Poetry: Chennuru Sravan

Chennuru Sravan

One Hearty Smile Does It All

Despite being outweighed by the worldly chaos

Her hands never cease holding it up

Like a seed though outweighed by the earth

Eventually breaking through to feel the light 

One hearty smile does it all.

Even if faced by the gale of gloom

That shakes the heart, agonising it

She sways, but stands firm towards it

Like a sapling being swayed by the winds

But staying intact with its roots

One hearty smile does it all.

Stones of hatred thrown at her

Hurt and pained, yet she takes them all

Offering to shower her love in return

Like a tree even if hit by pebbles

Drops the precious fruits it bears

One hearty smile does it all.

***

My Prayer for All

If light indeed dispels darkness

No way could one photon bring about that

Not as particles, but as a unified ray

Like a sword piercing through the shield 

Is what leads our way forward.

As pleasant as the twinkling stars appear

Their job is not just to twinkle bright 

For even the mighty Sun can do that

Much less even a small single star

It is only when all stars shine together

They form the jewels of the night sky

Such solidarity of celestial bodies

A sight unattainable by any painter

For even if he could depict their luminosity

He cannot, their will to stand up

Against the wide dark dominating universe.

Such I wish our spirits to be like

For the future of ours, let us lighten our hearts

With flames ignited from the matchstick of hope

Burning not merely to dispel the dark

But stay without exhaustion in the midst of the storm

That threatens our world today.

And hence concludes my prayer

All words for one, and one prayer for all.

***

Is It Because You Are Not With Me?

I come out in the rain, hoping for fun

Jumping and splashing in the puddles

But I no longer feel the joy out of it

Just makes me upset that I am all muddy

Is it because you are not with me?

I stand on the shore, watching the sun

Hoping to lay myself under its rays

But I no longer feel its strength reaching me

It wrings me out, sweaty and tired

Is it because you are not with me?

I roll on the grass in a silent field

With a wish to drive my worries away

But I no longer feel the softness of the grass

That I once cuddled with like a toddler

It pricks me like merciless thistles

Is it because you are not with me?

I take a walk, in this breezy weather

Yearning for the winds to show me the way

But the winds no longer seem soothing and calm

They turn harsh and cold 

Making me shiver and shut myself away

Is it because you are not with me?

***

Brief Bio:

Chennuru Sravan is a student residing in Hyderabad, India. He is currently in the 5th year of his 5-Year Integrated Masters in Economics at the University of Hyderabad (UoH). His research interests lie in Applied Microeconomics, particularly Environmental Economics, International Trade and Game Theory. His hobbies include origami, poetry, numismatics and sketching.

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Setu, March 2021