by Parminder Singh
The process of design and institutionalization of religions mar the subtle beauty that lies within. The dawn can only partially descend upon the followers due to their inability to curb the darkness. This poem by Parminder Singh tries to track the very essence of this thought.
The tide was high and clean,
the fluid too was pristine.
After days-long dip in the deep,
In the midst of night, half asleep,
an awakening – one of its kind –
that unshackles and unbinds.
Revelation descended from a dire need
to till the ground and sow a seed
that would blossom into a tree
and gradually set most of us free.
Like flowers, we would sprout
into life, washed off every doubt.
It was, they say, full-moon night,
in dark patches, everything seem’d bright.
The blaze too much dazzled the eyes,
a bantam pouncing toward the skies.
The finger holding us was too nigh,
the tide, still, was probably too high.
Parminder Singh, an IT professional, is pursuing Ph.D. in English. He teaches English at Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Chandigarh. He has been instrumental in setting up Panjab Digital Library, the biggest resource on the preservation of the heritage of Panjab. He also writes poetry and short fiction in English, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi. His poems are a regular feature on World Sikh News and have featured in international anthologies Harbinger Asylum (Transcendent Zero, Texas), Verbal Art (Author Press, Delhi) and Shout it Out (Lost Tower, London). He has been published in various magazines and journals. He has published a book Sikh Dharam, Punjabi translation of Dr Paramjit Sachdeva’s book Appreciating Sikhism.
