Dragonflies Poem by Daniel Trevelyn Joseph

From the corner-table of Lavasa Restaurant,
I see across the lake below and hills beside
Fleet of dragonflies etched against blue sky.
These move faster than any helicopter,
Manoeuvring, turning to fly in different
Directions, difficult angles at instant notice
Hover, speed up or slow down, so suddenly
Which no helicopter, even the most modern,
Can do: no Air Tower Controller, for them
To guide aerial traffic, yet with no accident ever.

Nature towers over above us
Like the Himalayas over Malabar Hill of Mumbai
Or the Parsik hill of Navi Mumbai nodes.
The simple dragonfly is a master-pilot
Whose skill is beyond reach
For any human or machine.

I love them especially here in Lavasa Ekaant:
We lived in Hyderabad Estate on Nepean Sea Road,
Then I realized that the dragonflies crowd, buzzing
Around the green foliage of some tall, wet trees
In the rainy month of September.
What do you know – miraculously,
Today is the first of September,2008!

I wonder where they live,
Between one September and the next?
Maybe they fly away to China
Cohabit with dragons,
Till the flames get too cold there,
And they fly back down to India here?
May we bless them here, and there too!