The Palimpsest Poem by rajagopal ranganathan

As I walked upon the grass,
The myriad needle tips setting my feet a-tingle,
As I looked up for the Sun, finding instead,
A bleak gray sky,

I wondered if the rain clouds,
With their burden yet to be shed,
Wanted permanently to snuff out all light,
Filling me up with that all pervading dread,
- of life itself!

“Fie on thee, of pusillanimous mind”, as if to say,
The sun broke out from amidst the watery shroud,
Throwing the clouds into disarray,
Shining forth brilliant and proud.

Oh! How fickle was my faith,
In things positive; choosing instead to dwell,
Upon the darker aspects of life,
As though those which augured well,
- would be but fleeting!

Let the mind be like a palimpsest,
And Your hand wipe out all that is dark and melancholic,
Filling it again and again with thoughts joyous,
So, it can in You rejoice,
-- this is my supplication!