Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar Poems

Once women were fire, giving men warmth.
Men made them a flame and bathed in that light.
Men are in search of warmth that they lack.
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If a woman is a Cleopatra
And sets her eyes, any man is Antony
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A bull went to a meadow to graze.
While grazing he found trees of love.
The bull took the site for shade,
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I took some notes that will be thrown soon.
I got some arts that be discarded soon.
I built friendships to be dismantled soon.
I saved mementos to be cast into bin.
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To hold interests misers as much as
to spend interests spendthrifts.
To be fire enthuses the chaste as much as
to be water does to libertines.
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One is one’s mother’s child; it is a truth.
One is one’s father’s child; it is a belief.
We cannot live without belief.
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I deserted my wife as I suspected her.
I courted a woman, a known harlot.
Chastity helps woman to cling to a man,
But not to stop him from falling for someone.
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To gratify one’s ego
Or to pacify one’s guilt or both,
One drains one’s time and purse,
And seams to the mass as generous.
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Desire is fire of life.
It does not die, and change the object.
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I dreamt of becoming an actor,
Lured by the romantic field,
Lured by the airs they’d wield.
I dreamt of becoming a writer
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