Festival of Light, A Poem by Eminent poet Gopal Lahiri

The evening is filled with light and prayers.

 

Earthen lamp flickers, the wooden platform smells,

the old temple wall is too thin to touch,

memories inside us knows

they have to return where they come from,

 

The broken pieces of coconut husk lie in the clay bowls

incense burners are lit, tears flow,

dancers decked in colourful clothes in sync with the beat of Dhak

rehearsing for the puja,

 

Clay oil lamps and Rangoli design the floor,

each one of us stands before the podium

offering rose petals and marigold,

the shining eyes of the goddess are looking at us,

 

Outside, firecrackers are burst, sparklers shine, rockets flying

candles decorate the balconies,

string lights on the iron grill,

 

The festival of lights- the perfection, the cadence,

recentres us, it humbles, it inspires,

 

Happy faces all around celebrate the pure spontaneity.

 

©gopallahiri

Bio of the poet: Gopal Lahiri is an India based, bilingual poet, critic, editor, writer and translator with 27 books (17 in English and 10 in Bengali) published, including eight jointly edited books. His poetry is published across anthologies and journals of India and abroad. His poems are translated in 16 languages and published in 12 countries. He has been nominated for Pushcart Prize, for poetry in 2021. He is the recipient of the Poet of the Year Award in Destiny Poets, UK, 2016, Setu Excellence Award, 2020, Pittsburgh, US. His latest collection of poems ‘Alleys are Filled with Future Alphabets.’ has received Ukiyoto award, 2022.