Shanta Acharya
IF
If the universe had not been Love’s creation,
life and light born in an unimaginable explosion –
we would not exist.
If the Milky Way and the dust of dying stars
did not scatter in space, in love’s reincarnation –
we would not exist.
If the sun and moon did not send their rays to earth,
awakening us to worlds beyond our imagination –
we would not exist.
If our sky did not gift us with the gods of weather,
protecting us from space debris and radiation –
we would not exist.
If our planet did not revolve round its axis,
inner and outer cores locked in lovers’ passion –
we would not exist.
If day and night did not daily renew their vows,
blessing us with light and darkness for our preservation –
we would not exist.
If water did not enthral us with the miracle
of creation, the beginning of life and evolution –
we would not exist.
If plants did not produce oxygen for no reason
except the pure joy of breathing in carbon –
we would not exist.
If every species did not have a purpose for being
here, their lives worthy of celebration –
we would not exist.
If nature’s bounty and resilience did not go about
scattering the seeds of hope and compassion –
we would not exist.
If greed and ignorance, pride and power
stand in the path of enlightenment and realisation –
we will cease to exist.
Copyright: Shanta Acharya, 17D Bloomfield Road, Highgate, London N6 4ET, UK
SONG OF PRAISE
from prayers in different traditions
Praise the stars in their constellations
for knowing their place, yet blessing all migrations.
Praise the sun, powerful, yet unwavering
in its journey across the sky, light pulsing
through clouds, mists – life sustaining.
Praise the moon always true, waxing waning,
constant in its daily transformation.
Praise the earth as it moves on its axis –
inner and outer cores holding on to each other,
partners on the dance floor, steady as they go.
Praise day and night, mere limits of our perception;
and death, a release from our earth-bound vision.
Praise the sky, air, ether; praise the universe
for awakening us to worlds beyond our imagination.
Praise water in all its forms, giving and taking –
blood flowing through continents of bodies.
Praise plants sun-facing, light-changing,
breathing in carbon, green deities in meditation,
giving us oxygen, expecting nothing in return.
Praise the eye of the guest – clear, observant.
Praise the giver of life – almighty, benevolent.
Praise every species in our planet
masterpieces of evolution –
rich, rare, wild, keepers of infinite secrets.
Copyright: Shanta Acharya, 17D Bloomfield Road, Highgate, London N6 4ET, UK
FORGIVENESS OF BEES
Dancing in riddles, buff tailed, they buzz and bumble
against the double-glazing – swirling poems
on ecstatic wings, praying without ceasing.
I sit cross-legged, meditating, their swing and jig
the propolis protecting me – the peace of wild things
descends like passing showers of blessings.
Day my boiler stopped working, the gasman found
a drift of bees dead inside – warriors, brave
as Abhimanyu who knew how to enter the maze
of life, peace and war, the invincible Chakravyuha,
killed for not knowing how to exit the battlefield.
Grief-stricken, unable to warn selfless explorers
that instinct can save or destroy at will, I feel
the forgiveness of bees, soft as velvet against my skin.
Copyright: Shanta Acharya, 17D Bloomfield Road, Highgate, London N6 4ET, UK
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Shanta Acharya’spoems have appeared in journals and anthologies in English worldwide, including The Poetry Review, Critical Quarterly, London Magazine, PN Review, Journal of Postcolonial Writing, Agenda, Acumen, The Spectator, Stand, Philosophy Now, The New European, The Literary Review, Wasafiri, KavyaBharati, Indian Literature. Her latest poetry collections are What Survives Is the Singing (Indigo Dreams Publishing, UK; 2020) and Imagine: New and Selected Poems (HarperCollins Publishers, India; 2017). www.shanta-acharya.com Email: shanta.london@gmail.com
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