Today's Beautiful Gem: `My Birth-day' by M. Udayakala

"I'm the creation of the primordial spark,
I'm a drop in the oasis of infinity.
The haloed peace of heaven and the horrors of hell
bother me not; none comes back with stories to tell;
My home's this blue planet with its girdle of clouds
and the mantle of seas and forests; ah! that's enough.

The canopy of pretty flowers in the spring,
the warmth and energy of the sunny summer,
the crispness and the coolness of the autumn morn,
the poverty and the promise of the winter snows,
the kaleidoscope of colours, the harmony of sounds,
the touch of the world around, the taste of its fruits--
truly, they fill my heart and lift my soul with joy;
this Earth is Eden or the garden of Indra.

On each birth-day of mine, I receive a present--
a little ball of crystal from the Master of Time;
Several of them have I hoarded in my chest;
I guard them as a child guards his bag of marbles.
Know not I how many more balls He has for me;
Knowing does not help as His wish prevails, not mine.

As long as I breathe the fresh air in my short stay,
I want to listen to the melody of songs,
I want to recite the poems of gaiety and grief;
I want to hug and kiss, to touch and feel, to cry and laugh.
This life, they say, is Maaya or an illusion;
To me this life is real, this life is here and now.

My family, my friends, and all that surrounds me--
That is all I wish for on this birth-day of mine!"

om s'aantih: Peace! - J. K. Mohana Rao

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