SUGAR, STEEL AND THE MAPLE LEAF "The poems of a Young Sikh Canadian" is a book of poetry by Harmohanjit Singh Pandher. It was published in 2001, but it has only become more lovely with time. When I first found it on the poetry shelf at the library, I came home, copied out some poems and pasted them on my wall... it was a gem because it cherished everything from Shabad, to the lives of the Gurus, to Trudeau, to ice hockey...it was about us.
I would like to share some parts of poems from this book because not only did it celebrate the best of both worlds, but it also acknowledged the difficulties and doubts young Sikh Canadians face with identity. It is very dear to me so I'd like to share...
CYBER SIKH
What does the command ‘www’ truly mean
In the land of our personal computer screen?
If the ‘World Wide Web’ is our cursor’s first reply
Then it’s high time to reboot our frozen third eye.
For, ‘Waheguru, Waheguru, Waheguru’ is the key,
To breaking the binary code containing life’s mystery.
Even the information superhighway isn’t immune
To the Webmaster who launched the sun and the moon.
Bill Gates may have developed Microsoft Word,
Yet Guru Nanak revealed the Light of God’s Word.
Material things lay within a double click of the mouse,
But priceless joy is programmed into every Sikh house.
Silicon Valley produces Pentiums in plenty of piles,
While only the Almighty rids viruses in all of life’s files.
And though the system that won’t crash is solely the Nam,
Nowadays everyone’s printing cash by adding ‘dot.com’.
Yet in this modern era known as the Information Age,
Our planet is still blinded by injustice, ignorance and rage.
What good are breakthroughs in microchips and megabytes,
If millions are persecuted and denied basic human rights?
So let’s delete the evil emails from our innermost inbox,
Send out messages of compassion in our everyday talks.
Link up with the Lord by logging onto His Interface,
Make our mind’s modem the Guru’s guiding grace.
Surf the Guru Granth and then take that leap of faith,
Store its Divine Data deep in our soul to keep it safe.
Clear our heart’s hard drive of all our hatred and ego,
Download the sacred software of love…and away we go.
CROWNING GLORY
Tying a turban
Is like riding a bike:
You never forget how,
But sometimes along the path,
You might just forget why.
When you fall off your bike,
You scrape your knee,
When you take off your turban,
You stab your soul,
But there's no bandage
For a scab on your soul.
If you fall off your bike,
You fall flat on your face,
If you take off your turban,
You fall a little bit from grace.
The day my turban returned,
I realised we never
Really parted company,
It was just parked in my heart
For a few winters
Of discontent and curiosity.
And while curiosity
May have killed the cat,
In my case- a lion's case-
Dissatisfaction brought me
Roaring all the way back...
And then some.
The grass isn't always
Greener on the other side,
I should know,
I've walked on the other side,
And it looks diseased,
And a little bit yellow...."
ONLY YOU
on an island of illusions
you're the only thing that's real,
as I reach for the stars at night
it's only you that I feel
in times of turmoil
you're the only thing that's calm,
whenever I least expect it
you caress my cheek with your palm
on mountains of madness
you're the only thing that's sane,
if ever I ski over the edge
only you can bring me back again
in fields of folly
you're the only thing that's right,
as I wander around in darkness
you alone show me the light
in rooms of rapture
you're the only thing I see,
no matter which door I enter
you're the only one for me.