The Shrine

Curve flips along a wrinkled face
A pearl shines in an eye bright
Tear of hunger turns happy
With a crumble of bread in sight

Richness flourishes and grows
Few miles from the shrine wide
Not a tear is seen but worried brows
Heavier their pearls, slower their stride

How the deprived outside the temple wished
That his fortune growing under the tree might heap
So did the anxious king wonder
If beggars had a merrier sleep!

Grass in the palace seems dry and cold
While that around the temple,
Though burnt seems greener,
And more spectacular than his gold!

What irony the temple mocks,
That never satisfies the soul?
The vicious circle of want and need
Makes rich and poor both bleed in greed

Surrender

Mystical clouds jump to grasp
Edge of a valley deep
They float mesmerized, unaware
Without fear of the unwilling leap

Eyes follow their struggle
To catch hold of every scene
Knowing there’s a plethora
Which still remains unseen

A distant temple bell I hear
Like a soft tickle in the ear
Swirling the mind into unseen depth
A sweet pain in heart and a smile to be kept

Humming winds close gentle eyes
A lullaby sung sweet
The bell adds a melody divine
And heart adds a beat

With a wishful surrender
Soul floats away with the clouds
Time stops as I hear the silent melody
And with the clouds I flee