by Seema Jayaraman
I chanced upon this moonlit shrine
In a remote, abandoned woods
Desolate, unkempt, so in ruins
Harassed by shrubs & unkempt bush
All alone, unlit and untended
It's floor littered with withered leaves
It's granite ramparts crumbled and fallen
It's since strong proud pillars buckling
Its chiseled sculptures unanimated
It's sacred hymn markings eroded
It's doors were hanging on hinges
It's window ledges had no lit lamps
It's lamp holders held old nests
It's sanctum in darkness devoid of
The presiding diety's soul
Worshippers with prayers long gone
Musicians had abandoned their songs
The cymbals and bells were silent
There were no footsteps circumbulating
The priests had found other gods
I chanced upon this shrine, unsmiling
Shrouded in moondust and darkness
Shorn of its pomp and sheen, muted
Vaguely familiar it gazed back
Sadly from the reflections
In its wavering pool of my liquid eyes
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ABOUT THE POET ~
Seema K. Jayaraman is an upcoming poetess based out of Mumbai, India tracing her roots to the mystical lands of ‘Naura’ (Cannanore District in Kerala, also known as the crown of God’s Own Country). She is a mother of two young boys and a full time working professional in the IT Banking domain, juggling multiple roles and demands of life. She re-embarked on her poetry in September 2015 on viewing the image of a little boy washed up ashore the Aegean Sea – a victim of the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis. Her poem “A Father’s Grief” was penned in anguished protest, after a hiatus of nearly two decades. She believes the poem was auto dictated from divine realms conveying the universal loss and hopefully to bring an end to this kind of sadness., She writes unconstrained, experimenting with both free style and rhyme based verses. She also enjoys writing Haiku and Tanka. Her debut book “Wings of Rhapsody – A Dalliance Of Poems” was released in June 2016 and is available on leading retail sites including Amazon. Her poems have also appeared in a few anthologies and also on YouTube and various private FM channels (RedShift FM Radio - UK.
Last updated September 19, 2016