Voices Within: Bhaskaranand Jha Bhaskar

Bhaskaranand Jha Bhaskar is a trilingual poet (English, Maithili, and Hindi), critic and reviewer, based in Kolkata. He is regularly published in various national and international magazines, both printed and online. His poetry springs straight from heart and mind as unification of sensibility. One of his poems on Nelson Mandela is included in the academic syllabus prescribed for the school students of Philippines. He is also the Review Editor of Asian Signature, a literary e-journal, managed from Kolkata. Soothing Serenades: Straight From the Heart is his first volume of poems and Two Indias & Other Poems is under publication. He has been published worldwide.

Smile! Smile! O Sullen Heart!

Smile is a pleasing expression
Of a good and great heart
That makes him or her
Young and bold;
It rubs down growing wrinkles
Of sorrow and grief
From aging, bloated faces
Like the useless flakes of gold.

Just as a trusty touchstone
That tests a stone
To prove its worth intrinsic--
Whether a gem or iron stark;
A precious gem always glows
Beautifying a bare body
Or a lady's fingers
Like a moon in the night's dark.

Smile! Smile! O sullen heart!
For the smile is the reflection
Of a kindred-soul;
Smile! Smile! Smile by heart
By body, mind and spirit
Smile only will make you whole.

 

Life is a Garden of Roses and Thorns

Life is a garden of both roses and thorns
But Beauty grows up in rows and throes

Roses rise up from the thorns and thistles
By blunting all their spines and prickles

With easy wafts of fragrance on the earth
They prove their eternal worth and mirth

Life is thorny and bitter but always better
Greater than those, fallen in a dirty gutter

Leaves, pale and frail, may wither and fall
But seeds sprout up by hugging the squall

Only a breath of fresh air is all they need
To beautify the earth with what they breed.

Life is not a bed of roses; let them so say
Love winnows all the thorns from our stay.

TIME PRESENT AND TIME PAST

Memory merely remains
As precious present
Of what people, close to heart,
Leave behind
As withered petals
Of the past
On the heaps of time
Sending out pleasing aroma.

Dates and days are
Like black and white pages
That keep turning
Over and over
In the colourful calendar
Of human life.
Hope is the only key
That opens the door to future.

Time is ever right and bright.
Use this lovely present
Gifted by Time,
Turning back to the past
Look ahead
Hoping for the best
As the time to come out
Always brings up a new dawn.

In My Emptiness I am Full

When thoughts dry up
And words fail
To take a concrete shape;
Vision goes blurred,
The pen remains lying down
On a secluded table
That wears
A pensive look
In the deserted world.

In my emptiness I am full
Filled up with myself
But lost for eons
In a dark pit
Of mysterious time
And Self
With a shelf of secrets,
Exploring an enlightening theme
Of Light and Guide
I further my new creation
For my transmigration...

Voices Within - Complete List of Poets :: Setu, January 2019