May the Melody of Love and Peace Capture the World

Meenakshi Mohan

Poem and Art by Meenakshi Mohan

This poem is a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi for his birth anniversary on October 2nd.  The world called him Mahatma or the Great Soul and revered his passive nonviolent philosophy. 

The world stood still, stunned with pain,

three shots on that calamitous day --

a nonviolent fighter against the violence,

Bapu, the Father of the Nation, a saint, was no more.

This small-statured, half-naked-fakir, a giant among men, 

who traversed the road of Ahimsa, Equality, Peace, and Truth,

stood tall like a Banyan tree taking the world under the shade of his canopy. 

His principles relive through many --

Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Dalai Lama, Aung San Sui. 

 

Gandhi, messiah of humanity, we need you. Our earth is in chains. 

Manacles of pandemic and endemic scourges threaten our world.

Racial injustice, crime, violence, greed, poverty, religious and political crisis

made holes in the fabrics of our lives.

Let your charkha knit a virtual tapestry of harmony.

May the melody of Love and Peace capture the world.

Note: The Banyan tree is considered the national tree of India, known for its strength, vigor, and vitality. Its roots can penetrate harsh surfaces like concrete and stones. The tree rejuvenates itself through its branches.

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Bio:  Meenakshi Mohan is an educator, art critic, children’s writer, painter, and poet.  She has taught at universities in Chicago, Boston, and, more recently, for Towson University in Maryland.  Her specialization is Early Childhood Leadership and Advocacy.  She has published widely in this area and presented numerous papers and workshops. Her book reviews, art critics, interviews, and poems regularly appear in different journals. She has been listed twice in the Who is Who Among American Teachers. She authored two children’s picture books, The Rainbow in My Room and The Gift, and edited Tamam Shud, poems of Kshitij Mohan. She recently had a solo exhibit of her paintings in Potomac, Maryland. Most of her paintings are in private collections. She is currently on the Advisory Committee of the Montgomery County Library System in its Potomac, Maryland branch. She is on the Editorial Team for Inquiry in Education, a peer-reviewed journal published by National Louis University, Chicago, Illinois.

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Setu Special 2020 :: Setu, October 2020