The Song of The Nightingale: Love & Wisdom
A Poem by INNI KAUR
Feb. 13, 2011: A giant in Punjabi Literature, Bhai Vir Singh (December 5, 1872 - June 10, 1957) is celebrated as 'The Sixth River of Punjab'. He was a mystic, poet, novelist, essayist, exegete, historian, editor, publisher and a journalist. He was the leading figure in the Singh Sabha, the dynamic Sikh renaissance movement in the late 19th, early 20th century Punjab. The following is inspired by his poem.
| THE NIGHTINGALE'S SONG I The Nightingale My luminous day has turned dark Deserted is the home of my love. My garden, once full of life Lies barren today. No flowers No fruits No seeds No bees. Gloom amplifies. O God! Why this cruelty? Trampled rosebushes Naked boughs Frayed vines Torn trees. A cemetery. The eyes of the trees are shut The doors of their souls closed. Tall they once stood. Broken they lie today. Omnipresent beauty Sweet fragrance Perfect harmony All gone. I scream ... Who has stolen The life of this beauty? Brother traveler Wait. Tell me why My beloved garden Lies desolate? Where is my love? II The Traveler Eons ago Abundant flowers Lay at the feet Of the trees. The gardener reaped The harvest of thy rose. The flower-sellers The perfumers Thronged. In open market Thy love Was sold. The glory of the garden Traveled to city streets. Flowers were donned In thousand forms. Delicate maidens Jeweled their ears. Sinuous necks Adorned love garlands. Veil of flowers Concealed blushing brides. Lover's beds Had strewn roses. Sherbet was scented With petals of thy rose. The fragrance of thy rose Was locked in crystal glasses. Thy rose in decorated vases Traveled from palace to palace. Thy rose! Your rose! Is gone. Wings cannot take you to him. Nor can he come to you. Vain is your pain Vain is your longing. But Where have you been Tormented young bird? III The Nightingale Spring was in splendor Foliage was chaste. My eyes reflected The love of my life. I sang joyfully Perched on him. I flew in bliss Bough to bough. Suddenly The wily gardener Caught me. Instantly I became A prisoner. The prison walls Were strong and high. Its iron bars Were bolted tight. Pain entered my soul. Removed from my beloved My soul darkened. Torn from my ancestors Torn from my forest Torn from hills and dales Torn from the waterways. Gone was my home Gone was my freedom Gone was my laughter Gone was my being. This was fate's Cruel hand. I wonder Was it because I loved That I lost my freedom? In anguish I fluttered. But The prison walls Struck me down. This was Heaven's answer To my prayers. I screamed O God! Take mercy. Open this door Let me see the light. Let me see my love Just once more. IV But the jailer Felt no compassion. With his children He encircled my cage. Clapped and laughed They at my sight. "What a beautiful warbler!" They screamed with delight. I wailed: Does anyone know The agony of a caged soul? Whose freedom lies In the will of another? It's better to die Than live caged. Cease my life Free my soul. V In captivity I realized Why men fight For freedom's sake. Noble are they Who die in battle. Defending freedom For you and me. But The life of Birds and bees Fakirs and yogis Is at the mercy of others. Even when Betrayed They smile. Days elapsed. My hope Never waned. To be free One day. To see my love Once again. Today The jailer's child Left my door ajar. Against All odds I flew out. Free at last I soared. And rushed To my love. Only to find My garden comatose. Brother traveler: My heart hemorrhages. Thousand streams Spurt blood. Listening to your narrative About my beloved. VI The Traveler Tragic is your tale. I feel your grief. But No one can Lighten your pain. However I'm mystified. That you claim This garden as yours? The gardener With his hands Planted all. He sowed He weeded He watered. His praying eyes Watched over it Day and night. By every law By human right. All belongs to him. He is the true owner Blame him not. Nor say another word For you have no claim. You're caught In an illusion. You cannot have What is not yours. Renounce this Foolish fantasy. Be wise Forget your pain. And start to sing. There's still a song In your tiny throat. A song that heals Wounds of the woe. Why not sing And heal yourself? VII The Nightingale You're wise But Empty inside. No pangs of love No wounds of life Have touched you. Your heart is whole You are free of pain. But Let me tell you The pain of love Is colossal. When love chooses To pierce the heart No being can heal This sweet ailment. No song can calm The heat of this pain. A true song Amplifies this pain. All prescribed cures Intensify this pain. Your words Are full of wisdom. The fruits and flowers Are truly the gardener's. But Can wisdom Give me back What I've lost. Can it take me to The place where My love and I Lived in harmony. I lived in him He lived in me. My life His life Was one. They made a garden Out of my forest. Then they plucked My rose. My fervent pleas Went unheeded. My tender wings Could not battle. The hand of might Removed my beloved From his primal home. Wise traveler You talk about justice You talk about right. Let me tell you Might is right On this earth. Brother traveler Truly contemplate Who loves the rose? The crafty gardener Or I? Beneath his Seeding, weeding Caring, watching Lies an ulterior motive. You said The gardener sold My beloved rose In open market. Gold rolled Into his home. While suffering Descended on my rose. Tell me Did the gardener feel any pain? Nay His pain is only for his gold. My heart is clean. My love is pure. His love held me In my captivity. I longed To bathe in his nectar. I longed To sing his divine praise. Love bound, I returned Flying over foreign lands Just for his sight Just for his touch. My life has been thrown Into a thousand fires. I lost my home Planted by the Divine. For a nest In the garden of man. Brother traveler As a fledgling I learnt The laws of beauty. I know Beauty is a rising joy When we Surrender to it. Deluded are those Who fault beauty. The eye of their soul Wanes day by day. If that eye Becomes bright If that eye Becomes chaste Their soul would gleam In eternal glances. Glory in the soul The soul in glory. Brother traveler I know of a life Above this life. A life of bliss Emanating from The lips of my rose. A sweet subtle feeling. Unbalanced and balanced joy Unconscious and conscious love. A soft reeling A slow breeze A heart of glory A life of peace. Tell me Which is right Which is wrong? Love seems frail Might seems strong. VIII The Traveler Your reasoning is noble. But Who loves right For its own sake? Might reigns For Right asserts not. Selfishness sways humanity. Dearer to man is self. No one seems willing to love truth. They'd rather close their eyes And see not its intense light. Beautiful bird You are so frail You are so weak. To cry for your rose In this jungle of noise Is vain. The drums of ego The drums of desire Beat loud. Yet, deafening is The voice of man. In this tempest of noise Who will listen to your Sweet, subtle voice? Little bird If your voice was heard This world Would be a garden of roses Its dust Would shine as particles of gold. None would hurt another. Each enlightened within. Humanity bound In love and service. Blossoming in The harmony of living A paradise This would be. But This is not paradise. Find another way To heal your pain. Recuperate Little bird Recuperate. May the Divine Restore you again. I say this with love: True, you surrendered To the beauty of the rose. True, your love Is deep and pure. True, your soul Mirrors the light of the rose. But Why did you not know That one day ... The garden, the blossoms All would die. Spring dies. Autumn emerges. Foliage falls. Dust reigns. Little bird Your rose was Destined to die. The gardener Merely toiled. False was the Voice of spring If it promised You eternity. The dark day That troubles you Was inevitable. Your love Your joy Is coupled with spring. Why blame anyone? This lack of wisdom Makes you sorrowful. Vain is your grief Vain is your longing. IX The Nightingale Cries O love, dear love If death was inevitable Why the promises? Why this life? Why has death ceased me not? Futile is life Without you. As the sunlight Without the sun. Existing without existing Living of the not living. Why am I not dead? Compassionate brother I' m exhausted Take pity End my life. Darkness spreads around me Emptiness seizes my soul. This moment for me, is The moment of all death. My mind is dark The flame extinguished. Brother traveler Have mercy End my life. X The Traveler Gentle Passionate bird Gentle. I' m grieved My words Have caused You pain. It seems I almost Killed you. You weep for the past And now You wish to die For no reason. Know you not The wheel of change revolves It marches incessantly. No halting No stopping. Continuous is the march Of this divine caravan. Spring blooms Autumn withers Spring re-emerges. Time rolls. Zephyrs blow Buds materialize Leaves protrude. Flora will dance Bees will hum Birds will sing. Why cry now? Why wish for death? Wait a while Your sorrow Will soon end. XI The Nightingale If beauty lasts not forever Then What worth is beauty? If my garden sways not forever Then What worth is my garden? Is all a play of time? Time conceals my love And reveals him at its will And conceals him once again. Is love my own, or Is it time' s? If time is supreme Is my heart a puppet In the hand of time? Then To thirst for love To live in love To hope in love To crumble in love To reunite in love Is an illusion? If the lightning flash of love Reveals it's self Only to kill me Then where is love? If all is changing And there is nothing Except waiting, thirsting For nothing to be. If this is the eternal law If I am just a passive ball Which destiny mocks Then this life is too sad. Let me tear my robe, and Wear the shroud of sadness. Let me shatter my heart, for To be sad, is my calling. XII The Traveler Hush! Beautiful bird Hush! The rose you love Still perfumes Your tender heart. If you wish ... To see undying glory. If you long ... Eternity with your rose Then Turn your gaze within. In this visible world of change Your search is futile. Eternal spring exists for those Who have entered within. If you wish to dwell In the timeless gaze of your love Then Be at peace with yourself. Let The flame of your heart Burn slow and steady. Let Your mind become still Like a transparent lake. Then .... Journey Into the being Of your beloved. Your true abode. Encounter The eternal fountain Radiating within. There Blossoms your rose. Where The hand of might Cannot strike. Let your heart not quiver Let your heart not error. Let your soul drink From this eternal fountain. All worlds are within This is ancient wisdom. This is the law of beauty That fledglings learn. This is the law of true life A life above this life. This is the life of bliss Emanating from The lips of the rose. The rose that blossoms within Where eternal spring rolls. As you have said: Only there is A sweet subtle feeling Unbalanced and balanced joy Unconscious and conscious love. A soft reeling A slow breeze A heart of glory A life of peace Within that Golden Land There is neither Right nor wrong. Where ... Might is frail And Love is strong. Goodbye Beautiful bird Goodbye. Find your Beloved within. |
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Inni Kaur is the author of the recently released children's book, Journey With The Gurus, which is available at www.JourneyWithTheGurus.com | |
