Poetry: Pramod Rastogi

Pramod Rastogi

Pramod Rastogi

Emeritus Professor

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Switzerland

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Love for Life

She gazed at me, eyes locking with mine,

Her voice unspoken yet achingly clear,

"Do you love me?" A question worn by time,

But never by her hunger.

"Endlessly," I murmured,

Drawing her close, my arms a haven.

Her thirst for my love, an unquenchable flame.

I gazed at her, eyes mirroring hers,

And felt the abundance of her heart.

Love poured forth, an untamed river,

Quenching the arid sands of my soul.

In her gaze, I found fullness,

Her love for me an ocean without end.

Love is no myth, no riddle to solve,

It thrives in the rhythm of hearts,

An elixir that blooms in every embrace.

I love her as deeply as she loves me,

Each of us fluent in our own language of devotion.

Whatever the words, the gestures, the silences,

Our love is eternal, our promise for life.

***

The Unyielding Flame

While wandering a desert in the hush of dawn,

To the east, the sun ascended, aflame,

While to the west, the moon lingered, fading, forlorn.

The sun’s fiery rays swept mercilessly,

Engulfing the moon in a blaze of dominance,

No shadow left for retreat.

The horizon, an unyielding witness,

Watched as the moon dissolved into brilliance.

Life is strewn with such silent duels.

Strong nations devour the weak,

Cannons blazing with might and fury;

The rich consume the dignity of the poor

Through the insidious fire of their wealth.

Giants of industry crush the small,

Fueling their ascent with unrelenting force.

Yet life is not all tempest and strife.

It offers the splendor of sunrises and sunsets,

And the quiet grace to tread upon clouds.

Above all, it carries the enduring power to dream,

A fire untouchable by any tyrant’s hand.

Why surrender to gloom when your dreams

Remain steadfast, a firepower infinite,

Ready to blaze the path ahead?

***

Through Fire, Salvation

A fire ignited, fierce and wild,

In the ocean of my restless mind.

Caught adrift in an orange-red storm,

I watched as its onslaught unraveled me.

Ripped to shreds, my soul lay scattered,

Splintered into fragments so small,

It took me years to stitch them whole,

Piece by fragile piece.

Though mended, the scars endured,

Each one a memory, etched and deep.

I was no longer who I’d been,

Transformed by pain into someone anew.

Through its ordeal, my soul found cleansing,

Burning away malice and fleeting desires.

It crossed the fiery threshold,

Emerging into solitude profound,

Where salvation waited in stillness.

***

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Setu, February 2025