Katha Dada Ko – Kamal Dixit

कमल दीक्षित – कथा दादाको
( हिमाल खबरपत्रिका)

‘दादा’ को पनि एउटा कथा छ । तर यो कथा– किस्सा कहानी होइन, विस्थापित या स्थापित हुँदाको व्यथा हो । एकैसासमा विस्थापित र स्थापित भएको भन्न पाइन्छ ? पाइने देखेँ मैले यही दादाको कथा हाल्दा । नेपालीमा दादा शब्द छ कि छैन ? भए कताबाट आयो ? कि कतैबाट नआएको रैथाने शब्द हो यो ? खोजिपस्ने काम विद्वान्हरूको हो । यहाँ त कुरा उप्काइदिएको मात्र हो, बसिबियाँलो । भए पनि; कुरा उप्काएपछि अलि बाटो पनि लगाइदिनुपर्छ, नत्र कसैले चाख लिँदैनन् । त्यसैले म अलिकति छामछाम छुमछुम गर्दैछु यस विषयमा ।

पुरानो नेपाली साहित्यमा त दादा शब्द प्रचलनमा आएको देखिएन; तर बोलीचोलीमा यो शब्द चल्थ्यो– १९८२ साल या त्यसको अलिपछिसम्म । नेपालमा करियाप्रथा उन्मूलन नहुञ्जेल, अर्थात् कमाराकमारीको किनबेच हुन नछाडुञ्जेल दादा शब्दलाई नेपाली भाषाले पचाएको थियो । घरमा पैलादेखि बसेका या आफूभन्दा जेठा कमाराहरूलाई मालिकहरूले दादा भन्थे– नाम जोडेर या नजोडीकनै । करियाप्रथा अन्त्य भएपछि यो शब्द पनि विलायो । विस्थापित भयो । तर फेरि यो स्थापित भयो अलिपछि, नेपालमा हिन्दी सिनेमा चल्न थालेपछि । पहिले पहिले त यसको स्वरुप राम्रै थियो– बाजे, हजुरबाको अर्थमा चलुन्जेल । पछि त्यही हिन्दी सिनेमामा बम्बईको प्रभाव परेर ‘दादा’ ले टोलको हुल्याहा, बद्मास, गुण्डा जनाउन थाल्यो । त्यसले शब्दको नै अवमूल्यन ग¥यो ।

यो म किन भन्न सक्छु भने– सन् १९१६ मा छापिएको बृहत् हिन्दी शब्दकोशमा ‘दादा’ शब्दको अर्थ– पितामह (भन्नाले बाजे) मात्र दिएको छ, गुण्डा या बद्मास दिएको छैन । पछिका कोशमा यी अर्थ पनि छन् । हिन्दीमा भन्दा बङ्गाली भाषामा ‘दादा’ शब्द बढी प्रचलित छ । त्यहाँ मुख्यतः दादा भन्ने शब्दले दाइ या दाजुलाई जनाउँछ । तर अचम्म लाग्छ बङ्गाली शब्दकोशमा दादा शब्दको “पितामह, मातामह, जेष्ठभ्राता” बाहेक “कनिष्ट भ्राता, पौत्र दौहित्र प्रभृति” लाई “स्नेह सम्बोधन” को समेत अर्थ दिइएको छ । अर्थात् के भने बङ्गाली भाषामा जल्लाई पनि आदर या माया गरेर “दादा” भन्न सकिने रहेछ । यस्तो मीठो शब्द पश्चिम भारत (बम्बईतिर) पुग्दा गुण्डा, बद्मास या मसहुर हुल्याहाको भागमा कसरी प¥यो, बुझन सकिँदैन । त्यतापट्टि नलागी हामी चाहिँ नेपाली ‘दादा’ तिरै फर्कूँ । नेपालमा पहिले छापिएको (१९९८) चक्रपाणि चालिसेको ‘नेपाली बगली कोश’मा दादा शब्द छैन । तर, त्यसभन्दा झ्ण्डै दश वर्षअघि छापिएको टर्नरको नेपाली डिक्स्नेरीमा भने यो शब्दको प्रविष्टि छ । अर्थ उही छ, कमाराका लागिको आदरार्थी शब्द । अनि पछिबाट दाजु भन्ने अर्थ पनि दिइएको छ, त्यहाँ । दादा त भयो नै, टर्नरले दादी पनि दिएका छन् । अर्थ छ, “ओल्ड स्लेभ उमन” (बूढी कमारी) । बालचन्द्र शर्माले पनि दादालाई प्रवेश गराएका छन् आफ्नो कोशमा, अर्थ दिइएको छ, “दाइ, दाजु (बालबोलीमा); कमाराका लागि आदरार्थी शब्द” भन्ने ।

नेपाली बृहत् शब्दकोश (प्रज्ञा–प्रतिष्ठान) ले पनि दादालाई छाड्न सकेन । अर्थ उही दियो तर ‘दादागिरी’ भन्ने शब्द थपेर जसलाई बलप्रयोग गर्ने बद्माससँग जोडिदिएको छ । प्रज्ञाले दाइ पनि दादा पनि दुवैलाई संस्कृतको ‘दायाद’ (अंशियार) ले जन्माएको भनेको छ । महानन्द सापकोटाले पनि यी दुई शब्दलाई ‘दायाद’ कै सन्तान मानेका छन् । तर दाजु, दाइ, दाजीलाई माने पनि दादालाई उनले आफ्नो ‘नेपाली शब्द परिचय’ (२०३४) मा भिœयाएका छैनन् । समुद्रपारका नेपाली विद्वान् फादर विल्यम बर्कले आफ्नो ‘सही शब्द’ (१९९४ ई.) (पर्यायवाची शब्दकोश) मा दाज्युको दाइ, दाज्यैका साथ दादालाई पनि पर्यायवाची मानेर हालेका छन् । नेपालीमा दाजु र दाजी सँगसँगै भेटिन्छन् । तर नेपाली घरहरूमा ‘दाजी’ भन्ने शब्द अचेल उति सुनिँदैन । केही कालअघिसम्म नेपाली अभिजात्य वर्ग (राणा, शाह) हरूमा चल्थ्यो यो शब्द । उनीहरू दाजुलाई दाजी भन्थे, सर्वसाधारणले दाइ भने जस्तो । त्यो दाजी दाइजीको अपभ्रंश हो कि भन्नलाई आर.डी. चटौतको ‘डोट्याली शब्दकोश’ले बाटो छेक्छ । भन्छ, डोटीमा दाजी, दाजि, त्यहाँ पैलेदेखि नै चलेको हो रे !

दाजिलाई छाडेर हामी फेरि दादामै आऊँ । दादा बङ्गालीमा बढी चलेको छ, भनियो माथि । त्यसो हो भने त्यहाँ (कोशमा) यसका व्युत्पत्तिमा के दिएको रहेछ भनेर हेरेँ मैले । सन् १९४० भन्दा पहिले आशुतोष देवले निकालेको ‘नूतन बाङ्ला अभिधान’ भन्ने कोश छ । त्यहाँ दादाको तल ‘फार्सी’ भनेर लेखिएको छ । त्यसको माने उनका हिसाबले ‘दादा’ शब्द फार्सीबाट आएको हो भन्ने भयो । फार्सीमा आफ्नो गति नभएकाले मैले फार्सीको सन्तान उर्दूको लुगात (कोश) पल्टाएँ । तर उर्दूमा दादा भन्ने शब्द नै छैन ! हिन्दीमा छ, यो शब्द उर्दूमा छैन भनेपछि हिन्दीमा यो कसरी आयो त भनी खोजी हेर्नु पर्यो मैले । काशी नागरी प्रचारिणी सभाले १९१६ ई.मा प्रकाशन गरेको (४ भाग भएको) ‘हिन्दी शब्दसागर’ मा सम्पादक श्यामसुन्दर दासले दादाको जन्म संस्कृतको ‘तात’ बाट भएको भनी मानेको देखियो । तर हामी यस्तो विद्वत्ताको झ्मेलामा नपसूँ । दादालाई हामीले राख्ने कि फाल्ने भन्ने मात्र हेरुँ ।

नेपालीमा हामी बाजेलाई दादा भन्दैनौँ । गुण्डासुण्डाका लागि पनि हामीसँग आफ्नै हुल्याहा शब्द छँदैछ, हिन्दी फिल्मका दादा हामीलाई किन चाहियो ? अब हाम्रामा कमारा या करिया पनि रहेनन्, माया गरेर हामीले दादालाई पाली राख्नाको औचित्य छैन । दाजुलाई दादा भन्दा रहेछौँ हामी कतै कतै तर अत्यल्प सङ्ख्यामा । भनेपछि हामीलाई दादा चाहिएन भनी घोषणा किन नगर्ने ? गर्न हुन्थ्यो । तर मलाई ड्याग पर्छ । मलाई रातो बङ्गला स्कूलका विद्यार्थी, गुरु, गुरुआमाहरू र निकै जना अभिभावकहरू समेत दादा या दादाजी भन्छन् । उनीहरूको भोक्याबुलरी (शब्दभण्डार) बाट यो शब्द झिकी दिने हो भने म कहाँ रहुँला ? त्यही द्विविधा भो !

यसलाई अलि अथ्र्याऔँ । म दादा नै कसरी भएँ त्यो भनूँ । हाम्रो घर पहिलेदेखि नै हिन्दी भन्दा बङ्गाली भाषाको नजिक थियो । त्यसैले बङ्गालीको सिको गरेर मेरा भाइबहिनीले मलाई दादा भने । काकाफुपूहरूले दादा भनेकाले मेरा छोराछोरी र दाजुभाइका छोराछोरीको पनि म दादा नै भएँ । हुँदाहुँदा बुहारीहरू, ज्वाईँहरू र नातिनातिना, भाञ्जाभाञ्जीको पनि म दादा हुनपुगेँ । यस्तैमा रातो बङ्गला स्कूल खुल्यो । म त्यहाँ शिक्षक भएँ । प्रिन्सिपलहरूले मलाई दादा भनेको सुनेर गुरुगुरुआमाले पनि नाम काढेर ‘कमल सर’ भन्न सकेनन् । बरु प्रिन्सिपल र डाइरेक्टरहरूले भन्ने दादामा ‘जी’ थपे उनीहरूले । अनि म दादाजी भएँ । यो दादाजीलाई अब म फाल्न सक्तिनँ । म त फाल्न सक्तिनँ यो ‘दादाजी’ भैहाल्यो । तर आमापट्टिको मामा न बाबुपट्टिको काका यो, नेपाली भाषाले फालिदिए हुन्न यो शब्द– ‘दादा’ ?

२०६१ असोज १८

Thulo Ghar – Kamal Dixit

कमल दीक्षित – ठूलो घर
( हिमाल खबरपत्रिका)

त्यसो त त्यो घर ठूलै थियो सामान्य नेपाली घरभन्दा। चोकको चौगिर्दा घर थियो। साथै थप-घर, पुलघर र चौर, बारी, गोठ, तबेला अनि मोटर ग्यारेज समेत थिए। तर त्यसलाई आकारले मात्र ठूलो घर भनिएको होइन। अनेकार्थी थियो त्यो ठूलो भन्ने विशेषण― जेठो (थकाली) को घर, ठूलो मान्छे बस्ने घर, धेरै जनाको घर, शक्तिसम्पन्न घर …। परिवार र आफन्तले मात्र होइन, बाहिरकाले पनि त्यसलाई ठूलो घर नै भन्थे। त्यो घर मणि परिवारको थियो। मणि परिवारमा पनि, शिरोमणिका माहिला छोरा, राणा प्राइमिनिष्टर चन्द्रशमशेर महाराजका प्रियपात्र बाबे को। बाबे भनेको काशीनाथ आ.दी.। तर नेपालभरि उनी माहिला पण्डित का नामले चिनिन्थे। नेपाल बिगार्ने तीन माइला भनेर विरोधीहरूले नाम राखेकामध्ये एक थिए, काशीनाथ। अभिलेखका लागि भनिराखूँ, अरू दुई माइला थिए― माइला गुर्जु हेमराज पाण्डे र माइला जर्नेल बबरशमशेर। उनीहरूले के कसरी नेपाल बिगारे थाहा छैन, तर चन्द्रशमशेरलाई मन नपराउनेले त्यसै भन्थे रे।

मणि परिवार भनेको मणि आचार्य दीक्षित हरू। हाम्रो थर आचार्य, त्यसमा दीक्षित जोडिन आयो शिरोमणिले सोमयाग यज्ञ गरेपछि संवत् १९५६ सालमा। त्यसै बेलादेखि हामीले आफ्नो नामका नाथ र प्रसाद फालेर मणि जोड्न थाल्यौं, बाजे शिरोमणिको नाम चलाउन। रातारात रामनाथ आचार्य राममणि आचार्य दीक्षित भए, भरतप्रसाद आचार्य― भरतमणि आचार्य दीक्षित। त्यसपछि यो परिवार नेपालको ब्राम्हण समाजमा मणि-फेट भनेर चिनिन थाल्यो, सबैजना एकैठाउँमा गुजुमुच्च भएर बस्ने भएर हो कि किन हो थाहा छैन। त्यो मणि-फेट भन्ने नाम २०१० सालतिरसम्म कायमै थियो। त्यसपछि कसरी कसरी हामीहरू दीक्षित परिवार भनेर चिनिन थाल्यौं। सबै गरेर ऐले दीक्षित परिवारमा करिब दुईसय जति हौंला। यो सङ्ख्या नेपालको परिप्रेक्ष्यमा त्यति धेरै होइन, तर पुरानै नाताले होला दीक्षितहरूको एउटा छुट्टै पहिचान भएको छ। हुनत ऐले दीक्षितहरू सबै एकै गोलामा छैनन्, छरिएका छन् नेपालमा र बाहिर पनि। तर उस बेला सबै एकैठाउँमा थिए। भन्सारहिटी भनिन्थ्यो गैरीधारालाई। त्यहीं थियो काशीनाथ माइला पण्डित को त्यो ठूलो घर पनि। त्यो घर त्यस बेला धन-जनले पूर्ण थियो। एकै पत्नीबाट जन्मेका उनका सात जना छोरा थिए। ती सातै जना र एउटा नाति समेत आठ जना सरकारी जागिरमा थिए― महाराजका प्रियपात्र या कुनै ठूलै अड्डाका हाकिम। जग्गाजमिन मनग्गे थियो, पहाडमा पनि मधेशमा पनि। रसदपानी किन्नु पर्दैनथ्यो। कुनै कुराको कमी थिएन। ४०/५० जना नाति-नातिना, पनाति-पनातिनी हुनाले घर सधैँ ग्याउँग्याउँ हुन्थ्यो। सबै एउटै भान्छामा खान्थे। नोकरचाकरहरू सबैका छुट्टाछुट्टै हुँदाहुँदै पनि सबै सगोलमा थिए। अझ् १९८२ सालमा करिया अमलेख नहुँदासम्म त कमारा कमारी नै पचास जनाभन्दा बढी थिए

अरे! रोबरवाफ अदब काइदा सबै राणाजीका घरको सिको गरिएको ठूलो घरमा दुई-तीन तहका त ढोके पाले नै रहन्थे। त्यहाँभित्र छिर्न र बाहिर निस्कन गाह्रो थियो। त्यसैले ढोका बाहिरै ढुकेर चाकरी गर्नेको हुल पनि कम्ती हुँदैनथ्यो रे! 
तर त्यो सबै समाप्त भयो १९८६ सालपछि। त्यस साल मङ्सिरमा मणिहरूका मालिक महाराज चन्द्रशमशेर दिवङ्गत भए। नेपालका हर्ताकर्ता भएर मणिहरूसँग चिढिएका भीमशमशेर उदाए। मणिहरू दाइमहाराजको पुठ पाएर मलाई हेप्छन् भन्ने उनको मनमा छाप परेको थियो। त्यसैले आफ्नो हातमा पावर आउनासाथ मणिहरूमाथि ईखइबी फेर्न थाले उनले। माइला पण्डित का माहिला छोरा भरतमणि धपाइए। साहिला छोरा लक्ष्मणमणिलाई कुमारी चोक लगाइयो, अर्थात् भ्रष्टाचार गरेको, रकमकलम हिनामिना या बेरुजु राखेको इत्यादि भनी ६० हजार रुपैयाँ बिगो र जरिवाना तिर्नुपर्ने गरी मुद्दा ठहर गरियो। त्यसका लागि सगोलको घर नै सर्वस्व हुनेभयो। अरू छोराहरूका पनि जागिरहरू खोसिए। केवल ठूलोकान्छा छोरा नरेन्द्रमणि बचे। उनी त्रिचन्द्र कलेजमा पढाउने, भीमशमशेरका नातिहरूका पनि गुरु भएकाले उनको जागिर सुरक्षित रह्यो। पछि घर सर्वस्व हुने निर्णयसम्म माइला पण्डितले टङ्गालदरबारमा गई महाराजका अगाडि भुइँमा लडीबुडी गर्न लगाएपछि माफी भयो! दुई-तीन वर्षमा भीमशमशेर परलोक हुँदासम्म मणिहरूको ठूलो घर भताभुङ्ग भइसकेको थियो। एउटै भान्छामा खानेहरू सातटा छुट्टाछुट्टै भान्छामा खान थाले। ठूलो घरका कोठा, चोटा, चोक, बारी आठ बण्डा भए। साथै खेल्ने केटाकेटी कोही कता कोही कता भए! त्यस घरको सगोल परिवार खगोल जस्तै टाढाटाढा हुनपुग्यो। एउटा चुम्बकले अड्याएर राखेको वस्तु चुम्बक हटाएपछि छरपष्ट भएझ्ैं मणिहरूको ठूलो घर फुटेर टुक्राटुक्रा भयो। शक्तिशाली माइला पण्डित को बल भन्नु नै सिंहदरबारको प्रताप रहेछ। त्यो नरहेपछि शक्तिहीन भएका उनी आफ्नै परिवारलाई समेटेर राख्न समेत अक्षम भए।

शक्तिको मुहान सुकेपछि सगोल परिवार टुक्रिने यो नियति माइला पण्डित को परिवारको मात्र थिएन, साँध जोडिएका सरदार मीनबहादुर राजभण्डारीको पनि थियो, शिवराज पुरेत, सत्यालहरूको र शमशेर थापा खलकको पनि थियो। मणि परिवारको त्यो ठूलो घरको ऐले ७०/८० वर्षपछि गन्ध पनि भेटिँदैन। त्यही घरमा म जन्मेको थिएँ― दक्षिण पश्चिमपट्टिको एउटा कोठामा। मैले मणिहरूको त्यो वैभव त देख्न पाइनँ। तर हुर्किंदै आउँदा सगोल परिवारको केही मिठास भने चाख्न पाएको थिएँ। दाजुभाइ छुट्टिसकेका भएपनि र सबैको आ-आफ्नै चोटाकोठा भए पनि चोक, चौर र बारीहरू साझ्ा जस्तै थिए। त्यहाँ हामी केटाकेटीहरू जम्मा भएर खेल्थ्यौँ। गुरुहरू आउँथे, माष्टरसाहेब आउँथे, सबै केटाकेटीहरूलाई एकै साथ पढाउँथे। आठ-दश जनाको डफ्फामा स्कूल जाने छोराहरू एकैसाथ जान्थे हिँडेर दरबार स्कूलसम्म। म पनि १९९४ सालमा स्कूलमा भर्ना भएपछि त्यसैगरी गएको हुँ। दरबार स्कूल जाने हाम्रा दुई बाटा थिए― नक्साल हात्तीसारको बाटो या लैनचौर जमलको बाटो। कुन दिन कुन बाटो जाने भन्ने तय गर्ने काम डफ्फाको जेठोको हुन्थ्यो। मैले सम्झेसम्म त्यो काम जहिले पनि कुमारबा ले गर्नुहुन्थ्यो, काका कुमारमणिजीले। मणि खलकमा, ठूलो घर मा मात्र होइन सबैतिर, बिहान-बेलुकी सानाले आफ्ना मान्यजनका कोठाकोठामा गई ढोग्नुपर्दथ्यो। अनिवार्य थियो त्यो नियम। त्यस्तै अनिवार्य थियो― ब्रतबन्ध गरेका जतिले बिहान नुहाएर पूजाकोठामा पस्नु र पूजा नगरे पनि सन्जे गर्नु। अर्को एउटा रमाइलो नियम थियो― स्कूलको जाँच अर्थात् वार्षिक परीक्षाहरू दिन जाँदा सकेसम्म सबै मान्यजनलाई ढोगी आशीर्वाद लिएर जानु। त्यसरी जाँदा आमाहरूले सगुन दिनुपर्थ्यो केही खानेकुरा। अनुशासनको राम्रो पाठ थियो त्यो भन्ने लाग्छ ऐले मलाई। दशैँको रौनक अर्कै हुन्थ्यो ठूलो घर मा। टीकाका दिन मणि (दीक्षित) हरू सबैले त्यहीं जम्मा भएर टीका लगाउनुपर्थ्यो। यो नियम थकाली भएका माइला पण्डित ले नै चलाएका थिए। उनी जेठो भएकाले पाँचै भाइका सन्तानले बिहानै ठूलो घर मा पुग्नुपर्थ्यो टीका थाप्न। यो प्रथा ऐलेसम्म सूक्ष्म रूपमै भए पनि चलिरहेछ। परिवारको जेठाको घरमा सबैले जम्मा भएर टीका लगाउने, घरघरमा धाउनै नपर्ने। ऐले माइला पण्डित का सन्तानहरू सबै हालका थकाली मदनबा (मदनमणिजी) को घरमा पुग्छौं र टीका आदानप्रदान गर्छौं। पैले मैले थाहा पाउँदा थकाली हाम्रो आफूबा (राममणि) हुनुहुन्थ्यो। उहाँको ठूलो बैठकमा सयजना जति मान्छे थुप्रिन्थे। खुट्टा राख्ने ठाउँ हुन्नथ्यो त्यहाँ त्यसबेला।

मणि परिवारमा माइला पण्डित बाजे ले यो चलन आफ्ना प्रभू राणाहरूबाटै सिकेका थिए। राणा परिवारका सत्रै भाइका खलकले सिंहदरबारमा पुग्नुपर्थ्यो महाराजका बाहुलीबाट टीका थाप्न। त्यसबाट सबैलाई फाइदा थियो― एक त महाराजको दर्शन पाइन्थ्यो नजिकैबाट, अर्को सबैका टीका लगाउने काम यतै सकिन्थ्यो, छुट्टाछुट्टै दरबारमा धाउनुपर्दैनथ्यो। त्यही नियम लगाइदिएका थिए माइला पण्डित ले पनि― थकालीका घरमा पुगेर टीका थापे पुग्ने, घरघरमा जानु नपर्ने। त्यस्तो चलन चलाउनमा माइला पण्डित को स्वार्थ पनि थियो त्यति बेला। त्यो के भने, उनी तथा उनका छोरानातिले सकेसम्म छिटै सिंहदरबार पुग्नुपर्थ्यो टीका थाप्न, यताउति अल्मलिन मिल्दैनथ्यो। महाराजको अत्यन्त निकट मानिएकाले उनीहरू कुनै रोलवाला या सत्र भाइ राणाजीकहाँ टीका थाप्न पुगेनन् भने महाराजकहाँ उजुरी पर्थ्योः सरकार, माइला पण्डितका छोराहरू यसपाला मकहाँ टीका थाप्न आएनन् भन्ने। त्यसो हुनाको कारण फेरि अर्को थियो। मणिहरू कुनै ढोका पुग्नु र नपुग्नुको अर्थ महाराज चन्द्र आफूसँग प्रसन्न छन् या छैनन् भनेर बुझथे राणाजीहरू। महाराजको ईशारा पाएर या उनको आशय मात्र बुझेर पनि (जेठा) मणिहरू कुनैकुनै ढोका मा नजाने गर्दथे। यो पनि चन्द्रशमशेरको शासनकालको एउटा कूटनीति नै थियो भनौं।

मणि या दीक्षितहरू दुई-चार सय सालअघि जुम्लाबाट उदाए आचार्य भएर। जुम्लाबाट आचार्यहरू पूर्व लाग्दै आउँदा कोही न्यौपाने, कोही बास्कोटा, कोही पराजुली इत्यादि हुँदै गए। लमजुङ, पोखरा, गोर्खा, धादिङ हँुदै काठमाडौं उपत्यकाको उत्तरपश्चिम मुडखुको डुग्रने पानी मा आएर बसेका थिए शिरोमणिका पुर्खा। पेशाले ज्योतिष पण्डित थिए उनीहरू। बिस्तारै उनीहरूको प्रवेश दरबारमा भयो पूजाकोठे भएर। राजदरबारबाट उनीहरू राणा दरबारमा भित्रिए भित्रिया भएर। सत्र भाइका बाबु धीरशमशेरका छोराहरूका एक्का भएका थिए उनीहरू। वीरशमशेरको आर्थिक सहयोगले काशीमा ठूलो यज्ञ, सोमयाग गरेर शिरोमणि सोमयाजी बने। त्यहीं महामहोपाध्याय ब्राम्हणहरूबाट दीक्षा लिएरउनी दीक्षित भए। अनि, उनका सन्तानले उनकै सम्मानमा आफ्नो नाममा मणि समेत जोडेर मणि आचार्य दीक्षित कहलाउन थाले। त्यो परिवार राणा शासनकालभरि निकै शक्तिशाली रह्यो। राणाको अवसानपछि अब विभिन्न पेशा अपनाएर उनीहरूले केही विशिष्टता कमाउन थालेका छन्। विभिन्न प्रकारले उनीहरू देशको सेवा गर्दैछन्। सबै जना नेपालमै सीमित पनि छैनन्, नयाँ हावाले कतिपयलाई विभिन्न मुलुकमा पुर्‍याएको छ। मैले बुझेसम्म यही हो― ठूलो घर को मणि या दीक्षित परिवार।

हिमाल खबरपत्रिका
१६-३१ भदौ २०६६

Chiththi Le Jurai Diyeko Mitrata – Kamal Dixit

कमल दीक्षित – चिठीले जुराइदिएको मित्रता
(हिमाल खबरपत्रिका)

परापूर्वकालमा (कथित कलिगत वर्ष ३६७६ मा) नेपालखाल्डोका एकजना राजा (भक्तपुरका नरेन्द्रदेव) एकजना तान्त्रिक (कान्तिपुरका बन्धु आचार्य), कर्कोटक नाग र एकजना किसान (ललितपुरका ललित ज्यापू) ले संयुक्त रूपमा आसामयात्रा गरेका थिए, यद्यपि, त्यसबेला त्यस क्षेत्रको नाम आसाम थिएन, कामरुपीठ थियो। ती चारजनाको यात्रा सोद्देश्य थियो। मत्स्येन्द्रनाथलाई लिएर आउन भनी उनीहरू त्यता लागेका थिए। उनीहरू कुन बाटो, कति दिन लगाएर त्यहाँ कैले पुगे र कसरी फर्के त्यसको कुनै लेखाजोखा छैन, तर दुई–तीन पटकको असफलतापछि बल्लबल्ल उनीहरू मत्स्येन्द्रनाथलाई नेपाल भित्र्याउन सफल भए भन्ने चाहिँ देखिन्छ। भमराका रूपमा एउटा सुवर्णकलशमा थुनेर उनीहरूले मत्स्येन्द्रनाथलाई यहाँ ल्याइपुर्‍याए। नेपाल (उपत्यका) मा नागासन जमाई बसेका गोरखनाथयोगी आफ्ना अग्रज गुरु मत्स्येन्द्रनाथ आएको देखी आसनबाट उठे, अनि त्यहाँ बाँधिएका नागहरू फुत्के। त्यति भएपछि नेपालमा रोकिएको वर्षा फुक्का भयो र खडेरी टर्‍यो। यो कथ्य कति इतिहास हो थाहा छैन, तर पुराण चाहिँ होयो। अनि लिच्छविकालदेखि यस उपत्यकामा चल्दै आएको मत्स्येन्द्रनाथको जात्रा र मत्स्येन्द्रनाथका मन्दिरहरू पनि पक्कै वास्तविक हुन्।

अब अतीतबाट उफ्रेर वर्तमानमा आऊँ भने, मैले आफू आसाम पुगेको विवरण दिनुपर्नेछ। सीमा जोडिएका दार्जीलिङ पुग्नुभन्दा पनि पैले मैले आसामयात्रा गरेको हुँ (सन् १९५०) २००७ सालमा। यो कुरा ऐले किन उठाउनु पर्‍यो भने हिमाल ले पूर्वोत्तर भारतका बारेमा चासो लिएको थाहा पाएपछि मैले पनि आफूभित्र खोजिपसेँ– मेरो सम्बन्ध आसामतिर कैले जोडियो भनेर। करीब पचास वर्षको निरन्तर पत्राचार (पत्रमित्रता) यसको कडी रहेछ। गौहाटीका लीलबहादुर छेत्री र सी.बी. गुरुङ, मोतीलाल छेत्री, डिगबोईका अग्निबहादुर छेत्री, हरिभक्त कटुवाल, शिलाङका मणिसिंह थापादेखि कृष्णप्रसाद ज्ञवाली, गोपीनारायण प्रधान हुँदै नागाल्याण्डका हरिप्रसाद गोर्खाराई अनि मिजोरमको लक्ष्मी ‘मीनू’सँग सम्म भएका पत्राचारले मेरो यो चासोलाई मलजल गरेको हो। भनूँः भारतको सुदूरपूर्वी राज्य नागाल्याण्डबाट एकजना नेपाली साहित्यिक, रोहित गौतमले मलाई ४७ बुँदाको एउटा प्रश्नावली पठाए २०६२ साल (सन् २००५ सेप्टेम्बर) मा। अचम्म लाग्यो। नागाल्याण्डमा बस्ने यी तन्नेरीलाई नेपालको कमल दीक्षितमाथि त्यति चासो किन लाग्यो? म अलि दिन त्यसै बसेँ। तर गौतमजीले मलाई फोनै गरेर ताकिता गरे। अनि मैले जे–जे हुन्छ लेखेर उनको प्रश्नका उत्तर पठाएँ। पछि त्यो समग्र छापियो– गुवाहाटीबाट प्रकाशित हुने पत्रिका “हाम्रो ध्वनि” (नोभेम्बर २००५) मा।

यसरी रोहित गौतमले मात्र होइन, भारतका पूर्वी राज्यहरूमा बसोबास गर्ने निकैजना नेपालीले मलाई भन्छन्– तपाईंलाई यताहुँदो धेरैले चिन्छन्। तर त्यो ‘चिन्छन्’ भित्र देखादेख बोलचाल पर्दैन, केवल कमल दीक्षित भन्ने नामसँग परिचित छन् उनीहरू। र, त्यसको मुख्य श्रेय २०१२ सालमा छापिएको उसबेलाको गौहाटीको एउटा विद्यार्थीको किताबले पाउँछ। लीलबहादुर छेत्री भन्ने एउटा कसैले नचिनेको ‘केटा’को किताब त्यतिबेला कसैले नामसम्म नसुनेको नेपालको एउटा ‘लाइब्रेरी’ ले छापिदियो– मदन पुरस्कार पुस्तकालयले। त्यो पुस्तकालयको ‘हर्ताकर्ता’ भएको म, त्यसै चर्चित हुनपुगेँ असमतिर। त्यो चर्चा सेलाएन। ऐलेसम्म पनि त्यसको ‘डिभिडेन्ड’ खाँदैछु म। असमतिर मात्र होइन दार्जीलिङ डुवर्स भेकमा पनि कमल दीक्षित चिनिन्छ। २०२० सालतिर हो, मदन मेमोरियल गर्ल्स स्कूल (हालको मदनस्मारक मावि) की शिक्षिका कुमारी विष्णु वाइबा स्कूलको विदामा आफ्नो घर गइन्– दार्जीलिङ। फर्केर आएपछि उनले मलाई भनिन्, “दीक्षितजी, तपाईंलाई हाम्रो उतातिर धेरैले चिन्दा रहेछन्। धेरैले मलाई तपाईंबारेमा सोधे। मैले उहाँ हाम्रो स्कूलका सेक्रेटरी हुनुहुन्छ भन्दा उनीहरूले अचम्म माने इत्यादि।” पछिकी प्रख्यात् ‘पारिजात’, कुमारी विष्णु वाइबा, त्यसपछि मसँग अलि नजिकिएकी थिइन्। नत्रभने, उनका लागि म एकजना ‘स्कूल सेक्रेटरी’भन्दा बढी केही थिइनँ! यसरी म पूर्वोत्तर भारतमा चिनिनुमा मेरो आफ्नो खुबी केही थिएन भनिहालेँ, थियो भने त्यो मेरो चिठी लेख्ने कलमको देन थियो। स्कूलमा पढ्ने बेलादेखि लागेको ‘पेन फ्रेण्ड’ (पत्रमित्रता) को चस्काले मलाई पछि पनि छाडेन। मैले चिठीहरू लेख्न छाडिनँ। खास गरेर कवि लेखकहरूको ठेगाना पायो कि म चिठी लेखिहाल्थेँ। अनि आएको चिठीको पहुँच पठाइहाल्नुलाई मैले आफ्नो कर्तव्य जस्तो मानेको थिएँ। नेपालका लागि यो अलि नौलो कुरा भएछ। आफूले लेखेको चिठीको जवाफ नेपाल, अर्थात् काठमाडौँ खाल्डोबाट पाउने आश गर्दा रहेनछन्– बाहिरका नेपालीहरू। त्यसमा ‘अपवाद’ हुनपुगेछ यो क.दी.। असमबाट मैले एउटा ‘पदक’ पाएको छु। त्यतातिरका नेपालीहरूबीच पत्र आदानप्रदान अथवा कुराकानीका सिलसिलामा भनिँदोरहेछ– ‘नेपालबाट चिठीको जवाफ या पठाएका किताब/पत्रपत्रिकाको पहुँच दिने एकै जना मात्र छन्– कमल दीक्षित।’ यस्ता कुरा सुन्दा म निकै फुर्किएको छु कैयौँ पटक।

सबभन्दा पहिले म असम, त्यसबेलाको आसाम पुगेको हुँ गौहाटीमा। मेरो आमाको भाकल रहेछ, कामाक्षा भगवती मन्दिरमा र कलकत्ताबाट डेकोटा हवाईजहाज चढी हामी गौहाटीको एयरपोर्टमा ओर्लेका थियौँ– मेरा बाबा आमा र म हामी तीन जना। त्यो सन् १९५० थियो भनेर माथि नै भनिसकियो। गौहाटी त्यसबेलासम्म एउटा गाउँले बस्ती जस्तो मात्र थियो। कामाक्षा मन्दिरसम्म जाने मोटर बाटो पनि बनेको थिएन। मन्दिरको तल पहाडको फेदीबाट हिँडेरै उक्लेका थियौँ हामी। बस्ने प्रबन्ध पनि राम्रो थिएन गौहाटीमा। नाम मात्रको होटल थियो एउटा, त्यसैमा दुई रात काटेर हामी कलकत्ता फर्केका थियौँ। त्यसबेला त्यहाँ हामीले नेपाली कोही भेटेनौँ– ‘लालमोहरिया नेपाली पण्डा’ बाहेक। यसपछि म गौहाटी पुगेँ सिलगढीबाट रेल चढेर, सन् १९७० मा। यो भ्रमण रानी जगदम्बाको ‘तीर्थयात्रा’ थियो। त्यसैले यात्रा कामाख्या दर्शनमै सीमित रह्यो। तर यसपटक भने गौहाटी वरिपरिका ४०/५० जना नेपालीहरूसँग भेट भयो। मदन पुरस्कारले गर्दा रानी जगदम्बाको नाम चलिसकेको रहेछ त्यतातिर। अनि यात्रासाहित्यका लेखकका नाताले मेरा पिताजीलाई अनि, ‘बसाइँ’ का प्रकाशकका हिसाबले मलाई पनि असमहुँदो धेरैले चिनिसकेका रहेछन्। त्यही सबै हुँदा गौहाटी रेल्वे स्टेशनको माथ्लोतलाका कोठा, त्यहाँको कौसी भरी भएका थिए असमिया नेपालीहरू। त्यसबखत फोटो पनि खिच्न भ्याएको थिएँ मैले। त्यो फोटो ‘नेपाली’ त्रैमासिकको पूर्णाङ्क ४७ मा पनि छापिएको थियो मेरा पिताजी केदारमणि आ. दीक्षितको ‘कामाक्षा र दार्जीलिङ यात्रा’ भन्ने लेखमा।

त्यसपछि त निकै पटक पुगिसकेँ म गौहाटी (अचेलको गुवाहाटी)। त्यहाँबाट माथि शिलाङसम्म गएको छु। तर यसभन्दा अगाडि भने कतै पुग्न पाएको छैन। भए पनि, यति धेरै असमिया, नेपालीहरूसँग चिठीपत्र हुन्छ मेरो म आफू नपुगेको जस्तो लाग्दैन। दिब्रुगढ, डिगबोइ, जोरहाट, इम्फाल, मणिपुर इत्यादि सबै नाम मलाई रैथाने जस्ता लाग्छन्! यो पूर्वोत्तर भारततिरको मेरो मोह उब्जाइदिने काम भने मुख्यतः बनारसबाट प्रकाशित हुने ‘उदय’ र ‘युगवाणी’ पत्रिकाले गरेका हुन्। अझ केटाकेटीमै पढ्न पाएको ‘गोर्खा संसार’, ‘तरुण गोर्खा’ लाई पनि सम्झनुपर्छ मैले यहाँ। ती पत्रपत्रिकाहरूमा कथा, कविता, निबन्धहरू लेख्ने निकै नामका पछाडि भारतको पूर्वोत्तरका शहर या गाउँहरूको उल्लेख हुने हुनाले ती नामहरूसँग पनि आत्मीयता गाँसिएको थियो मेरो। आसामको बिहाली, तेजपुर, बूढी गाउँ जस्ता नाउँहरू उसैबेलादेखि मेरा मनमा ओखलढुङ्गा, रामेछाप या पाल्पा पोखरा जस्तै हुनपुगेका थिए। भीष्मप्रसाद उपाध्याय, महानन्द सापकोटा, जगन्नाथ गुरागाइँ, फलाना मेजर या सुवेदारहरूका नाम पनि आफन्त झैँ लाग्न थालेका थिए मलाई।

१ असोज, २०६३

Ye Raat Ye Din Roka Roka – Bhim Darshan Roka

आगो आफै त के लाग्ला
कसैको गल्तीले लागेको होला
अथवा जानी जानी कसैले लगाएको
त्यस्तो किन गरेको होला ?
सोध न सोध, केही त भन्ला ।
दीयो, चुल्हा र चिता
चकमक पत्थर र मैनबत्ती
यी हुन् सबै एकै समूहका
घामको परिधिबाट निस्केर
यहाँ आएको अग्नि
जानेर बाले घामजस्तै,
अरु पनि स्वभाव छ उस्तै
बलिरहन्छ यो चोइटा घाम
उदाइरहन्छ आफ्नै सीमाभित्र
छैनन् पनि छन् पनि यसको भित्र
अंश छ केही अवश्य मभित्र
दीयो बल्छ, पूजा हुन्छ
बत्ती बल्छ उज्यालो
मेहनत र मजदूरीले बल्छ चुल्हो
मरेपछि मात्र चिता
अग्निको अन्तिम आवश्यकता
आवश्यक परे सबैले बाल्ला ।

Fewa Taal – Bhim Darshan Roka

पर्खिरहनू त्यो वनको किनारमा

मैरै प्रतीक्षा, मेरै विचारमा
फिँजाई थकिँदो आँचल आफ्नो
त्यो वनको छायाँको भारमा ।
बादलको सेतो डुङ्गा तर्छ यहाँ—
हिउँलाई बोकी हिमाल झर्छ यहाँ
पग्लन्छन् किरणहरु जताततै
घामले आफूलाई जब छर्छ यहाँ ।
हावाले पानीलाई तास्दछ यहाँ
लहर लहर आपसमा मिल्दछ यहाँ
हल्लाइदिन्छ हृदय मेरो—
गहिरो आकाश पनि हल्लिन्छ यहाँ ।
तिमी छौ र पँधेर्नीको बिहान छ यहाँ
चखेवा र चखेवीको मिलन छ यहाँ
पाइन्छ छायाँ पन्छीको पानीमा
आकाशलाई छुने उडान छ यहाँ ।
आँचल निकै समाली समालीकन
ताराहरुको लाखौँ पाला बालीकन
हेरिरहनू तिमी बाटो मेरो
लहर लहरमा माथा उचालीकन ।

Rani Pokhari – Lakshmi Mali

कोलाहल शहरबीच
चुपचाप रानीपोखरी
कुनै अभिलाषा नभएको
कुनै प्रतिकार नभएको
तैपनि
पौराणिक पात्र कुम्भकर्णजस्तै
निदाउन सक्ने

सूर्योदय हुन्छ
चराहरु रमाउँदै गाउँछन्
सूर्यास्त हुन्छ
चराहरु आत्तिँदै गुँडतिर लाग्छन्
तर
रानीपोखरी चुपचाप छ
रानीपोखरीले बिहान र रातमा फरक देख्दैन

ऋतुहरु बदलिन्छन्
फूलहरु फुल्छन्, झर्छन्
मानौं त्यो सरोकारको विषय नै होइन
कति अचेत ?
पारखीहरु रानीपोखरीको सौंन्दर्य
हेर्दाहेर्दै मख्ख हुन्छन्
कोही एक्कासी ढुङ्गा हान्छन्
अहँ, कुनै प्रतिकार छैन
कोही रानीपोखरी वरिपरि घुम्छन्
आनन्द लिन्छन्
कोही पानी धमिल्याउन आउँछन्
कोही जिस्किन आउँछन्
तर रानीपोखरी मौन छ

ए द्र निस्तब्ध रानीपोखरी !
कति सहने ? किन सहने ?

Gham Sanga – Lakshmi Mali

भालेको डाँकसँगै
आज बच्चाहरुसँग खेल्न
झिसमिसेमै
घाम चोकमा आइपुगेछ
उज्यालोसँगसँगै
घामसँग खेल्न
म्याउँम्याउँ गर्दै
छाउरा–छाउरीहरु
विस्तारै खोरबाट निस्केछन्
म्याँ–म्याँ गर्दै
पाठा–पाठीहरु
बुर्लुक्क उफ्रेछन्
भंगेरा–भंगेरीहरु
चिरबिर गर्दै भुर्भुर् उड्दै
खुसी भएछन् ।
बाँ बाँ गर्दै
बाच्छा–बाच्छीहरु
गोठबाहिर चियाउन थालेछन् ।
क्याँ क्याँ गर्दै
टिउरा टिउरीहरु
पखेटा फट्फटाउन लागेछन् ।
भुनभुन गर्दै रमाउँदै
भँवराहरु
फूलको डालीडाली डुलेछन् ।
घामसँग खेल्न
सबैलाई खुशी लाग्दोरहेछ ।

Aama Lai Man Parchha – Lakshmi Mali

मेरी आमालाई मनपर्छ
आफ्ना सबै सन्तानले
सँगै खाएको
आफूले पनि बराबरी भाग लगाइदिन पाएको
मेरी आमालाई मनपर्छ
आफ्ना सबै सन्तानलाई
आफूले काम भाग लगाइदिएको
मेरी आमालाई मनपर्छ
आफ्ना सबै सन्तानहरुमा
आपसमा मेलमिलाप भएको
एकले अर्कोलाई प्रेम गरेको
मेरी आमालाई मनपर्छ
आफ्ना सबै सन्तानहरुले
एकैनासको लुगा लगाएको
आफूले एकैखाले कपडाका लुगा बनाइदिन पाएको
मेरी आमालाई मनपर्छ
आफ्ना सबै सन्तान
रोगमुक्त भएको
मेरी आमालाई मनपर्छ
आफ्ना सबै सन्तान
आफ्नै घरमा बसेको
आफूले सबैलाई आफ्नै घरमा मिलाएर बसाएको
मेरी आमालाई मनपर्छ
आफ्ना सबै सन्तान
ज्ञानी, गुणी बनेको
आफूले पनि सबैलाई ज्ञान बाँड्नसकेको ।

Mamata – Lakshmi Mali

आमाको हृदयको एक छेउमा
राहत पाउन
बास बसेर हेरें
भत्किएका सपनाहरु आफसेआफ बुनिन थाले
चाहनाहरु फुल्न पुगे
प्रेमको
ममताको अथाह सागर
उर्लेर आयो र नुहाइदियो मनलाई
धन्य ! म आफै फुल बनेर
सुवास फिँजाउन पुगेँ ।

The Maid Of Toro – Sir Walter Scott

O, low shone the sun on the fair lake of Toro,
And weak were the whispers that waved the dark wood,
All as a fair maiden, bewilder’d in sorrow,
Sorely sigh’d to the breezes, and wept to the flood.
‘O, saints! from the mansions of bliss lowly bending;
Now grant my petition, in anguish ascending,
My Henry restore, or let Eleanor die!’

All distant and faint were the sounds of the battle,
With the breezes they rise, with the breezes they fail,
Till the shout, and the groan, and the conflict’s dread rattle,
And the chase’s wild clamour, came loading the gale.
Breathless she gazed on the woodlands so dreary;
Slowly approaching a warrior was seen;
Life’s ebbing tide mark’d his footsteps so weary,
Cleft was his helmet, and woe was his mien.

‘O, save thee, fair maid, for our armies are flying!
O, save thee, fair maid, for thy guardian is low!
Deadly cold on yon heath thy brave Henry is lying,
Scarce could he falter the tidings of sorrow,
And scarce could she hear them, benumb’d with despair:
And when the sun sunk on the sweet lake of Toro,
For ever he set to the Brave and the Fair.

Romance Of Dunois – Sir Walter Scott

It was Dunois, the young and brave, was bound for Palestine,
But first he made his orisons before Saint Mary’s shrine:
‘And grant, immortal Queen of Heaven,’ was still the Soldier’s prayer;
‘That I may prove the bravest knight, and love the fairest fair.’

His oath of honour on the shrine he graved it with his sword,
And followed to the Holy Land the banner of his Lord;
Where, faithful to his noble vow, his war-cry filled the air,
‘Be honoured aye the bravest knight, beloved the fairest fair.’

They owed the conquest to his arm, and then his Liege–Lord said,
‘The heart that has for honour beat by bliss must be repaid.-—
My daughter Isabel and thou shall be a wedded pair,
For thou art bravest of the brave, she fairest of the fair.’

And then they bound the holy knot before Saint Mary’s shrine,
That makes a paradise on earth, if hearts and hands combine;
And every lord and lady bright that were in chapel there
Cried, ‘Honoured be the bravest knight, beloved the fairest fair!’

Christmas – Sir Walter Scott

The glowing censers, and their rich perfume;
The splendid vestments, and the sounding choir;
The gentle sigh of soul-subduing piety;
The alms which open-hearted charity
Bestows, with kindly glance; and those
Which e’en stern avarice.
Though with unwilling hand,
Seems forced to tender; an offering sweet
To the bright throne of mercy; mark
This day a festival.

And well our Christian sires of old
Loved when the year its course had roll’d,
And brought blithe Christmas back again,
With all its hospitable train.
Domestic and religious rite
Gave honour to the holy night.
On Christmas eve the bells were rung,
On Christmas-eve the mass was sung;
That only night in all the year
Saw the stoled priest the chalice rear.
The damsel donn’d her Kirtle sheen;
The hall was dress’d with holly green;
Then open’d wide the baron’s hall,
To vassal — tenant — serf and all:
Power laid his rod of rule aside,
And ceremony doff’d his pride.
All hail’d with uncontroll’d delight,
And general voice, the happy night,
That to the cottage, as the crown,
Brought tidings of salvation down.

County Guy – Sir Walter Scott

Ah! County Guy, the hour is nigh,
The sun has left the lea,
The orange flower perfumes the bower,
The breeze is on the sea.
The lark his lay who thrill’d all day
Sits hush’d his partner nigh:
Breeze, bird, and flower confess the hour,
But where is County Guy?

The village maid steals through the shade,
Her shepherd’s suit to hear;
To beauty shy, by lattice high,
Sings high-born Cavalier.
The star of Love, all stars above
Now reigns o’er earth and sky;
And high and low the influence know–
But where is County Guy?

To A Lock Of Hair – Sir Walter Scott

Thy hue, dear pledge, is pure and bright
As in that well – remember’d night
When first thy mystic braid was wove,
And first my Agnes whisper’d love.

Since then how often hast thou prest
The torrid zone of this wild breast,
Whose wrath and hate have sworn to dwell
With the first sin that peopled hell;
A breast whose blood’s a troubled ocean,
Each throb the earthquake’s wild commotion!
O if such clime thou canst endure
Yet keep thy hue unstain’d and pure,
What conquest o’er each erring thought
Of that fierce realm had Agnes wrought!
I had not wander’d far and wide
With such an angel for my guide;
Nor heaven nor earth could then reprove me
If she had lived and lived to love me.

Not then this world’s wild joys had been
To me one savage hunting scene,
My sole delight the headlong race
And frantic hurry of the chase;
To start, pursue, and bring to bay,
Rush in, drag down, and rend my prey,
Then – from the carcass turn away!
Mine ireful mood had sweetness tamed,
And soothed each wound which pride inflamed: –
Yes, God and man might now approve me
If thou hadst lived and lived to love me!

The Truth Of Woman – Sir Walter Scott

Woman’s faith, and woman’s trust –
Write the characters in the dust;
Stamp them on the running stream,
Print them on the moon’s pale beam,
And each evanescent letter
Shall be clearer, firmer, better,
And more permanent, I ween,
Than the thing those letters mean.

I have strain’d the spider’s thread
‘Gainst the promise of a maid;
I have weigh’d a grain of sand
‘Gainst her plight of heart and hand;
I told my true love of the token,
How her faith proved light, and her word was broken:
Again her word and truth she plight,
And I believed them again ere night.

Christmas Presents – Uriah Hamilton

I try not to think about June
In December,
I try not to remember
People and places, beautiful faces
That have escaped my view.
Christmas presents
Given without love
Become landfill sadness;
And I feel, this year,
Every emotion
Is being discarded en masse.
You gave me a gift of tears,
That one I’m still holding onto.

On Christmas Eve – William Wilfred Campbell

In byre and barn the mows are brim with sheaves,
Where stealeth in with phosphorescent tread
The glimmering moon, and, ’neath his wattled eaves,
The kennelled hound unto the darkness grieves
His chilly straw, and from his gloom-lit shed,
The wakeful cock proclaims the midnight dread.

With mullioned windows, ’mid its skeleton trees,
Beneath the moon the ancient manor stands,
Old gables rattle in the midnight breeze,
Old elms make answer to the moaning seas

Beyond the moorlands, on the wintry sands,
While drives the gust along the leafless lands.

A Christmas Fancy – Robert Fuller Murray

Early on Christmas Day,
Love, as awake I lay,
And heard the Christmas bells ring sweet and clearly,
My heart stole through the gloom
Into your silent room,
And whispered to your heart, `I love you dearly.’

There, in the dark profound,
Your heart was sleeping sound,
And dreaming some fair dream of summer weather.
At my heart’s word it woke,
And, ere the morning broke,
They sang a Christmas carol both together.

Glory to God on high!
Stars of the morning sky,
Sing as ye sang upon the first creation,
When all the Sons of God
Shouted for joy abroad,
And earth was laid upon a sure foundation.

Glory to God again!
Peace and goodwill to men,
And kindly feeling all the wide world over,
Where friends with joy and mirth
Meet round the Christmas hearth,
Or dreams of home the solitary rover.

Glory to God! True hearts,
Lo, now the dark departs,
And morning on the snow-clad hills grows grey.
Oh, may love’s dawning light
Kindled from loveless night,
Shine more and more unto the perfect day!

Christmas Together – Mary Nagy

I hung the decorations
and I trimmed the christmas tree.
What really means the most of all
is that you’re here with me.

You make the season special
without spending lots of dough.
Your neverending friendship
means more than you could know.

I can’t say what it means to me
to share this special time.
I thank God for another year
that He’s let you be mine.

Let’s deck the halls and celebrate
with family and friends.
But, lets take time for you and me
before the season ends.

Sweet Baby – Linda Ori

Baby, sweet baby, with tears in your eyes
Rest your head gently, there’s no need to cry,
Come let me sing you a soft lullaby
The sandman is coming and dreamland is nigh;

Baby, sweet baby, with skin soft and fair
And little pink ribbons done up in your hair,
In your tiny world there should not be a care
May angels surround you and send you a prayer;

Baby, sweet baby, your cute button nose
Your soft tiny fingers and sweet baby toes
Have truly bewitched me and nobody knows
How the depth of my love for you just grows and grows;

So precious and tender your love is to me,
Until I first held you, I never could see
How wonderfully magical my life could be –
You’ve opened my heart and my spirit is free!

Baby – Viola Pinkosky

When you were created, I knew I had found it.
The angel face, and beauty all around it.
Your heart is a creation of wonder.
And, how you came to be, I still ponder.

But, Lilly, you are the joy of my day.
A miracle, in each and every way.
With a beautiful light to your eyes,
like your mother’s: stars in the skies.

Like the flower you are named,
may you never be tamed.
Your life is too free.
Like your love from me.

Baby – Derrick Parsee

Baby let me tell u how I feel
Baby let me love u till the end
Baby my heart is urs
Baby let me touch u all over
Baby can I kiss ur lips
Baby can I rub ur feet
Baby look me in my eyes and don’t blink
Baby when the sun goes down will u be around
Baby let’s walk the hall of love
Baby when I look at u I see another world in ur eyes
Baby I’m tha man that can take u where u need and want to go
Baby please let’s go and don’t say no
Baby this is my last cry
Baby make love to me till the end of time

Harayeko Mero Manchhe – Shrawan Mukarung

हराएको मेरो मान्छे
तिमी एकदिन जरुर आउँछौ
पिरतीको अर्थ के हो ?
त्यही बेला थाहा पाउँछौ ।

कति भाग्यो चन्द्रमा यो
पृथिवीलाई रुवाएर
तर साँझ आउँछ फेरि
लाखौँ दीप जलाएर
एकान्तमा वेदनाको
माला जब तिमी लाउँछौ
पिरतीको अर्थ के हो
त्यही बेला थाहा पाउँछौ

जहाँ जाऊ जता पुग
भेटिने त उही मान्छे
मानिसकै अनुरोगले
बाँधिएको हुन्छ मान्छे
सम्झनाको कुनै मोडमा
जतिखेर तिमी धाउँछौ
पिरतीको अर्थ के हो
त्यहीबेला थाहा पाउँछौ ।

Jeevan Ko Laya – Shrawan Mukarung

एक–दुई–तीन
एक–दुई–तीन
तपाईं
वाल्जमा बाँधिनुभयो ।

जीवनको नग्नता हो विचार
तर आशा, निराशा, उत्तेजना
एक रिदमिक तीव्रता
जस्तो–
लहर नदीको तीव्रता हो
बतास टाकुराको
एकान्त आलापको ।

निरन्तर हिउँ खसिरहनु
या, पग्लिरहनु
तीव्रता हो– हिमालयको

एक–दुई–तीन
एक–दुई–तीन

प्रत्येक बोध, विश्राम वा खाली
शून्य वा मृत्यु
योजक हो– जीवनको ।
जस्तो–
बुद्ध र यशोधरा
ब्लुज र नीलो
माक्र्स र स्वप्न
महावीर र यातना
झलकमान र सारङ्गी

मानिस आफैँमा के हो…?
के हो मानिस…?
तर,
जीवन चलिरहन्छ– यत्नहरूको नजिक–नजिक
एक–दुई–तीन
एक–दुई–तीन

गइसकेपछि फर्किन सकिन्छ…?
भइसकेपछि नहुन सकिन्छ….?

जीवन एक लय हो–असङ्ख्य टुक्राहरूको
जो क्षणको खस्रो जराबाट
उभिन्छ तरलताको भीमकाय रुख
एक–दुई–तीन
एक–दुई–तीन ।

Mad And Sad – Samantha Guinen

We all walk like everything is fine,
But we all know we are all mad,
Mad at the world,
Mad at are friends,
Mad at the people we love,
Mad at the people we hate,
We are mad at just about everyone,
We are mad at all,
But yet we are sad for more,
We are sad for teen mothers,
We are sad for lost ones,
We are sad for people we love,
We are sad for all,
Mad Hate Killing,
Sad Sarrow Tears,

Happy Birthday – Roxy Gonro

Today’s your birthday…
I never paid attention to your birthday before,
Never really cared,
It never really meant anything to me.
I never thought to call,
Never thought to send a card or present,
Never thought to visit and make memories that I could remember forever,
Never even knew it was your birthday.
I always knew you were there,
But didn’t think much else.
But today’s your birthday.
Now you’ve been gone for almost a year.
And each 365 days of this year.
I have thought of you,
Thought that if I could have just have 1 more day for you,
I would call,
I would send a present,
I would visit and make all the memories in the world,
I would count down the days till your birthday,
I would be with you, and realize,
You mean the world to me,
Always did, always will.
And without you,
Everything changes.
So now I say for the first time…
Happy Birthday.

On My 40th Birthday – Padmore Enyonam Agbemabiese

last night
before I lay down to sleep
I prayed the Lord my shape to keep
to let no wrinkles come.
nor age spots to grow
where once my youthful vigor
radiated and I was youthfully young

I asked the Lord
not to let gray hairs show
nor my limbs to grow numb

you know what the Lord did?
he brought me to a forest of flowers
I gaped at the animation of life
nothing remains permanent, He said,
for everything there is a season
night must give way to sunrays
vapors must rise to fall back as rain
fire must beget cold ashes
so when a tree dies it is the stub that grows instead

long ago my Grandma said,
the longer you live
the more you sin against God
to die is a virtue God gave us
so everybody must change faces
like we change our dresses

this evening, I thank God for growing old
age is a price to pay for maturity
though a new broom sweeps clean,
the old brush knows all the corners best
if you refuse to grow
you’ll miss a good broad smile
as to have a silver head
is like to kiss an angel a good morning

Death Be Not Proud – John Donne

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,
For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

The Nightingale – Mark Akenside

To-night retired, the queen of heaven
With young Endymion stays;
And now to Hesper it is given
Awhile to rule the vacant sky,
Till she shall to her lamp supply
A stream of brighter rays.

Propitious send thy golden ray,
Thou purest light above!
Let no false flame seduce to stray
Where gulf or steep lie hid for harm;
But lead where music’s healing charm
May soothe afflicted love.

To them, by many a grateful song
In happier seasons vow’d,
These lawns, Olympia’s haunts, belong:
Oft by yon silver stream we walk’d,
Or fix’d, while Philomela talk’d,
Beneath yon copses stood.

Nor seldom, where the beechen boughs
That roofless tower invade,
We came, while her enchanting Muse
The radiant moon above us held:
Till, by a clamorous owl compell’d,
She fled the solemn shade.

But hark! I hear her liquid tone!
Now Hesper guide my feet!
Down the red marl with moss o’ergrown,
Through yon wild thicket next the plain,
Whose hawthorns choke the winding lane
Which leads to her retreat.

See the green space: on either hand
Enlarged it spreads around:
See, in the midst she takes her stand,
Where one old oak his awful shade
Extends o’er half the level mead,
Enclosed in woods profound.

Hark! how through many a melting note
She now prolongs her lays:
How sweetly down the void they float!
The breeze their magic path attends;
The stars shine out; the forest bends;
The wakeful heifers graze.

Whoe’er thou art whom chance may bring
To this sequester’d spot,
If then the plaintive Siren sing,
O softly tread beneath her bower
And think of Heaven’s disposing power,
Of man’s uncertain lot.

O think, o’er all this mortal stage
What mournful scenes arise:
What ruin waits on kingly rage;
How often virtue dwells with woe;
How many griefs from knowledge flow;
How swiftly pleasure flies!

O sacred bird! let me at eve,
Thus wandering all alone,
Thy tender counsel oft receive,
Bear witness to thy pensive airs,
And pity Nature’s common cares,
Till I forget my own.

A Song – Mark Akenside

The Shape alone let others prize,
The Features of the Fair;
I look for Spirit in her Eyes,
And Meaning in her Air.
A Damask Cheek, an Iv’ry Arm,
Shall ne’er my Wishes win,
Give me an animated Form,
That speaks a Mind within.
A Face where awful Honour shines,
Where Sense and Sweetness move,
And Angel Innocence refines,
The Tenderness of Love.

These are the Soul of Beauty’s frame,
Without whose vital Aid,
Unfinish’d all her Features seem,
And all her Roses dead.
But ah! where both their Charms unite,
How perfect is the View,
With ev’ry Image of Delight,
With Graces ever new.
Of Pow’r to charm the greatest Woe,
The wildest Rage controul,
Diffusing Mildness o’er the Brow,
And Rapture thro’ the Soul.
Their Pow’r but faintly to express,
All Language must despair,
But go behold
Arpasia’s
Face,
And read it perfect there.

Female Beauty – Mark Akenside

What’s Female Beauty, but an Art divine,
Through which the Mind’s all gentle Graces shine?
They like the Sun irradiate all between;
The Body charms, because the Mind is seen.

Taste – Mark Akenside

What, then, is taste but those internal powers,
Active and strong, and feeling alive
To each fine impulse? a discerning sense
Of decent and sublime, with quick disgust
From things deformed, or disarranged and gross
In species. This nor gems nor stores of gold,
Nor purple state nor culture can bestow;
But God alone, when first His active hand
Imprints the secret bias of the soul.

Testing Another Culture – RoseAnn V. Shawiak

Waiting to hear from the one I love, anticipating the
sound of his voice as he speaks lovingly to me.

Conversations ranging from love to world politics and
everything in between.

Giving my life an expectancy of learning and becoming
more aware of life around this world.

Learning about another culture, testing it’s values,
traditions, foods, way of life, to see if it might be
better than what I’ve known all my life.

Culture – Oskar Hansen

Education is good, learning is great
One day everyone will have
A University degree but the academia
Will not be so happy
Street cleaners with letters after their name
Cooks with literary degrees,
And the status University gives will mean
Little, everyone is intellectually equal
Something must be done to stop this rot,
Perhaps wood carving will do,
And leave the education to the masses.

Gross In Pop Culture – Christopher’s Dead

Help yourself to the sun
There’s a bite taken out of it already
The only thing that you’ll become
Serenades to my porch while burning a cross in my backyard
Mother Nature is a cruel cruel soul
Even when your best friend is a tree
The less you hear, well, the better off you are
‘Cause from nine-to-five you’re just part of the machine

And this is the lifetime
You woke up in it just yesterday
And you just want to walk along
Side of a boxed-up mannequin in a chain store
Blending colors in conformity
Does nothing but make a mess for someone else to clean
But if you believe in the other side
You will make it past the dirty grip of society

So do your own thing, and be just who you are
And don’t let anyone tell you that it’s wrong
‘Cause when you’re doing the right thing and doing it your own way
You just might flourish in this land that you can see

Our Culture – Paul Barratt

We are all just
Just here looking all around
Around the world, we have come
Come to a land
Land of fortune
Fortune to all, we are all different
Different we dare, show us your culture
Culture is all around us
Us be taught, us be educated
Educated we will survive
Survive as many peoples
Peoples are very dear
Dear to our country
Country is our home
Home to very many
Many different cultures
Australian culture, of course.

Gun Culture – Hasmukh Amathalal

Life is moving very fast
We don’t know when will it last
but it is going to mushroom
we will watch growing crime in our room

yes drug trafficking is on
daily new methods are thrust on
the kids are inducted
for trade to be facilitated

they get killed or kill
this is not their will
but new style is added
the crime has flourished

soon you will witness
and find gloom on face
to find our dear one is shot dead
the culprits have then fled

you have new culture
to the future scene
the kids will be seen
yielding and showing gun

Dark Friend, What Can I Say? – Mirabai

Dark Friend, what can I say?
This love I bring
from distant lifetimes is ancient,
do not revile it.
Seeing your elegant body
I am ravished.
Visit our courtyard, hear the women
singing old hymns
On the square I’ve laid
out a welcome of teardrops,
body and mind I surrendered ages ago,
taking refuge
wherever your feet pass.
Mira flees from lifetime to lifetime,
your virgin.

Why Mira Can’T Come Back To Her Old House – Mirabai

The colors of the Dark One have penetrated Mira’s body; all the other colors washed out.
Making love with the Dark One and eating little, those are my pearls and my carnelians.
Meditation beads and the forehead streak, those are my scarves and my rings.
That’s enough feminine wiles for me. My teacher taught me this.
Approve me or disapprove me: I praise the Mountain Energy night and day.
I take the path that ecstatic human beings have taken for centuries.
I don’t steal money, I don’t hit anyone. What will you charge me with?
I have felt the swaying of the elephant’s shoulders;
and now you want me to climb on a jackass?
Try to be serious

Strange Is The Path When You Offer Love – Mirabai

Do not mention the name of love,
O my simple-minded companion.
Strange is the path
When you offer your love.
Your body is crushed at the first step.

If you want to offer love
Be prepared to cut off your head
And sit on it.
Be like the moth,
Which circles the lamp and offers its body.
Be like the deer, which, on hearing the horn,
Offers its head to the hunter.
Be like the partridge,
Which swallows burning coals
In love of the moon.
Be like the fish
Which yields up its life
When separated from the sea.
Be like the bee,
Entrapped in the closing petals of the lotus.

Mira’s lord is the courtly Giridhara.
She says: Offer your mind
To those lotus feet.

I Do Not Care About Social Norms – Mirabai

I will fasten the bells of his love to my feet
And dance in front of Girdhar.
Dancing and dancing I will please his eyes;
My love is an ancient one.
My love is the only truth.

I do not care about social norms
Nor do I keep my family’s honour.
I cannot forget, even for a moment,
The beauty of my lover.
I am dyed in Hari’s colour.

My Beloved – Rabia Al Basri

My peace, O my brothers and sisters, is my solitude,
And my Beloved is with me always,
For His love I can find no substitute,
And His love is the test for me among mortal beings,
Whenever His Beauty I may contemplate,
He is my “mihrab”, towards Him is my “qiblah”
If I die of love, before completing satisfaction,
Alas, for my anxiety in the world, alas for my distress,
O Healer (of souls) the heart feeds upon its desire,
The striving after union with Thee has healed my soul,
O my Joy and my Life abidingly,
You were the source of my life and from Thee also came my ecstasy.
I have separated myself from all created beings,
My hope is for union with Thee, for that is the goal of my desire

Love – Rabia Al Basri

I have loved Thee with two loves –
a selfish love and a love that is worthy of Thee.
As for the love which is selfish,
Therein I occupy myself with Thee,
to the exclusion of all others.
But in the love which is worthy of Thee,
Thou dost raise the veil that I may see Thee.
Yet is the praise not mine in this or that,
But the praise is to Thee in both that and this.

The Hoosier – Hew Ainslie

We lads that live up in the nobs,
Tho’ our manners might yet bear a rubbing,
We’re handy at neat little jobs
Such as chopping and hewing and grubbing.
Tho’ we roost in a cabin of logs,
And clapboards lie ‘twixt us and heaven,
Our mast makes us fine oily hogs,
And from hoop-poles we pick a good living.
Right quiet — to a decent degree —
it’s seldom we guzzle it deep, Sir,
Tho’ we don’t mind a bit of a spree,
Provided the liquor is cheap, Sir.
Our neighbours, that live ‘cross the drink.
May laugh at our fondness for cider,
But so long as we pocket their clink
They may laugh till their mouths they grow wider.
Our gals make our trousers, you see,
From that beautiful stuff called tow linen,
and in coats of the linsey — dang me,
If we don’t look both handsome and winning.
Our wives are our weavers, to boot;
Ourselves are first rate on a shoe, Sir;
We can doctor a tub with a hoop —
And hark ! we’re our own niggers too, Sir,
So here’s to our Hoosier land,
The sons of its soil and its waters !
May the “nullies” ne’er get it in hand,
Nor demagogues tear it in tatters.
But still may it flourish and push,
Thro’ vetos and all such tough cases,
Till railroads are common as brush,
And the nobs are as sleek as your faces.

I Am Pale With Longing For My Beloved – Mirabai

I am pale with longing for my beloved;
People believe I am ill.
Seizing on every possible pretext,
I try to meet him ‘by accident.’

They have sent for a country doctor;
He grabs my arm and prods it;
How can he diagnose my pain?
It’s in my heart that I am afflicted.

Go home, country doctor,
Don’t address me by my name;
It’s the name of God that has wounded me,
Don’t force your medicines on me.

The sweetness of his lips is a pot of nectar,
That’s the only curd for which I crave;
Mira’s Lord is Giridhar Naagar.
He will feed me nectar again and again.

Strange Is The Path When You Offer Love – Mirabai

Do not mention the name of love,
O my simple-minded companion.
Strange is the path
When you offer your love.
Your body is crushed at the first step.

If you want to offer love
Be prepared to cut off your head
And sit on it.
Be like the moth,
Which circles the lamp and offers its body.
Be like the deer, which, on hearing the horn,
Offers its head to the hunter.
Be like the partridge,
Which swallows burning coals
In love of the moon.
Be like the fish
Which yields up its life
When separated from the sea.
Be like the bee,
Entrapped in the closing petals of the lotus.

Mira’s lord is the courtly Giridhara.
She says: Offer your mind
To those lotus feet.

O How May I Ever Express That Secret Word? – Kabir

O How may I ever express that secret word?
O how can I say He is not like this, and He is like that?
If I say that He is within me, the universe is ashamed:
If I say that He is without me, it is falsehood.
He makes the inner and the outer worlds to be indivisibly one;
The conscious and the unconscious, both are His footstools.
He is neither manifest nor hidden,
He is neither revealed nor unrevealed:
There are no words to tell that which He is.

Friend, Hope For The Guest While You Are Alive – Kabir

Friend, hope for the Guest while you are alive.
Jump into experience while you are alive!
Think… and think… while you are alive.
What you call ‘salvation’ belongs to the time
before death.

If you don’t break your ropes while you’re alive,
do you think
ghosts will do it after?

The idea that the soul will join with the ecstatic
just because the body is rotten—
that is all fantasy.
What is found now is found then.
If you find nothing now,
you will simply end up with an apartment
in the City of Death.
If you make love with the divine now, in the next life
you will have the face of satisfied desire.

So plunge into the truth, find out who the Teacher is,
believe in the Great Sound!

Kabir says this: When the Guest is being search for,
it is the intensity of the longing for the Guest
that does all the work.
Look at me, and you will see a slave of that intensity.

The Spiritual Athlete Often Changes The Color Of His Clothes – Kabir

The spiritual athlete often changes the color of his clothes,
and his mind remains gray and loveless.

He sits inside a shrine room all day,
so that the Guest has to go outdoors and praise the rocks.

Or he drills holes in his ears, his hair grows
enormous and matted,
people mistake him for a goat…
He goes out into wilderness areas, strangles his impulses,
and makes himself neither male nor female…

He shaves his skull, puts his robe in an orange vat,
reads the Bhagavad-Gita, and becomes a terrific talker.

Kabir says: Actually you are going in a hearse
to the country of death,
bound hand and foot!

I Talk To My Inner Lover, And I Say, Why Such Rush? – Kabir

I talk to my inner lover, and I say, why such rush?
We sense that there is some sort of spirit that loves
birds and animals and the ants—
perhaps the same one who gave a radiance to you
in your mother’s womb.
Is it logical you would be walking around entirely
orphaned now?
The truth is you turned away yourself,
and decided to go into the dark alone.
Now you are tangled up in others, and have forgotten
what you once knew,
and that’s why eveything you do has some weird
failure in it.

Genesis Bk II – Caedmon

ll. 82-91) The citizens of heaven, the home of glory, dwelt
again in concord. Strife was at an end among the angels, discord
and dissension, when those warring spirits, shorn of light, were
hurled from heaven. Behind them stretching wide their mansions
lay, crowned with glory, prospering in grace in God’s dominion, a
sunny, fruitful land, empty of dwellers, when the accursed
spirits reached their place of exile within Hell’s prison-walls.

(ll. 92-102) Then our Lord took counsel in the thoughts of His
heart how He might people, with a better host, the great
creation, the native seats and gleaming mansions, high in heaven,
wherefrom these boastful foes had got them forth. Therefore with
mighty power Holy God ordained, beneath the arching heavens, that
earth and sky and the far-bounded sea should be established,
earth-creatures in the stead of those rebellious foes whom He had
cast from heaven.

(ll. 103-119) As yet was nought save shadows of darkness; the
spacious earth lay hidden, deep and dim, alien to God, unpeopled
and unused. Thereon the Steadfast King looked down and beheld
it, a place empty of joy. He saw dim chaos hanging in eternal
night, obscure beneath the heavens, desolate and dark, until this
world was fashioned by the word of the King of glory. Here first
with mighty power the Everlasting Lord, the Helm of all created
things, Almighty King, made earth and heaven, raised up the sky
and founded the spacious land. The earth was not yet green with
grass; the dark waves of the sea flowed over it, and midnight
darkness was upon it, far and wide.

(ll. 119-134) Then in radiant glory God’s holy spirit moved upon
the waters with wondrous might. The Lord of angels, Giver of
life, bade light shine forth upon the spacious earth. Swiftly
was God’s word fulfilled; holy light gleamed forth across the
waste at the Creator’s bidding. Over the seas the Lord of
victory divided light from darkness, shadow from radiant light.
The Lord of life gave both a name. By the word of God the
gleaming light was first called day. And in the beginning of
creation was God well pleased. The first day saw the dark and
brooding shadows vanish throughout the spacious earth.

Genesis Bk I – Caedmon

I

(ll. 1-28) Right is it that we praise the King of heaven, the
Lord of hosts, and love Him with all our hearts. For He is great
in power, the Source of all created things, the Lord Almighty.
Never hath He known beginning, neither cometh an end of His
eternal glory. Ever in majesty He reigneth over celestial
thrones; in righteousness and strength He keepeth the courts of
heaven which were established, broad and ample, by the might of
God, for angel dwellers, wardens of the soul. The angel legions
knew the blessedness of God, celestial joy and bliss. Great was
their glory! The mighty spirits magnified their Prince and sang
His praise with gladness, serving the Lord of life, exceeding
blessed in His splendour. They knew no sin nor any evil; but
dwelt in peace for ever with their Lord. They wrought no deed in
heaven save right and truth, until the angel prince in pride
walked in the ways of error. Then no longer would they work
their own advantage, but turned away from the love of God. They
boasted greatly, in their banded strength, that they could share
with God His glorious dwelling, spacious and heavenly bright.

(ll. 28-46) Then sorrow came upon them, envy and insolence and
pride of the angel who first began that deed of folly, to plot
and hatch it forth, and, thirsting for battle, boasted that in
the northern borders of heaven he would establish a throne and a
kingdom. Then was God angered and wrathful against that host
which He had crowned before with radiance and glory. For the
traitors, to reward their work, He shaped a house of pain and
grim affliction, and lamentations of hell. Our Lord prepared
this torture-house of exiles, deep and joyless, for the coming of
the angel hosts. Well He knew it lay enshrouded in eternal night,
and filled with woe, wrapped in fire and piercing cold,
smoke-veils and ruddy flame. And over that wretched realm He
spread the brooding terror of torment. They had wrought grievous
wrong together against God. Grim the reward they gained!

(ll. 47-77) Fierce of heart, they boasted they would take the
kingdom, and easily. But their hope failed them when the Lord,
High King of heaven, lifted His hand against their host. The
erring spirits, in their sin, might not prevail against the Lord,
but God, the Mighty, in His wrath, smote their insolence and
broke their pride, bereft these impious souls of victory and
power and dominion and glory; despoiled His foes of bliss and
peace and joy and radiant grace, and mightily avenged His wrath
upon them to their destruction. His heart was hardened against
them; with heavy hand He crushed His foes, subdued them to His
will, and, in His wrath, drove out the rebels from their ancient
home and seats of glory. Our Lord expelled and banished out of
heaven the presumptuous angel host. All-wielding God dismissed
the faithless horde, a hostile band of woeful spirits, upon a
long, long journey. Crushed was their pride, their boasting
humbled, their power broken, their glory dimmed. Thenceforth
those dusky spirits dwelt in exile. No cause had they to laugh
aloud, but, racked with pangs of hell, they suffered pain and woe
and tribulation, cloaked with darkness, knowing bitter anguish, a
grim requital, because they sought to strive with God.

(ll. 78-81) Then was there calm as formerly in heaven, the kindly
ways of peace. The Lord was dear to all, a Prince among His
thanes, and glory was renewed of angel legions knowing
blessedness with God.

Caedmon’s Hymn – Caedmon

Now let me praise the keeper of Heaven’s kingdom,
The might of the Creator, and his thought,
The work of the Father of glory, how each of wonders
The Eternal Lord established in the beginning.
He first created for the sons of men
Heaven as a roof, the holy Creator,
Then Middle-earth the keeper of mankind,
The Eternal Lord, afterwards made,
The earth for men, the Almighty Lord.

Dark Nights – Brandon Chiles

Dying Romantic says:
I walk these streets all alone,
the sound of your voice still ringing on my phone.
You just couldn’t leave our past behind,
why must I be the one that’s always kind?
Your face haunts my nightmares,
and you always leave me something on the stairs.
I burn it with glee,
and yet you send more to pester me.
This heart can’t take any more abuse,
so let me cut you loose.
This is goodbye…
-Dying Romantic

Dark Is The Night – Faith Elizabeth Brigham

dark is the night
as she writes
the love lines
she will never say
to her beloved
loving him
from a distance
yearning for
the warmth of
a love beyond
her reach
composing poems
he will never read
yes, dark is the night
to a woman in need

Dark Truth – Robert William Service

Birds have no consciousness of doom:
Yon thrush that serenades me daily
From scented snow of hawthorn bloom
Would not trill out his glee so gaily,
Could he foretell his songful breath
Would sadly soon be stilled in death.

Yon lambs that frolic on the lea
And incarnate the joy of life,
Would scarce disport them could they see
The shadow of the butcher’s knife:
Oh Nature, with your loving ruth,
You spare them knowledge of Dark Truth.

To sad humanity alone,
(Creation’s triumph ultimate)
The grimness of the grave is known,
The dusty destiny await . . . .
Oh bird and beast, with joy, elance
Effulgently your ingorance!
Oh man, previsioning the hearse,
With fortitude accept your curse!

Dark Girl – Uriah Hamilton

One day,
Dogs will laugh
In the streets,
And we’ll kiss wildly
Like lunatics
Escaping the asylum.

You’re a dark girl
So I’m painting
My roses black,

And I’ll murder the sun
If he ever turns his back.

I would rather
Enter the palace of your pain
Than continue to exist
In the prison cell of my loneliness.

The Dark Hour – William Henry Davies

And now, when merry winds do blow,
And rain makes trees look fresh,
An overpowering staleness holds
This mortal flesh.

Though well I love to feel the rain,
And be by winds well blown —
The mystery of mortal life
Doth press me down.

And, In this mood, come now what will,
Shine Rainbow, Cuckoo call;
There is no thing in Heaven or Earth
Can lift my soul.

I know not where this state comes from —
No cause for grief I know;
The Earth around is fresh and green,
Flowers near me grow.

I sit between two fair rose trees;
Red roses on my right,
And on my left side roses are
A lovely white.

The little birds are full of joy,
Lambs bleating all the day;
The colt runs after the old mare,
And children play.

And still there comes this dark, dark hour —
Which is not borne of Care;
Into my heart it creeps before
I am aware.

Stolen Kiss – David Harris

The waters rippled on an incoming tide
The shimmering finger of the moon
Danced on the small waves
A hiss of rolling stones broke the silence
As waves invaded and retreated on the shore
They walked oblivious to it all
The silent whispers from their eyes
Told the age old story
As they strolled beneath the heavens
With its millions of eyes
No voices broke the stillness
Of their evening bliss
The smiles etched on their faces
Only spoke of a stolen kiss

That One Kiss – Ernestine Northover

With wide open eyes, she looked at me,
And climbing up, upon my knee,
Gave me a kiss, which touched my heart
And launched a pain, as if a dart
Had entered my old ageing soul,
And found therein it’s final goal!

She smiled and all the joy was mine,
A million stars shone by design,
And twinkled, my whole body, through,
Filling my being with life anew.
With that one kiss, we were as one
Together. Our lives had just begun.

Water Music – Robert Creeley

The words are a beautiful music.
The words bounce like in water.

Water music,
loud in the clearing

off the boats,
birds, leaves.

They look for a place
to sit and eat-

no meaning,
no point.

Water – Adelaide Rhead

Water still, water deep, how many secrets do you keep?
We look upon your surface calm, and feel the peace that is a balm.
Now the gentle stream runs faster, racing swiftly swiftly —
Over boundless cataracts. Water — share your energy with me.
As a big wide river flowing slowly to the sea,
It fills me with its strength. Love and peace now cover me.
Sunshine on the water fills everything with gold.
And silver from the moonbeams. Feel the joy you now behold.
Water in its many forms soothes the jangled nerves,
Isn’t this a pleasure that everyone deserves?

Well Water – Randall Jarrell

What a girl called “the dailiness of life”
(Adding an errand to your errand. Saying,
“Since you’re up . . .” Making you a means to
A means to a means to) is well water
Pumped from an old well at the bottom of the world.
The pump you pump the water from is rusty
And hard to move and absurd, a squirrel-wheel
A sick squirrel turns slowly, through the sunny
Inexorable hours. And yet sometimes
The wheel turns of its own weight, the rusty
Pump pumps over your sweating face the clear
Water, cold, so cold! you cup your hands
And gulp from them the dailiness of life.