Poetry: Leonard Dabydeen

Let There Be Joy (Roundel)

Let there be joy in all that you’re doing,
No matter crossroads you face in a ploy;
Would you not rather end up knowing
Let there be joy?

In Life, your pursuits will never employ
All things right, without touch of brokering
And preparation for conquest of Troy.

Only by knowledge of where you’re going,
And logics how to get there, sailing ahoy,
Will all things be bright and so comforting,
Let there be joy!
***


If He Could Follow (Roundel)

If he could follow light in the tunnel,
Where darkness holds the key to his burrow,
Would he not so gather his courage spell,
If he could follow?

Or would he sit, be grumpy and wallow,
Not making any effort, no spinel,
Only fostering moans in his marrow.

Freedom has its price, darkness must he quell,
And like Athena, ready to echo
This fire of courage to whip Jezebel,
If he could follow.
***


HYPOCRITES (Sonnet)

Hypocrites, I fear, turn themselves to lose
No matter what palette of truth present;
They hum and haw, whine and wobble to choose,
In the end giggle, guffaw on time spent.

Hypocrites oft lend ear of attention,
So you make-believe with much clarity
Your story will have some comprehension;
Then you pause to ask questions; wait and see.

Hypocrites look at you with fantasy,
And silence creeps in the room like a mouse;
So you undo this coarse monotony,
Shouting, ’Are you dumb and deaf in the house?’

Hypocrites after all know the answer,
Their giggling is a sweet refrain banter.
***


Enjoy the world of love (Sonnet)
प्यार के मजे ले लो दुनिया के मरिहै
pyaar ke maje le lo duniya ke marihai

Where animosity breathes contempt, you
Must take hard look at its cause and effect
Before you let a pot of affront brew,
And for consequences you may regret.

Better to look at the bridge on both ends
Before attempting a roller coaster;
For there are always ups and downs , amends
You should make prior to be a cruiser.

When all fails and you run out of options,
Unlock the Zeus fountain in your heart
And let flow a wisdom of confessions:
That yourself comes first, no matter the start.

Unshackling barriers in your life’s cove
Results in enjoying a world of love.

Leonard Dabydeen, Guyanese-Canadian poet and member of The Society of Classical Poets (USA), Life Member of MetVerse Muse (India); member of Muse India Journal; member of Muse-Pie Press (Shot Glass Journal and Fib Review); contributor to Gandhi Way Newsletter (UK); Triveni Journal (India);  Our Poetry Archive (https://ourpoetryarchive.blogspot.com) ; Pratilipi; Galaktika Poetike “ATUNIS” (http://atunispoetry.com); Setu Bilingual Literary Journal (USA); blog: https://ldabydeen.wordpress.com (Poems Jogging in the Mind).

Free-lance writer and book reviewer; author of Watching You, A Collection of Tetractys Poems (2012), and Searching For You, A Collection of Tetractys and Fibonacci Poems (2015).

Setu, November 2019