.
Poverty, exploited.
The sacred right to decide dissolves
when the conquest of love is denied.
And the master learns the art of play
in the mud of a wicked magician.
The mud dries and falls away
and the master is stripped of life-
a foul cadaver lies inert
a ricebowl in its hand.
When will this archipelago of bones
proclaim its release
from the servant`s whip?
When will its fetid waters
once again quench the master`s thirst?
When will the conquest of love
reach a climax
without guns, goons and gold?
When will the master demand
and servant accept
the essence of their roles?
Overskrift 1
To My Father
Rain came pouring in
as I thought of trimming the lawn
How I wished I could seed the clouds
to precipitate in the south.
I was shy to ask
The Meteorologist why
I only knew there was wind,
and thunder and Nimbus
Rain kissed the ground
and you,father,faded from my eyes.
I remember the times
I hid in my room,cold.
I asked The Meteorologist why.
This morning rain comes pouring in
I must come down to trim the lawn.
(Note: written after the death of my father. This piece won second prize in the Arinday Literary Contest 1979 in Silliman University, Dumaguete City in the Philippines.This was also published in my first collection of poems, A Pulse for my Country People, Poems and Reflections on the Philippine Situation, 1995)
A Tribute to Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson-
a life of beauty
and human comedy -
adored, celebrated,
favoured, iconized
and yet mocked,
ostracized, betrayed,
unloved.
Michael Jackson
a life of the elite
and of human poverty,
with all the power to buy
surrounded by shining stars
and billionaires to bail him out
and yet deserted.
identity concealed,
drowned in debts,
hooked in drugs.
Michael Jackson, you the epitome
of the human nature
that can rise up in great stature
and yet can fall.
Michael Jackson, the common face
among us all -
but whose beauty through
the songs of your heart
will forever be remembered
by every human heart.
August 13, 2009
EPO
Tribute to Mothers
MOTHERS, WE SALUTE YOU!
The homemakers that build up the house with
the robust hammers of joy, hope and faith,
The life givers that breast-milk the child
with the liquid of trust, patience and confidence,
The miracle magicians that turn the dark days
into colourful feasts of expectations and openness.
May 9, 2010
Happy Mothers' Day!
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