A BIRD IN HAND  &  ‘CARPE DIEM’*
It has been wisely observed and said,
That a bird in hand is worth two in the
bush always.
Therefore, let us grab this day before it
begins to slip away my friends!

The Afghans are perhaps the only people
in the world who pray after their meal!
Since they are more concerned about the
outcome, -
Than the intentions the behind things!
Just as the proof of the pudding always
remains in its eating!

Now the Latin phrase ‘Carpe Diem’ meaning
‘seize the day’, - has been a popular theme of
English poetry even to this day!
It was first used by the Roman poet Horace in
his ‘Odes’ during 23 BC,
Which spoke of enjoying the day before it
ceases to exist!
This theme is also found in Shakespeare’s sonnets;
In Robert Herrick’s lines ‘To the Virgins to Make
Much of Time’; in Andrew Marvell’s seductive
lyric ‘To His Coy Mistress’; and also in poems of
AE Houseman, and Robert Frost, - among many
other poets.
Here are few lines from Andrew Marvell’s seductive
lyric - ‘To His Coy Mistress’:-

“But at my back I always hear
  Time’s wingéd chariot hurrying near:
  And yonder all before us lie
  Deserts of vast eternity.
  Thy beauty shall no more be found;            
  Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
  My echoing song: then worms shall try
  That long-preserved virginity!
  And your quaint honor turn to dust,
  And into ashes all my lust.                  
  The grave’s a fine and private place,
  But none, I think, do there embrace!”

Now I conclude with few lines from my
favorite Henry Wordsworth Longfellow’s
poem - ‘The Psalm of Life’:

“.…Trust no future however pleasant!
       Let the dead Past bury its dead!
       Act, act, in the living Present.
       Heart within, and God overhead!
       Lives of great men all remind us,
       We can make our lives sublime,
       And departing leave behind us,
       Footprints on the sands of time!…”
                                               -Raj Nandy, New Delhi.
                                                composed on 03 JULY 2020.

Dear Friends,
           Some of us, especially the Senior lot of poets, are posting on the 'FACEBOOK' these days where we have greater visibility! We are able to post our selected photographs on the 'Facebook' to better illustrate the theme of our poems. There are many senior poets posting there who were earier posting on poetry sites like 'Poemhunter.com', 'Poetfreak.com', including the 'Hello Poetry' site. I am also posting on 'Hello Poetry' site from time to time, but mainly posting on the 'Facebook' as 'Raj Nandy'. You may kindly have a look there if you wish, it is a free site! Best wishes & happy writing! - Raj Nandy, New Delhi, 09 April 2021.

Friend, this reflective poem was composed way back in Feb 2008,
and posted in ‘Poemhunter.com’. Hope you like the same, - Raj

               THE  ECHO
Standing on the edges of the Western
Ghats of India,
I marveled at the panoramic beauty
of the majestic scene,
And inhaled the pure ether within.
Next, like many others who had
preceded me, I shouted out my name;
And my voice resounded through the
corridors of time,
As those hills echoed and re-echoed
my name!
Here I was alive and breathing, on top
of the world.
I played this game again and again, -
Lost in this child-like fun!

For one day I too shall become a distant
echo but without a voice.
A transparent negative of a positive self.
Perhaps waiting in God’s darkroom to
become visible once again in a positive  
form, -
After several centuries and many eons!
Though I have prayed for ‘moksha’ always,
With no desire to be Reborn!

Our succeeding generations will continue
to view the Western Ghats in wonder
and amazement,
And also loudly shout out their name.
While those mountains would faithfully
echo back the same,
Time and again, all playing the same
old game!
                                          -Raj Nandy, New Delhi,

Dear Friends,
           Some of us, especially the Senior lot of poets, are posting on the 'FACEBOOK' these days where we have greater visibility! We are able to post our selected Photographs on the 'Facebook' to better illustrate the theme of our poems through simple cut & paste. There are many senior poets posting there who were earlier posting on poetry sites like 'Poemhunter.com', 'Poetfreak.com', including the 'Hello Poetry' site. I am posting on 'Hello Poetry' site occasionally, but I am mainly posting on the 'Facebook' as 'Raj Nandy'. You may kindly have a look there if you wish, it is a Free Site, and worth the try! Best wishes & happy writing! - Raj Nandy, New Delhi, July, 2021.

Friends, this is a recent composition of mine as a very senior citizen, hope you like it, - Raj

FEW REFLECTIONS OF A SEPTUAGENARIAN
As one grows old with whitened, wrinkled,
mellowed maturity,
One begins to discern a wholesome unity, behind
many apparently disjointed things!
For example preparing good food, creating good music,  
and making love, -  all collectively,
Form a wholesome part of Creative Human Artistry!
Well cooked food with homemade wine, pleases
our taste buds providing real satisfaction.
Stan Getz’s creative saxophone with Dave Brubeck’s
melodious piano, enchants our auditory receptors, -
Transporting us mentally to an elevated dimension!
While during love making, artistic Foreplay results in
blending of passion culminating in a crescendo of
creative ******, -
With the release of built up tension!
Even though during these Corona days, Platonic love
is expected to keep us relatively safe!

Now, all these apparently divergent activities require
creative expertise and devotion,
To achieve real-time earthly satisfaction and happiness.
Though Spiritual Seekers look forward to an after- life,
Lying well beyond our limiting five human senses!
                                                                     -Raj Nandy, New Delhi
                                                                      27 Nov, 2020

Friends, for a long time I wanted to compose a poem about FIRE in
which all things begin and end! Fire also consumes our mortal body but purifies our eternal soul to burn as a lamp in the Temple of God, provided we begin to sincerely act & also pray for the same, - Raj
                                                                                        
GOD’s MAGICAL FIERY TOUCHSTONE!
The flickering tongue of fire’s flame
rises up like liquid gold,
And through this fire God recreates
the new, -
From the ashes of the old!

A contained and controlled fire
benefits humanity.
But raging wild fires destroys and
consumes totally!
The small little fire burning as a lamp
in a poor man’s hut,
Brings forth light and hope by expelling
the dark.
The crackling fire of the hearth during
cold winter nights,
Brings warmth and comfort to all the
folks living inside.
The bonfire, the camp fire, and the
twinkling of the Diwali sparklers,
Brings forth joy and happiness to
all festive makers!

Now the flames of the Funeral Pyre
for me is of a spiritual kind,
It’s very thoughts touches my heart,
Making my poetic mind sublime!
Let the purging touch of God’s Fiery
Touch Stone purify me and make me
whole.
By burning all that is dross and evil
in my mortal body, and purify my
eternal soul!
Let my soul burn as a lamp in HIS
heavenly abode as an eternal light.
And let this verse remain as an
everlasting thanksgiving to my
Creator, -
From a Poet’s humble heart and
mind!
                                  -Raj Nandy, New Delhi
                                    composed 07 Sep 2020

ON BLESSINGS OF OLD AGE !
FEW POETIC REFLECTIONS  ON OLD AGE
Dear Poet Friends, after a long break, I have composed a few lines as a very senior citizen and a lover of poetry. If you like the same, kindly Re-post this Poem for wider circulation. Thanks and best wishes, - Raj Nandy of New Delhi.

            ON BLESSINGS OF OLD AGE!
From the impressionable age of my childhood days,
I have finally arrived at the vulnerable period of old age!
It has been often been said that old age is that period of life,  
When all bad habits are given up on doctor’s advice,
And yet you don’t feel all that good while you survive!
Yet I do try to take some solace from Robert Browning’s poem
‘Rabbi Ben Ezra’ which says;-
‘’Grow old along with me!
  For the best is yet to be,
  The last of life, for which the first was made.’’

Despite my grey hairs and wrinkled face,
With creaking joints and scattered aches and pains,
‘’Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
  For every tatter in its mortal dress’’,
In thanks giving to the Lord and sings his praise;
As I recall WB Yeats’ ‘Sailing Byzantium’, - that
lovely poem from my college days.

As our biological clock continues to tick incessantly,
Getting older becomes compulsory.
But becoming Wiser in wrinkled years remains optional,
A choice our free will has the opportunity to make!
I recall what Agatha Christie had once said,
That an archaeologist is the best husband a woman can get,
For the older she gets, the more interested in her he
becomes;
With due respect to our women whose age is impolite
not ask.
Here I recall what the Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Frost
had once said,
That a diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman’s
birthday and not her age.

I recall the observation of Sartre the famous French philosopher
who had said,
That more sand that escapes from the hourglass of our life,
The clearer we should see through it as a blessing of time!
It is true that we live in deeds, not in years; in thoughts, not breaths;
In feelings, not in figures on a dial, - as James Bailey had said.
I finally conclude by quoting the first stanza from ‘Beautiful Old Age’  by DH Lawrence;
‘’It ought to be lovely to be old
  To be full of the peace that comes of experience
  And wrinkled ripe fulfilment.’’
                                                   ­  -Raj Nandy of New Delhi.

Written by
RAJ NANDY  NEW DELHI

The Greek Gods of Ancient Days  – by Raj Nandy
PART- ONE.
Those Greek gods loved to throw dice,
With their mind cold as ice,
Playing with human lives, -
Shaping their destiny!
So they had to be kept appeased
perpetually!
They treated humans as toys,
As pawns on a chess board of
their choice.
To escape from the wrath of Gods
The Greeks visited the Oracle at Delphi,
Apollo sacred sanctuary;
Where Pythia, the high priestess, in her
moments of trance,
Revealed their destiny!
PART-TWO.
These mythological stories of bygone days,
Are no longer relevant in our present day.
People are more self reliant today, and believe
in their own prowess all the way.
But we have yet to learn how to live with
tolerance, peace, and love,
And banish all Hatred from this World!
I know all this is easier said than done.
Especially when one hears the speeches of the
political parties, -
For the coming Assembly Elections scheduled for the
Eighth of Feb. in New Delhi;
With these parties constantly abusing one another
to gain victory, most unfortunately!
Let the People of Delhi be the better Judge surely!
Jai Hind!
                                   -Raj Nandy, 05 Feb 2020.
UPDATE:- THE People of Delhi voted correctly & rejected the Govt. which provides lip-service to Women Security!! JAI HIND!

BEHIND  THE  MASK
               By Raj Nandy

That Clinical Mask which covers our face,
As a screen between that Chinese virus and
the human race.
Along with sanitizers and hand wash now
life becomes worth living.
But God has also to be kind and forgiving!

But even without a mask a face can be a
total fake.
And a double faked face even the underworld
goons dread!
Like the double agent in a spy thriller with a
double fake face.
Playing a dangerous double game with his
mask-less, faked, yet a known face!

But our mask-less Chinese virus is an invisible
enemy unseen.
Lurking in open and closed spaces, and in public
gatherings.
So better to have even a double faked face,
To hoodwink that virus and save the Human
Race!                    
                - Raj Nandy, New Delhi, 11 May 2020.

(THIS POEM HAS BE WRITTEN IN A LIGHTER VEIN,
I HOPE YOU LIKE IT ALL THE SAME!_  

COPY, CUT, AND PASTE !
These days I mostly find, on our social
media sites,
Inclusive of this ‘Facebook’ as on date;
Plenty of photos and materials getting
daily posted,
Simply through Copy, Cut, and Paste!
Though deprived of genuineness and
creativity,
It does provide a nice pass time for us
all, despite its lack of originality!
But unfortunately as a result of this,
Creative writing has taken a back
seat!

I wish in my real day life, I could choose
and select from the events of my time,
Through this easy technique of ‘Cut and
Paste’!
Instead of wasting time in planning and
thinking,
When all things could be easily achieved  
with good speed and haste!  

How I wish in our lives there was a
‘Delete Button’ too.
To remove all our aches and pains, and
all our old age troubles too!
Then we could delete that Chinese virus
with ease,
To get our suffering World back on its feet!
But even this ‘Facebook’ does not have this
‘Delete Button’!
And now I am reminded of what Omar Khyyam
in his ‘Rubaiyat’ had written:-
“The Moving Finger writes, and having writ,
   Moves on; nor all thy Piety nor Wit shall lure
   it back to cancel half a line,
   Nor all thy tears wash out a Word of it!”
                                              -Raj Nandy, composed on
                                                20 June 2020, New Delhi.

NOTE: ‘Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam’, is the title Edward FitzGerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian to English, of a selection of quatrains (rubaiyat), attributed to Omar Khyyam (1048-1131), that famous Astronomer-Poet of Persia.

Dear Poet friends, I composed this one as a  
lighthearted entertainment. Yet many a true word is often
spoken in a jest. Hope you like it. Best wishes, - Raj Nandy, New Delhi.        

                ON READING OF BOOKS
Presented Books are seldom read, purchased ones
have better luck instead.
History books with its weight of years, are usually
avoided to save some tears!
Romantic novels are much loved indeed, especially
those with a happy ending.
Detective novels are avidly read, to discover the
murderer one quickly gets to the end.
Syllabus books are bargained with, ten selected lucky
questions is all that you need!
These syllabus books finally land up in a second hand
book stall,
Why bother yourself with reading when there are
many PVRs and Malls?
Mobile phone is a better company these days,
Smile, take a selfie, and go to bed!
                              - Raj Nandy.

THE SONG OF LIFE*
In our life’s long journey dear fellow traveler,
We meet for a while only to depart!
What remains are the sweet and bitter memories,
To torment our lonesome heart !

Those who are endowed with beauty and form,
Must not play around with their deceitful eyes,
To entrap some crazy lover,
And torment him for the rest of his life!

Since beauty is only skin deep, and fades with
the passing of time,
Let us stay away from such enticements,
As we journey on this road of life.

Therefore let us laugh and sing,
As we travel life’s path together,
For laughter is the best medicine,
While songs shall gladden our hearts
forever!
                                       -Raj Nandy, New Delhi,
                                         Composed on 17 June 2020

Friend, abbreviation BC is used to show that a year or century comes before the year in which Jesus Christ is said to have been born. But now BC acquires an additional connotation as ‘Before Corona/Covid’  year, with 2020 becoming our unfortunate
landmark year! - Raj

REFLECTIONS ON OUR PRESENT TIMES
The abbreviation of BC has acquired a fresh
new meaning these days,
Since BC henceforth will also refer to as
‘Before Covid’ days!
The year 2020 shall go down in History as
the commencement of the Covid Era,
Which engulfed mankind due to the
nefarious activities of expansionist CHINA!
China which was once reputed to be the
‘Cradle of Ancient Civilization’,
Has now become the cause for it progressive
destruction!
Jing Ping’s crime against Humanity has overtaken
that of Adolf ****** as we now get to see!
But the World leaders are impotent to unite
against China, - most unfortunately!

The Covid Era with its hygienic taboos and
Social distancing,
Has made us more introverted and dependent
on Computers and ‘WhatsApp’, - for our daily
living!
Smiles are hidden behind masks these days,
And people refrain from greeting with a hug
or a handshake, even for old time’s sake!
Under the present uncertainties of life,
We have become more selfish and self-centered,
following our innate desire to survive!
Though the Insurance Companies and Private
Medical Institutions are minting money these
days,
While the common man struggles to survive
every single day!

But as an optimist, I do hope that Humans will
develop antibodies against this virus soon.
But those antibodies should not wash away our
Human and Humane qualities, -
Along with the deluge of the Monsoon!
                                               -Raj Nandy, New Delhi,
                                                composed 21 Aug 2020.

THE GOOD, BAD, AND THE NAKED TRUTH!
I have often wondered why, bad things happen
to the good,
And good things happen to the bad?
It is also often said that God takes away the
good folks from this world earlier,
While letting the bad ones to stay and suffer!
But given a choice, all of us would certainly want  
to live longer, and also fight out the Chinese
Corona!

Some say that our life’s happenings had been
programmed earlier,
Based on the Hindu theory of individual Karma!
But the atheist and the agnostics, speak of these
as mere random happenings!
Yet some intellectuals also think, that this concept
of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are merely relative things.
As one man’s meat becomes poison for the other,
-  among other things!
Now to get rid of these confusing thoughts and free
my mind,
I feel it is always better to err on the positive side,
And perform actions and deeds which are right.
But at the same time I would love to sing with the
American poet Philip Appleman, who wrote these
great immortal lines;-

“ O Karma, Dharma, pudding and pie,
   Gimme a break before I die;
   Grant me wisdom, will, and grit,
   Purity, probity, pluck and grit.
  Trustworthy, helpful, friendly, kind,
  Gimme great abs and a steel-trap mind.
  And forgive, Ye Gods, some humble advice -
  These little blessings would suffice,
  To beget an earthly paradise :
  Make the bad people good,
  And the good people nice.
  And before our World goes over the brink,
  Teach the believers how to Think!”
                                                    -Raj Nandy, New Delhi.
NOTES: Philip Appleman was born in Indiana in 1926, and served in the US Army. He has displayed greater foresight & understanding than most of our narrow minded politicians and religious leaders! May God bless his soul!

DIWALI GREETINGS FOR 2020 TO MY POET FRIENDS!

    AND HERE IS A REFLECTIVE MESSAGE:-
    WITHOUT GOD OUR WEEK WOULD BECOME  SIN DAY,
    Followed by MOURN DAY
                         TEAR DAY
                         WASTE DAY
                         THIRST DAY
                         FIGHT DAY
                         SHATTER DAY
7 DAYS WITHOUT GOD MAKE ONE WEAK!!

THE MAGICAL INTRUDER !

IN THIS HEART OF MINE,
LOVE ENTERS LIKE AN INTRUDER
I KNOW NOT WHY!

LOVE LIGHTS THE LAMP TO EXPELL
DARKNESS AND GLOOM,
THIS LAMP I FLOAT ON A DARK MOON-
LESS NIGHT ON A LAGOON.

THE LAMP SOON SETS THE WATER ON FIRE!
BUT ONLY AQUA CAN ****** LOVE’S
BLAZING FIRE!

I WONDER WHO HAS CREATED LOVE
WITH ITS MAGICAL EMOTIONS,
WHEN THE HEART GETS MESMARIZED BY
SUCH AN ALIEN INTRUSION!
                                                    -R­aj Nandy, New Delhi
                                                      compo­sed on 16th June ‘20

Friends, when I had composed this short poem in September 2009, almost eleven years ago, few people thought I was harboring Leftist and Revolutionary thoughts. They forgot that a Poet’s thoughts can embrace the entire Universe! Hope you like it, -Raj
      
          TEARS IN HEAVEN
When the rain drops fell on my parched
lips,
I liked them up with great speed and
haste,
But it had a funny salty taste!
It made me to pause and wonder and
think,
Was heaven crying like human beings?

Perhaps the sorrowing salty tears of our
suffering destitute,
And also from our pain stricken multitudes,
Evaporates and is embraced by the sky,
Transforming them into clouds that fly up
high.
And when the sky’s ***** gets heavily
laden, -
It showers down as salty rain from Heaven!
This also enables the sky to once again,
Present to us its pristine azure blue state!
While the suffering humans on Earth down
below,
Look up with hopes and aspirations once
more,
With dreams of a better destiny waiting
beyond Heaven’s pearly door!
                                           -Raj Nandy, New Delhi,
                                            composed 28 Sep 2009