Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar Poems

I don’t retrospect if I love my wife
Nor do I mind her lukewarm response.
Whether I love her or not, I must see
That she does not love any other man.
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Ash cleans brass and acid, copper.
Trees clean air and the flow, water.
Menses cleans woman and sex, man.
Mind! Cleaning is not preventing.
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Widows are jealous of wives.
Concubines are jealous of wives.
Bachelors seek for wives.
Husbands trust on wives.
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The greed blinds one.
The pride blinds one.
So does the lust.
So does the rage.
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The fate of the literature is that
It is more said than read,
More discussed than understood
And more debated than enjoyed.
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Reward and punishment aren’t direct.
They are delivered by God through men,
Made to act from mercy and revenge.
Men are not responsible for their acts.
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To be too close is dismal;
To be too far is losing.
Be it a king or a woman.
To balance it is cleverness.
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Kings, juries or priests are known by their robes.
Robes, not their bodies, demand attentions.
Souls are known by bodies they occupy.
Bodies shade souls as robes shade bodies.
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A great scholar; a great sculptor
A great scientist; a great painter.
They are equal in their greatness.
Give them equal reverences.
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That day I forgot to get back my pen.
This day I forgot to give back one’s pen.
Both of them will not cancel each other.
I must repent my act and cleanse my soul.
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