Raindrops: Set of Three Haikus(photo by author)

Raindrops on leaves drip,
A transient impermanence,
Expectant earth waits.
**

Raindrops on leaves.

Tomorrow leaves fall,
Moist earth embraces the dead,
Rejuvenation.

Cherish the beauty,
Short life,lifelong memory,
In death, renewal.

---

I haven’t posted much on my blog for some time now. After a long forty day road trip of 9425 miles across USA, I was most probably getting lethargic. Few weeks back I started to write a long short story in my mother tongue Axomiya (Assamese) on my Facebook wall. Well, to make a long story short, after twenty eight episodes and nearly twenty seven thousand words, I haven’t yet seen the light at the end of the tunnel and falling very far behind. To be precise, still traveling hundred and eighty years in the past. I have still a long time to catch up to the present. I took the photograph of raindrops on rose leaves yesterday morning and as I was looking at the photo today, and it’s a gorgeous sunny day today, thoughts that came to my mind were transcribed by my fingers to a set of haikus. Obviously the rust shows.

Neelakantha

Neelakantha, the name of Sadashiva, God of destruction to recreate in Hindu triumvirate, drank the deadly poison that came out during the churning of the ocean for the celestial nectar or Amrita by the gods (Devas) and the demons(Asuras). The deadly poison, Halahala, if allowed to escape, would have destroyed the whole universe and as Amrita had not manifested yet, there was no recourse. To save the universe from destruction, Shiva drank the poison but kept it suspended in his throat as otherwise he would also have perished from the poison, throwing the universe into utter chaos. As a result, his throat ( Kantha ) became blue (Neela) from the deadly effect of the poison Halahala. From that time Shiva also is known as Neelakantha.

When the mind is set free,

Unshackled from its reins,

And let it roam around,

A treasure trove it explores, and

Along with the pearls,

Comes up the muck.

 

When the gods churned

the ocean,

In search of the celestial nectar,

Up came the poison

To obliterate the universe.

Will I have the strength

Of Shiva

To drink the poison and

Be Neelakantha,

Or will I perish

To the lure of the glitter,

Seduced and discarded

In plain sight of the nectar?

 

Oh, the allure

of the enchantress!

Giving in to my senses,

Let me drown

In your ephemeral beauty tonight,

And cool my passion.

Let the fire of desire

Be quenched by

The touch of those lips,

Nary a drop of nectar

That will ever touch.

Let the poison devour me,

And nectar wait.

What good is immortality

That will erase my memory

Of thy celestial, transient beauty.