Stalks No Bar Poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

As lotus, fair and lovely,
By water is not soiled
She, frail and comely
By birth is not spoilt.

As pearl, fine and glossy,
By oyster is not bruised
She, tender and brainy,
By class is not sullied.

As melon, lush and succulent,
By draught is not shrunken
She, deft and nimble,
By penury is not sunken.

By beauty, grace and dexterity
Is love well nourished;
By poverty, traits and parentality
Is love not eclipsed.

Otherwise it is not love
06.06.97