For Many Many Years A Problem Poem by sundaram chandrakalaadhar

for many many years a problem

seized me by my throat;

i ran to places broken-hearted

in search of a way-out of the muddle;

peace was at no peace with me

and swiftly receded far far into the horizon;

everywhere there seemed a solution

yet it was not to be, never to be;

i dashed my head with experts in the field

but my worries alone multiplied

and my purse ran dry and my eyes wet in tears;

my inner mouth was in ceaseless prayers

but no gods lifted their lids for a momentary glance;

the pages of my diary were drenched in sorrow;

years rolled on as it should, piling more grief on me;

no solution was in sight and i resigned to my fate

as a retribution for my commissions in earlier births.

one day, can i call it, a fine day

there had been a perceptable turn around;

it was for better, it seemed to be, my joy in pains-

it grew in arithmetic progression, drying my tears;

a simple solution, i knew not what, somewhere occurred;

o god, what was it that suddenly visited me

and thrashed and drove away my pain and grief?

who withheld it so long and why?

why now a change of heart all of a sudden?

my hair seemed to regain its black tint

my legs became light and leaping

my heart pumped more energy into my soul;

strong shafts of light shot into my indoors-

o god, everything is beyond my comprehension!

o friends in grief, await your moment, painting patience;

it would one day oblige our tireless efforts!


--s.chandra kalaadhar