The World Literature Blog

1. rivers in verse
rivers inversereverse rivers
rivers re-verse

2. The Periyar is my river
Our river
The secret of the river
is that it once had banks
on which people settled
for giving them water
the drink of life
and no river is more
or less
than any other
holy

Celebrated in a song
in Malayalam
in a film
it holds intimate memories

I have sailed on it in a huge boatsat on its steps
gazed at it for hours
from behind it wall
adjoining the YMCAnear Aluvamanappuram
admired its depth and blue
and how the sunshine sparkles
and at night the moon
on its creased surface
and how the river flows

I could stand or sit for hours
just watching it flow

3 Nature in its peace
quiet
calm
aglow
symbolized by the river
used to make me slow-
ly wake up to what was saidin Holy Writ
Creation shews forth thy power
and make me feel its song
making me a poet
akin to the sylvan ones
of Romantic fame
and akin to Hopkins
who knew to learn from it

I too would jot down thoughts
but only in my mindhow green became greenr
framed against the river's blue might
how pretty was the contrast
'tween blue above and blue below
and how the reflections of the sky
made rivers put Dali to shame

For walking on its bank
and watching the clouds float by
in the mirror of the rivermade me feel in the sky
in which the river was flowing
that'd let me get off by and by

It was a tipsy feeling.