Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar Poems

Let children play football or basketball.
They would experience camaraderie,
Team spirit and togetherness.
They would learn bearing failures and defeats
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Don’t hit at all;
Don’t beg at all;
Don’t steal at all;
Don’t cheat at all.
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There is meaning if I dread depth.
There is meaning if I dread beasts.
There is risk of hurts to the body.
Must I dread death that leaves no hurts?
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She likes listening to you
And then talking with you.
She acknowledges your presence
And then grants her presence.
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I am at ease to hate but tense when hated.
I am at ease to love but tense when rivaled.
I am at ease to seek but tense when rejected.
I am at ease to cuckold but tense when cuckolded.
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I don’t want people to be true to me.
Yes, they must please me with words and gesture.
Yes, they must hide their hate and displeasure.
I must be happy though it’s a folly.
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You are the vowels and I, consonants;
When was the word formed?
It must have, perhaps, in our first meet.
You are cotton and I, fire,
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A man can fall for a woman,
Young enough to be
His daughter or grand daughter.
A woman can fall for a man,
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Some parents starve to feed their young ones;
Some beg, some toil, some steal or cheat.
But the greatest sacrifice parents make
Is their fasting from extramarital love.
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