Much Awaited Poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

I heard much of Cleopatra.
I read much of Cleopatra,
Read with her lover Mark Antony.
But I never saw her beauty.

What sensation I would’ve got
Had I seen her in bone and flesh,
That sensation came to me hot
When you, Jessiamma, I met.

I wish I saw you a decade
Ago when you’re a young orchard.
Your kindness outlives your beauty.
It is unkind to deride your bounty.

I regard you in high esteem
As in you runs a crystal stream,
Wherein many want to bathe,
That you ward off to keep it clean.

You are gifted with a beauty
That women view as their envy
And men find as their energy.
Thus, your journey is made easy
17.07.2001 Ktm