Rich Ride of Rama
Read on my dear children and my dear friends and you would appreciate
The rich ride that this farmer’s son made has something good to contribute
On January eighteen, in forty he was laid in a wooden cradle
His parents and guardians are gone but gave him a life to paddle
The grandparents raised him well and told him how to conduct his march
His parents handed him great light and might on his head as an arch
His village home was his castle and his farm was his childhood school
He got ready to play with rural friends to swim in the river but no pool
Formative learning at a village school with local teachers bright and smart
This prepared him for the best high school and gave him a head start
Teachers from abroad instilled in him a love of books and a bit of creative art
Outdoor life and physical fitness were his hobbies that made him so smart
From Shakespeare, Tennyson, Blake and Keats came some of his literary talents
Dickens, Bronte` sisters, R L Stevenson and Orwell gave him the needed patents
Early to rise to do the farm chores and catch a daily bus to school suited him
Late to bed after his hard studies and some more home work also suited him
Fishing taught him the love of outdoor life and a lot of practical patience
Drama on the village and school stages gradually led him to real existence
All the journeys to the Sleeping Giant and the Pacific Ocean were reflections
That magnified the life that his elders and friends had for his recollections
Indoctrination somewhat complete he gained an entry into a tertiary institution
All the dreams of his elders realized when he became a teacher after graduation
While at the college he met his dream girl and confessed his love silently
As a test of maturity, she let him depart to do some rural teaching distantly
A year or two rolled by and their unconditional love matured very distinctly
Multiple contacts in the form of love letters and phone calls came intermittently
Their love grew fonder with the distance and separation that kept them apart
But their fate brought them together because they could not remain apart
The love doves got married and established a family life and home that lasted
Their work life strengthened and peace, progress and prosperity got plastered
They became the masters of their destination and planned a perfect family life
The journey of the family became fruitful with only a few strife in their life
Brisk wielder of the birch and rule he was the master of the village school
Success came rolling to him because he gathered his knowledge pool
Many promotions came to him and he was awarded a prestigious scholarship
He tuned his intelligent switch and attained a few quality professional membership
Together they served and moved from town to town gaining techniques and tacts
He gained the power to play the right games and deal with all the needed facts
Two sons and two daughters became the most valuable treasures of their life
All hopes, strengths and efforts were bestowed on raising the children well
Time moved on and their treasurers began to move with great swell
The ladder of their life was hard because there was no escalator to take the stroll
Each step on the trembling ladder took them steep and tall to the highest window of the wall
There was no time to pause and listen or to look down but to keep moving
This was the motivation of the angel, his wife who led him to the top roofing
They reigned well and with joy on top of the roof of their long fruitful life
An ambitious expedition was planned to live forever as husband and wife
Wrapped in their own world in silence, so deep, contended and still in love
They almost made a golden journey of married life that ended their move
When his pretty lotus was laid to rest in peace in the Centennial Memorial Gardens one day
His heart and soul cried so heavily that no one had seen such a sorrowful event any day
He accompanied his angel and rode with her soul on the final journey as she wanted
The talk of us two during that lonely ride can never be described and counted
One life ended and one life destroyed and his grieving heart and soul all shattered
Creeping along from room to room in his lonely home has all that now mattered
The lovely life and peaceful journey of the past is now his dread, pain and grief
For suddenly his life has come to an abrupt end and now seems to be very brief
When would the storm and rain of tears in the eye dry up and the river of sorrow flood?
When would these black clouds of loneliness move away and stop to brood?
He is impatiently waiting to mount and ride that life with his pretty lotus once again
But he is all booted and spurred and they resides on the opposite shores of the world again
The brilliant journey that began on a steed full of valour and great enthusiasm
Has reached the end and turned the tide out to end the ride that has no fascination
For he is now all lonely and spectral and sombre and still but has not lost hope
Alas as he looks to the empty sky above there is no glimmer and no light of hope
And yet deep down his hearty eagerness he wants a reunion impossible that it may seem
He wants to rekindle his love and light the same flame that once was his beam
His wife, his life and his inspiration has vacated his village of lustre and love
Now he sits all alone in the sandy desert of his home that cannot be his cove
He goes to bed to sleep but his slumber dwindles away till the crowing of the cocks
He wakes up all drowsy although the birds and the dogs tell him the time of his clocks
The home that was bubbling with her vibrancy once is now all blank and bare
There is nothing to rejoice or even to gaze at the pretty face that once used to glare
All the melodious music and the sweet twitter of the birds among the trees mean nothing
The best of the food and the sweetest drinks give him tastes that feel nothing
So this life of Lakhan has had a good ride until his pretty lotus was his soul mate
Now that she has gone to rest in peace, there’s no life in the village, the farm or the state
The days begin, the nights go by but the sorrow, pain and grief all gather on the floor
To bring the darker clouds of fear, voice of the unknown and a knock on the door
All the fond memories come out to parade and her sweet voices echo evermore
Despite the genuine efforts of the loved ones to heal, Lakhan cannot live anymore
A silent cry, some warm tears and a broken heart is all that is left to measure
But Lakhan has created a collection of the fond memorial of his Pretty Lotus to treasure
This is a therapeutic treasury of the life that began some fifty-five years ago
When tomorrow starts without her he wants to feel she is in his heart all aglow
Everyday that passes by in grief he feels that he loves his pretty lotus a lot more
If they get another chance to live their love life, it’s assured that he would love her more
Strength, dignity, warmth and good clothing were her garment of humanity
She opened her mind to wisdom and the law of kindness in her vicinity
Lakhan’s Saroj looked well at all times and managed her household well
Why wouldn’t such a brilliant maiden forever be remembered and in heart dwell?
Her children and grand children rise up and call her many times blessed
Her husband has always praised her saying ‘My Pretty Lotus was truly blessed.”
Having read this my children and my dear friends now you can all appreciate
The ride that this farmer’s son made in his lifetime is something good to colebrate.
-Ram Lakhan Prasad, 15th August 2014.