Two by Katherine C.

I am a Butterfly

I am a butterfly
Breaking free from her cocoon 
All restraints removed
Freedom now my cloak

The breath of God
Under me
Surrounding me
Filling me
Carrying me 
Higher and higher
As I spread my wings
And flutter within the sky
Of my Beloved

Resting on clouds
Joy surges through me
And carries me into the 
Endless Bliss Infinity

I came

I came to Ma
With my heart hurting
She received me quietly 
And held me
As my heart poured out woes
She listened
Eyes tenderly holding me

In her presence
I felt safe
And understood
No words necessary
Heart to heart
Our speech

As she held me
I felt restored
I felt love
I felt joy
I felt peace

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Katherine C: is like an old castle full of stories untold waiting to be discovered. Katherine expresses her thoughts and emotions, inspirations and insights through poems. She loves her children, animals, nature and God. Living, loving and writing from her heart somewhere over the rainbow in Middle Georgia, she can be reached at lavendelkat@outlook.com.

Transition

by Samantha Evans 

Slowly, one intrepid toe after the next
I sink my feet into this new aura 
Waves of alluring mystery lapping against me
I am being summoned 
First comes fear
Yet a thought that always comes 
doesn’t come

I feel solid
Instead there is contentment
Totally new yet rings that bell you haven’t heard in a long time
More purposefully now
My body slides into this ocean of consciousness 

Breathing easily
And still the waves pass right over me
Thoughts flicker and fade
Unable to reach me
I see only light
I feel only bliss

And though I sway with each wave
I remain still
Breaking the surface again
The outside isn’t so frightening 
Not when within me sits this dimension of love

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Sam is an aspiring writer and devoted friend to Ganesha. She is currently a student at Georgia State University, to further her education and admiration of animals. She can be reached at samkloer@gmail.com.

An ode to COVID-19 (COVID-2)

by Peeyush Lala

“Dear COVID-two, Who are you?
Quo Vadis? Where do you go?
Reveal thy nature, we implore you,
We stay frozen in terror,
Not knowing what to do!”

I am going to “VID”, says COVID-two,
Trying to “KNOW” more about YOU!
No stranger am I, you should know,
You have seen my cousin COVID-one!
What comes after One, it is Two!

In your vanity, you ignored my signs,
Hoping that I shall soon return
To my old abode — my animal world,
A world that you tried to wipe out,
Of land, water and of trees,
That belonged to them, to roam happy and free!

Don’t you see what I brought to you?
A cleaner sky that is more blue,
A cleaner sea for you and “them” to share,
For them to roam freely on land, in water and air,
That you polluted for decades and didn’t care!

You destroyed those forests
That sustained your breath,
And were the home of my animal world!
It is time for you to pause, and reflect
To find your best ways, and never to regret!

I woke you up from your dreams to see,
That you have more time for your family!
To make you feel the pangs of those humans
Who have been subjugated as sub-human,
Whom you can serve as God’s Children!

I don’t claim to be an “equalizer”
Nor a Divine justice-giver,
I shall not steal your abundance,
I am here to raise your conscience,
To see the world through a cleaner lens!

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Peeyush Lala has been inspired by Ramakrishna-Vivekananda philosophy since his college days at the Pathuriaghata Ramakrishna Mission students’ home in Kolkata, the precursor of the Narendrapur campus. He was personally inspired by Swami Lokeswarananda and has been a long time devotee of the Vedanta Society of Toronto, including serving on their board of trustees. He lives in London, Ontario, Canada. He can be reached at pklshipra@hotmail.com.

Return, O Return
from the Undying Lands

Galadriel, O Galadriel,
the Age of Man is ending,
is it not? Is it not then
time for your return? 

You know these things,
yet let me say them well:

Our patriarchs have cast
aside all salvation of dignity,
or of gratitude to those whose
lives and work provide them
with their wealth and power. 

Instead, they feast madly
on your wounded world —
frenzied drunkards at an
all-night torch-lit party,
unrestrained by any idea
of their gruesomeness, or
that the horrors they make
might matter in the least.

Blackguards and rogues have
every inch of the high ground!
They rudely brush aside your
guardians, push them to the
pavement, leave them to bleed
— broken, helpless to protect us. 

Mother, one appalling example: 

Beached whales breathing
their last, deaf as the sand
they die on. Oil-and-gas men,
remorseless resource-seekers
who know what they are doing,
not troubled that their huge
explosions on the ocean floor
blow out the eardrums of your
dolphins and your whales,
leaving them utterly sightless,
since they see with sound.

Dear One, Mother hear, hear our
prayer — acknowledge that your
guardians are bootless and unhorsed,
unfit to serve those in their care. 

Instead, your lecher-felon children,
roaring with self-satisfaction, mock
at them, pleasuring themselves in
public in broad daylight and daring
anyone at all to make them stop. 

O Galadriel, you are therefore our
only refuge! Come forth, come forth
to restrain the conduct of your wicked
children! “Save us and the Earth with
those lovely forms of yours moving
about in the three worlds, as also with
your exceedingly terrible forms …”*

It is time, Mother, it is time for your
return from the Undying Lands.

— Br. Shankara

*From the Devi Mahatmyam—700 Verses in Praise of the Divine Mother
Note: Galadriel is a form of the Divine Mother. She appears in the works of JRR Tolkien.

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Br. Shankara has served as Resident Minister of the Vedanta Center of Atlanta (GA) since August of 2010. Previously, he was an active member of the Vedanta Society of Southern California for 37 years. He can be reached at shankara@vedantaatlanta.org.