Sunday, 23 May 2021

Saturday, May 22, 2021

Ramsden Park, Toronto

 

Big Cat

 

Coming up on Tuesday the 25th, we will be celebrating the appearance of the Lion Avatar. Here is my poem to honour him.

 

Big Cat

 

He was ferocious

Yet not atrocious

Bearing a gaping mouth

Stretching from north to south

With terrifying jaws

And matching claws

Effective incisors

To intimidate all misers

He tossed his lofty mane

And exposed muscle and vein

Releasing a deafening roar

Scary to the core

You guessed, it's a lion

Invoking fear and a crying

Most amazing though

From neck to toe

The body was human

With emotions fuming

He appeared on the scene

Challenging a man who's mean

A case of child abuse

For which there's no excuse

Our tale begins with a mean man

Who hails from an evil clan

 

Hiranya was born

During a devastating storm

Ill omens could be seen

Conditions were extreme

And as he grew

His ego did too

He wanted to strike a deal

With the universe–an appeal

To be the most powerful person

In which case the world would worsen

To get some attention

He entered a new dimension

Standing on toes doing yogas

His purpose–most bogus

There under the strong sun

Ants ate his flesh til done

Brahma, the cosmic god

Took notice–gave a nod

Hiranya thought now he's immortal

And made his way to a portal

With a transformed body

But intelligence naughty

He became empowered

Began attacks like no coward

People cringed and curled

In a now shaken world

He conquered every planet

No question of cannot

He eradicated the thoughtful

Resurrecting the awful

Said this King of Terror

"I make no error."

 

Sons he had–four

Naturally to adore

Hiranya loved them all

Since they began to crawl

Son Prahlad from the start

Was very good at heart

He kept a major secret

One he'd never forget

When in the womb of mother

Came a sage like a brother

He said so explicit

"Identify as a spirit

And there is a creator

A spirit much greater."

This, Prahlad kept within

Sharing of this did not begin

Until he was five at school

In what is called Gurukool

He spoke to each classmate

Being a simple-life advocate

Hiranya then heard a report

Of sessions not inclined to support

"For those wisdom-talks held

The boy should be expelled

Challenging the authority?

This is the wrong priority!"

Due to Prahlad's spoiling

Hiranya's blood was boiling

Because of this disclosure

The affection was over

This was most intolerable

Punishment was inevitable

 

The torture had commenced

In no version condensed

Astonisingly results were nil

Hiranya just could not kill

Remembering what the sage said

The boy could not be pronounced dead

He came out unscathed

The father was simply amazed

"How is this possible?"

"By the power unstoppable

Present just everywhere

On land, in water, and in the air."

Tension built like a thriller

Hiranya pointed to a pillar

"Is this power there?

Absenteeism I declare!"

He struck that pillar

Like a vicious killer

The pillar shook–was alive

It shattered and out did arrive

A lion man massive

While Prahlad remained passive

With size and sound alone

Hiranya's reality was blown

The lion man hoisted him to his lap

Now caught in a trap

Hiranya was indeed a mouse

In his very own house

At the portal he did lie

Time to say goodbye

His body had diminished

Hiranya's mission finished

 

Prahlad did love his dad

He wished him nothing bad

He also loved the big cat

Who gave the boy a pat

He was indeed ferocious

But not at all atrocious


-Written by Bhaktimarga Swami, The Walking Monk©

 

May the Source be with you!

0 km


 

No comments: