Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar Poems

To berate in others' presence,
To censure with comparison,
To fight in the presence of children,
To please kids indiscriminately
...

[about Hindus in India]

Divorce unheard, once people were married
Only once. Once they wed, they stuck to it.
...

Light throws shadow.
Sound leaves silence.
Windows lets air and dust.
Let us face likewise
...

Those who call us mad or insane
Are not themselves lovers by now.
Ourselves as lovers, we don't mind
Them in their mocking about us.
...

Women are beehives hanging from tree top.
Men are lame monkeys, expecting dripping.
Beehives not yielding, monkeys not climbing,
A width is maintained for magnetic pull.
...

To say I don't know,
To bid others do,
And to ask questions
Are the easiest tasks.
...

Fire burns when touched
But not so when removed.
Love burns when embraced
And burns when removed too.
...

Pleasure felt by the beloved
In the embrace of her lover
Is killed by the pain caused
By the fear of his leaving her.
...

Smart in looks, good in wealth
Or high in rank, if I'm,
I shall attend to show off.
Hosts mistake it for love.
...

That you get at the place
You have migrated to
Will not compensate that
That you missed from the native.
...