Forest Poem by Susanta Pattnayak

Forest
Has always been a thrilling mystery to me
Mysterious as the tells, told by my Nanny
In many a moon glittery nights
I slipped off from my Nanny's stories
Rode my wish horses, stars with me as my army
Ventured the dense dark forest, deep in my dream
And valiantly rescued the beautiful princess,
From the dungeon of the wicked witch.

Forest
Has always been a princess to me,
Elegantly poised on a leafy carpet under the silken sun
The princess smiles through her lovely flowers
Sings her spring songs
Spellbound that I'm, as her beauty drenches in rain
Canopy swinging heavenwards, her legs go bare
Abashed but reassured, she is,
For her loved ones spring to new life, under her care.

Forest, has always been a passion.
From the midst of the concrete and mortar
It's the forest, often I desire to retire
To dance passionately, coupling with a majestic peacock
Jump with a buoyant monkey, childish though, from a tree top
Or hop round a bush as a naive deer
I 'd like to get drunk and lost in it's wild flavor
Following the hoofs on the elephant's track
Be a spectator to their day long, royal bath
From behind a thick tree cover
Silently like to observe, on his hind legs, a pot-bellied bear
The sprinting of the cheetahs, the hares and the wild boars
Or quietly lying down on earth, inside the closet of a cottage
I 'd like to listen silently to the distant echo of a lion's roar.