Worldly Wisdom…Narayana Swamy Venkatayogi, Telugu, Indian
Yes, you are right
I am not worldly-wise
Abetting my farmland
Water streams past…
Yet, it lies famine dry.
I surrender my priceless fields
At throw away price to you,
And work for wages in my own farm.
To the tall promises
Of buildings and skyscrapers
I give up my land in lots unwittingly to thugs
And grope in darkness.
When the wizened animals
Come under the knife at the abattoir
I hold my tears at the brink of sockets.
When the teeming youth
Sail to alien lands chasing green pastures
But return wrapped in palls and coffins
I swallow my agony in hapless silence;
Like a termite-eaten threshold, I stand
In a dusty, neglected courtyard.
Yes, you are never more right,
I am not as seasoned as you;
I fancy cementing
With a river-sandy heart; but
Return plodding my way back
With clouds smearing my eyes.
But when I understand your tactic
To drive people out of their homes
My heart boils like lava.
Yes you are right.
When I understand your evil design
How can I keep myself quiet?
.
Narayana Swamy Venkatayogi
Telugu
Indian
Image Courtesy: Narayanaswamy Venkatayogi
Narayanaswamy Venkatayogi hails from Siddipet in Andhra Pradesh and is now living in Princeton, NJ US with wife Vidya and two daughters Tuhina and Tushira. He is Working in IT. He has so far published two collections of his poems “Kallola Kala Megham” and “Sanduka” His interests are: Literature – particularly Poetry, Criticism; Serious Cinema and Film making. He loves music too!
