SEEMA JAIN, INDIA

Seema Jain

Prof. Seema Jain is a bilingual poet, translator, editor, Ex-Head, English Dept KMV Jalandhar. Recipient of many prestigious awards, she has twelve published books (English and Hindi poems, edited books, translated poems, translated novels and edited poetry anthologies -- two for Sahitya Akademi). Her poems are globally published in about 100 Anthologies, recited for Sahitya Akademi, at poetry conclaves, and are housed at Stanford University’s digital archives. She is on various literary bodies globally.

THE WANDERING HEART

Hidden in the secret crevices of the heart,

There is a wanderer always ready to depart!

The mundane affairs of a humdrum life

Might submerge its existence in times of strife

But like a naughty child on a mischief spree

At the slightest opportunity, it dances in glee

Whether at a glimpse of the snowclad mountain peaks

Or the inscrutable patterns of clouds' velvety streaks

The multi-hued flowers in a garden in spring

And the butterflies for their nectar endlessly flitting

The green grassy carpet, the trees with their succulent fruit

Connect the wandering heart to their magical treat

The vastness of the ocean, its limitless expanse and depth

Teeming with millions of species makes me hold my breath

The panorama of cities, villages, towns in different continents

And their divergent peoples, relics and monuments beckon me to them.

The insatiable wanderlust seems to grow more and more

As I embark on my wanderings to tirelessly explore

And I thank God for creating such a beautiful world

And salute man for inventing means to traverse the entire earth.

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Solitude of Soul 2023 :: Setu, March 2023