Ode to the Lotus

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Into the canal and into the pond

empties the scum and filth of the city,

Stench and colour of the water

tests your senses begging for pity,

And there in the middle of hell

stands a symbol of untarnished purity,

Blooms at dawn to greet the sun

glowing amid ignorance since eternity.

O Nelumbo!

From swirling cosmic waters

You rose a creation of primodial birth,

You sprang from every step

That Buddha placed on the blessed earth.

Enlighten me as I sit meditating

crosslegged with head high back stretched,

Reaching towards pure knowledge

In the material world of maya though rooted.

Strike this waiting soft open lotus

With a thunderbolt of penetrating wisdom,

To live in this unrealistic world

With happiness and sorrow in tandem.

© Nalini Hebbar/openmind/2009 - all rights reserved

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