MORNING
Wrapped deeply in the cloaks of night
The land in silence sleeps.
The sun stirs!
On the horizon a thread of light appears
Then a pale azure glow that diffuses and nears
The vanguard of the sun in the eastern sky
Driving before it the forces of darkness
Diminishing the territory of dark’s heavenly fastness
Herding the night into the west to fade and die.
Awake thou, O Sun!
And with an explosion of light the sun leaps forth
Awakening from its slumbers in the east
Streaking shafts of sunbeams pierce the expanse aloft
The last dregs of night flee and cease to exist
A golden glow pervades the brightening skies
Hail! The armies of the sun!
The moon retreats to bed and sighs:
“Another night’s job done.”
Ah morning
The lusty crow of the cockerel, another day of life
The curse of the sluggard, who still desires his bed
The joy of the hardworking, who charges in the day
The beginning of twelve hours while light will stay
Ah, rejoice in then mellowness of morn
For the coming noon releases the powers of hell,
But that’s for another time to tell.
NOON
Noon
Hell on Earth
Enter the dragon with flaming wings above
It peaks its arc and pauses
To fill the atmosphere with scorching breath
In self-defense every fragile flower closes
While their great lord above unfolds his petals
Embracing the land in a fiery wreath
Past is the mellow sun of morn
The once golden glow now gone
Why is Grandfather Sun always furious
Only six hours after he wakens?
Why waxes then his burning powers
And why every noon his anger burns?
Darts of death and damnation doth he hurl
Caring not beast, flower or land
He caresses and kisses with fire
Regardeth he the earth foe or friend?
Cracks and fissures open unnumbered
The mouths of the thirsty soil
Begging for water, but seem unheeded
The midday tyrant doth even cloudwater boil
But he listens, moisture he would beget
Mercilessly baking toiling man
Till rivulets flow, of glistening sweat
To water the parched rocks and sand
A murderer the noon sun, fierce and cruel
Causes sorrow, makes families bereft
Run and hide before him, and tremble
For who can withstand his rays of death?
EVENING: A PRELUDE TO NIGHT
The cicadas and mynahs are calling
Prophesying the downfall of the sun
Ha! Look! Indeed he is falling
His reign is over, his rule done.
The sun dies
Shadows rise
From the eastern skies.
Closing are the sunflowers’ eyes.
And desperately the sun, now sinking
Before reclining into his western coffin,
Colours the sky, hues of purple, orange and red. Fiery
and beautiful his swansong, he exits in a blaze of glory
Does he hope that thus doing
People will remember him?
Short its life, but stunning
the incomparable beauty of evening.
NIGHT
Suddenly comes Night.
She unfolds her sable cloak from on high
Blankets the land, puts out all light
Darkness stretches from sky to sky
Terrible shadows come
Foes and fears awake
Sober is he that flees for home
He that doth not, night will overtake
But kind is the moon
Kindly gives she forth her silver glow
Dissipating impenetrable darkness
Relieving fear, for some none too soon
She paints silver the clouds above and earth below
And the radiance of her silvery sheen on the waters
Gives a misty floating sensation
As if dreamily in paradise wandering
The sky, no longer black, is brilliant
With moonbeams, breathtakingly lucent
The quietude of night knows no measure
The solitude of the old leafless oak tree
The night is still, the wind does not stir
And little fireflies flit about playing hide-and-seek, unfettered and carefree
The nightingale’s serenade swells over the silence
Punctuated by the silence of hunting owls and monotonous chant of frogs
The surrounding wildlife the audience:
Fish, mice, otters, reeds, toadstools on logs
Mirror-like the pond now is
In the middle a fat yellow piece of cheese
How peaceful the night, how idyllic
The intense silence deafens
Stars ebb and flow across the heavens
The lone wolf skyward cries
Lady moon soothes and lullabies
And makes the earth forget
The tortures of day
The tyranny of the sun
Behold the serene sight
And tranquil moment
The night has but begun.
