Such A Bright And Sunny Day

it is today

the forests and mountains

are sparkling green

the birds are chirping

and the whole mood

outside is of childhood

and wonder and magic

and just as I am thinking this

I can hear my gate opening

and who comes to meet me

but Phantom and I see following

him is his white horse

whose mane is like silk

and suddenly it takes off

into the sky

and I am again surprised to see after it

Superman now flying past

and Spiderman climbing the houses

and the trees and I laugh in joy beyond imagination

and as the mountains are echoing with laughter

there is Batmobile at my gate and Batman is inside it

and Phantom and I now get into the car

and we drive off into the mountains of Kumily

and there are these huge yellow butterflies

the size of people and Batman Phantom and I laugh

and then the three of us start singing

in such happiness Cinderella appears out of nowhere

and following her are Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

and there is also Tintin under a tree waving

and Tarzan howls as he flies across the forest

hanging on to nature’s hand

and Suppandi has his meal of mangoes

and I suddenly find that I am a rainbow

and the music in my ears is the silence

of yellow tables and there is this book

with a telephone dial in it which I am dialling

and I am then in paradise and yellow chicks

greet me with their happy cries and I can understand

what they are saying isn’t it great Dominic they ask

isn’t life the greatest thing in the world and behind them

are so many other animals and slowly I find the shadows

of humans moving like mist and my heart now is open I have seen

the light and here’s a big hug to everyone come let me hold you tight.

The Magic Forest

is before me now

its canopy of trees

pure green joy

and the mountains beyond

in a weightless trance ask

now what do you think

of the sky

what lovely light blue it is

and the big white clouds

like cotton slowly moving

like smoke

and the sky full of light

such freshness

such innocence

like childhood

like birds chirping

such beautiful melodies

evoking magic kingdoms

where I ruled as Emperor

and the butterflies were

my friends and we listened

to that lovely music in the air

and were happy

and then the silence

the depth of it

the purity

at the heart of the world

and I was relaxed and relieved

till I grew wings

and took flight

those were the powers I had

and I soared into the sky like a kite

I was so happy the wind in my hair

and joyous to be alive

in the blue vault and explore it so freely

without any weight

without anything in my mind

and at that time I found

magical properties in the air

magical properties in myself

and I flew all the way through the sky

till I came upon a sea

of the bluest blue and into it

I dived and the water was such

it not only soothed my body

not only did it give me

that relaxed feeling

it took my mind in its element too

and my mind floated

on the water like magic

and I could feel the wetness

and soon I was able to

recognise the trees

the beautiful green canopy

of Kumily and now I walked

out of the forest like a man

and I was no more surprised

at any of the forms I had

merged with the earth

I knelt before it and said

mother mother who gave me

this magic world here I return

after my journey my great adventures

to sleep at your breast like a baby

O mother take your child.

The Tree Canopy

in the forest

is silent

in green

and it has been

raining

making it cold

but there are

such games that

are so wild

you thunder across

the earth

like a dinosaur

and this town

is a series of rolling hills

where the trees dance

and the birds sing

and through my window

I encounter the world

so radiant the sky like freedom

its light growing

and a strong breeze blows

and the leaves flutter

and the birds chirp and squawk

till there is silence

that is haunting

it seems like we have been

given so much of the world

to hold in us

we can see the earth

before our eyes turn

and there is

the forest the spice farms

the wind and once again the rain

so beautiful it sounds as it rises and falls

and you are in the lap of Gulliver

you are this enchanted creature of fantasy

and flesh and heart and mind

and when you find

how your thoughts flow peacefully together

you are overjoyed

and you run down the giant’s body

back to mother earth

and lay down on her and cry

mummy mummy you say

as your sobs wrack you

thank you for your love.

There Is This Picture Postcard View

from my terrace

of the green mountains

and forests

and today the sky

above is blue

and white clouds

washed like cotton

withered

are spread out

in lines of white

through which

you can see

the blue sky

and the cocks crow

in the golden sunshine

and I remember

those evenings

in the garden

behind my school

in Bombay

I remember the buildings

their lit windows

at night

and I know that

in this much time

this memory

has become paradise

in which music plays

in my ears

and many years ago

me and my friend

Merumandar got inside

this rocket that was

in that garden

and drank whisky

and the rocket

took us to the moon

as we howled in happiness

all this I can see and hear clearly

across the years

in this silence

here in Kumily

how peaceful

the mountains are

how relaxed they feel here

and slowly that conical mountain I see

seems like a rocket pointing

to the blue vault up high

and I smile

and yesterday in the evening

I saw these deep green parrots

winging across the sky

their lush beauty

so delightful

and a giant Malabar squirrel

slowly appeared

in the leaves

it was so gorgeous

it excited me

so much

it set me free

I became a bird

and flew into a tree

and now I fly across the sky

and I can see

emerald green mountain

after mountain smiling

and deep blue

and green rivers snaking

in glee

it looks so lovely

I say whee.

The Birds

here are so musical

and beautiful

they chirp

they whistle

they call they hoot

they tweet

and today I saw

a brown black butterfly

fluttering near my house

it was gorgeous its colours

shone in the sunlight

and it occurred to me yesterday

in the evening that somewhere

behind me in the forest

tigers were killing animals

as prey and eating them

and elephants roamed freely

where I am now once upon a time

my maid told me she and her husband

cleared the forest and built their house here

and there is this huge log of wood the trunk of a tree

they cut before us today as the valley slopes into the street below

and the first time I came to Kumily

the first time I came to this town

its curving main street its spice shops

entranced me with their charm

and then too I saw the forest at night

the dark tree canopy its prehistoric power

pulsing in the earth I felt drawn to the jungle

its animals wakening my heart my mind

and in Bombay I would stare at the buildings at night

their lit windows and I would imagine the whole city to be

a ship sailing in the ocean and at times in my house there

I would be strangely surrounded by Kumily’s mountains and valleys

and now I have half a sack of spice to sell in this town’s spice shops

from my property as I sit here writing this I see how the city sailed all the way here

so that I could enjoy good weather and hear the birds chirp and I look at the silent forest around me

and I realise how its trees like wise old giants meditating in a trance and its mountains carrying silence

like a mother its baby in its womb drew me to her breast and I know now how sweet that quietness

tastes on my tongue how it has liberated me from myself  how I have finally been transformed into a bird and set free.

Through The Thick Forest Of Trees

there is sky

and ahead the past

is a fading picture

the green mountains

are beautiful and happy

they stand in a trance

as the birds chirp

in the sunlight

my neighbour laughs

so loudly and so much

I am reminded of happiness

and a white cow grazes

on the forest floor

and Claus told me

Shahul’s son saw

some tiger cubs

and a tigress

in the forest

where he had gone

to bring back

his cow

and I think of

a shining deep blue peacock

with its bright green circles

its beauty and its grace

and I think how nice

it would be to have one

strutting across my property

also a nice brown deer

with white spots so lovely

so wonderful its face its eyes

so pretty I would like to have too

looking on in innocence and wonder

and Claus goes past on his bike

and shouts hello and I shout back

hello too and Aravind is exercising

he is running up and down the stairs

of his nearly built new house he is also

hanging upside down from the terrace

and calls out hello to me as he passes by

and I think of my own childhood when I was Emperor

and owned vast lakes across which I sped by in my speedboat

or rode my black stallion across my open green plains and endless mountains

and now as the breeze blows I find I have grown wings and am flying in the sky and a black and white bird flies close to me and says hi.

Big Beautiful Butterflies

are here fluttering

to make you happy

about the golden sunlight

and the chirping birds

what lovely music they make

so long entertaining us with

their calls their whistles

and that causes the day

to stand still and ponder

where it is

and it is so nice to see

these mountains green

and round and sharp

and dense with trees

and even nicer

is the silence you hear

mountain beyond mountain

meditating this morning

making the air so sweet

my mood is now all flight

liberated given wings

and as I take off

into the blue sky

with big white clouds

sailing in it I see

a swarm of monkeys

invade my property

they close in and I now

realise that they might

climb my coconut tree

and steal a coconut

and break it on my terrace

and drink the water

and spill it over the parapet

and throw the husk all over

my courtyard so I dive back

to the world shouting

go go go go go go go

until the entire band

of monkeys is chased away

and I return back

to my armchair on the terrace

where I was seated

and feel the winds blow

like magic transporting me

to strange places where I feel

the sun glowing in my heart

and I breathe the mystery

of the universe in and out of me

like air and my eyes become

kaleidoscopic colour cameras

scanning my mind its hidden

thoughts flowering

like moving mist

and the sky skates

on my tongue till I am thirsty

and take a sip of water to drink

and decide I’ve had enough to think

it was time that from myself I unlink

that there was no need to stretch it to the brink

and that too much of all this might cause the whole thing to sink.

The Leaves

of the trees

in the forest

dance in the wind

in the sunlight

two beautiful black

and white birds fly

and then there is a

yellow butterfly

fluttering so nice

and then there is

another yellow butterfly

and the green mountains

are so calm and bright

and I see at one spot

a fire burning

and above me

is the blue sky

so sweet and happy

and big white clouds

floating in bliss

I spread my arms

and rise and I kick

my legs and fly free

in the wide expanse

without end

and my body

soon dissolves

into my mind

as my mind

enchanted

breaks free

and see

there is no

more me

and I am very happy

to be a tree

a flying frisbee

a key

or a bee taking a pee.

So Sweet

the world is

so silent

so green

so golden

memories

of times gone

come flooding in

me on my maroon BSA-SLR

riding down the bridge

me drinking with friends

me dancing

oh how the stars sang

how the moon blew its trumpet

and the seas what can I tell you

their  silver dazzled endlessly

I will not die I cannot die

I thought and smiled

at the vast white sky

and I made my way through

the world alive

though now I am

tired and ill

and now I know

that I will die

and still

I am happy with life

because when the birds chirp

I dance with oblivion

as my lover

who kisses me

till I turn

a thousand colours

and then I am thrilled

to be led

straight into bed

with mortality

who smiling

removes my head

and then quite simply I am dead.

How The Birds Whistle

in the morning

they make the air

more refreshing

these white and black

pretty birds

with orange beaks

in the trees outside

the mountains are covered

in mist

surprisingly for

a mid-March morning

and now the sunlight glows

and the world is golden

and the breeze blows

and the leaves

of my clove trees quiver

I can hear a child

in a neighbouring house

and it is so beautiful

and two more people talk

and that is so nice

I ascend the steps

of my illness

I am lifted into

marbled air

I stand and wonder

at this strange man

made of sharp planes

and lines 100 feet high

I listen to him

playing his magic flute

and I find myself

once again ascending

through marbled air

until I am now face to face

with this being

his bright head

from which his hair cascades

into a waterfall

and his flute now is a key

which he is giving me

and I then see a triangle

of light and a door

and I go through it

and am no more.