This glorious festival of lights
Welcomes the New Year
So swiftly passes and merges into the next
Bringing hope and joy to all;
We clean our homes,
Throw out the rust and decay,
Polish and shine the walls for luster:
Hang ‘diyas,’ candles, lamps and
Colored lights to decorate
And outshine our neighbors humble efforts
To display the same… there is competition.
Who doles out more money to display his wealth?
Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, seated on the lotus,
And Ganesh for wisdom and good luck
Seated on the humble mouse,
Offered delectable sweets, fruits and garlands
To bless our homes,
Come Diwali and crackers will burst your ears
Some at the dead of night will show their
Discourteous cracking to disturb the quiet night
In peaceful slumber;
Pause a while:
What if people come together and take a vow
Not to waste power;
Not to pollute the environment;
Not to disturb the young, the old, the sick
The birds, the animals who rush to hide
Just as Chicken Little claimed and ran
Thinking that heaven was falling apart;
What if we take a vow this Diwali
And pray to God to bring peace and prosperity
In this world
To remove the rust and decay settled within
And open our hearts towards the meek and helpless.
To eradicate miseries and bring comfort
To those who have lost their dear ones
In terrorist attacks, and war
Here, there and everywhere
Let us light the lamp of gratitude
Within us to make this planet
A paradise on earth
Let us come together and pray
To the Almighty
“Lead kindly light amidst the encircling gloom
Lead thou me on…”
~Shobha Diwakar
Jabalpur, India
It’s a very well written poem. Hope people do change their selfish attitude, be more thoughtful & considerate than they have been so far.