The Mute Lady Poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

A demure lady was near my sight.
I could not sleep, try as I might.

I was beset; my heart in a glow.
I sent out my measured look, saw

Her unobtrusive, serene face
Cast down at work in phase.

Cognizant of me though she is,
She refused to court my eyes.

Her triplet: modesty, reticence,
And timidity coalesced to the incense,

That drove me out of sense,
My passion for her lurking tense.

Never rested my perverse look,
However resolute she might prove.

Her triplet by its nearness was my plight.
I could not retreat, try as I might.

I am tired; have I to retire?
Mute Lady, the care can you spare?

Why should your triplet me only excite
And leave others from the orbit?

Flinch not. My ingenious act,
I could not resist, try as I might.

Why should your aura assail my soul
What no one else but I can feel?

You’re not mute, subliminally hot,
Mute Lady, my acumen can spot.
12.11.2000, Pmdi