Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar Poems

I shall do: doing is pleasant.
I’ve to do: having done is pleasant.
I’m bound to do; doing is unpleasant.
...

The shoes once used and found comfortable
Are not so when they are used after
A gap of time as in the mean time
The feet are used to the new pair.
...

Posture, poise and panache,
Sans structure, feature and skin,
Can still make a woman alluring.
If not pretty, don’t worry.
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There are exceptions to rules.
When exceptions exceeds in use,
Rules relegate to exceptions
And exceptions stay as rules.
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The clown and con-man
Hide under the colourful coats;
The fool and charlatan
Ride with the powerful quotes;
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Man cheats on woman;
Her beauty is no bar.
Woman cheats on man;
His chivalry is no bar.
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These scholars look smaller
Than the teachers of my school days.
Famous deities look little
As to my village gods then.
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Pride took me through the growth of my child
And hid me from the growth I underwent.
My son with his age betrays my own age
And made me uncle to all young women.
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The one who has interest in your growth
Is like a shepherd, who has got interest
In the growth and safety of the sheep.
Your interest in others is likewise.
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I shall weep, approaching death,
That my parents aren’t there
To nurse me and sooth me.
None else could assure me.
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