The Seventeen Mile Drive
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Driving through this dreamy stretchIs an other worldly experience A kaleidoscope of images That conjure a surreal maze I would give my all to get lost in. Forsooth, I would love to be A prisoner without parole If only to live here And to die here. No, I don’t wish to reside In the mansions that dot this place Nor am I eager to tee off here On the finest grass ever grown Nor do I crave human company Nor of gods. I hunger not for cuisine Nor thirst for vintage wine Nor even ambrosia If that be served here. I seek the serene company Of the majestic pines and junipers The redwoods and manzanitas The oaks and cypresses. I seek their loftiness and grace Their language of silence Their balmy benevolence. The truths they communicate That no scriptures articulate. I would give my all For the breathtaking Catalpas That welcome me tenderly With their hearts spread out in a wide canopy. I would never tire watching The daisies and buttercups Buck weed and Poison ivy That soak the sun and drink the fog To weave the magic carpets That fly you to eternity. I can't take my eyes off The mystical cypress grove Trees frozen in existence Unabashed in their nakedness Their limbs stretched out Criss-crossing Weaving tantalizing patterns Speaking through their starkness Pulsating with life Even as they seem dead! But how can anything die here In this chosen slice of earth That breathes immortality? |
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*Dr. K L Chowdhury Dr. K L Chowdhury retired as a Professor of Medicine, Medical College, Srinagar. Presently he is the Director of a charitable institution, Shriya Bhatt Mission Hospital and Research Center, Durga Nagar, Jammu.He is a physician and neurologist, a medical researcher, poet, social activist. He writes on diverse subjects – medical, literary, social and political and has numerous research papers to his credit, his pioneering work being “The Health Trauma in a Displaced Population” which was presented at national and international conferences. He has published three anthologies namely: 1- “Of Gods, Men and Militants”. Minerva Press (Pvt.) India -2000 2- “A Thousand-Petalled Garland and other Poems”. Writers Workshop Kolkata – 2003 3- “Enchanting world of Infants” Peacock Books, Atlantic Publishers and Distributors-2007 He was declared Shehjar's 'Kashmiri Person of the year' for 2007. | |
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