Let's Keep The Music On "We Must Accept Finite Disappointment, But Never Lose Infinite Hope." --Martin Luther King, Jr. Poem by rita malhotra

fear-tethered unity across maps
bereft of dots
resonates in unmatched grace
virtual synergy in cyberspace
kindred tears, parallel dreams
remain dressed in their formal best
defying blackholes of the time

promulgation, communication
from sanitized sites of seclusion
from bondages of quarantine
death in a hurry, whirlpools of misery
outsides clad in ghost-shadows
(Goya's dead escape from his dark paintings)
but the insides, in meditative chants
keep the music on

Vishnu* beseeched, Indra invoked
earth rechristened hell
seas remain formless, skies smothered
the sun limps on crutches of shadows
universe measures its memory's depth
in recall of moribund songs
of the savage grippe espagnole**
yet raga bhairavi*** meanders in
to keep the music on

heavens wrapped in grey shrouds
muzzled beaks of singing larks
thoughts circle broken mirrors
brutal history carves itself
on the city's throbbing face
yet, that infinitesimal spark of hope
eludes the ferocity of annihilation
to keep the music on

the wrinkled man whispers love
to moist eyes of an age-bent wife
"tears too have dreams" he says
the third eye of the westward sky
has its own tale to tell---
homeward birds are flying in
with the loving, distant folks and kin
to keep the music on

past water-rapids, through forest-shades
anticipation in green embrace
wings its way to earth's door--
the rare orchid will bloom again
herons will fly the sky in flocks
gentle zephyrs would sing once more

who says
melodies are extinct?

*Known as the preserver, Lord Vishnu is one of three supreme Hindu deities. Vishnu's role is to protect humans and to restore order to the world. Indra, in Hindu mythology, is the king of gods.
**The Spanish flu of 1918
***Bhairavi is a Hindustani Classical sampurna raga. This raga employs the notes of the Phrygian mode which is one of the traditional European church modes.