‘The Pilgrimage to Heaven’ and Other Poetry by Satyananda Sarangi

The Pilgrimage to Heaven

Beneath the shadows whence no light embarks
On paths renounced by most intrepid men;
There, gypsies seldom find enchanting larks
Or songs which overflow the silent glen.

Circuitous routes aplenty lead to plains
Where neither sweet repose nor respite wait;
Some haunted bowers bear the rusted stains
Of slackened feet that slumber often late.

And even knolls do seem to kiss the skies;
The frozen lake resembles heaven’s face
Portraying sun and moon, its pair of eyes
Whose temple rarely wears a slight grimace.

These perturbations cloud our trusted sense;
How soon ambitions flee the cage of age,
Attired with wreaths of failures so immense
On shoulders, time’s deceit that cannot gauge!

Whilst ragged footsteps trot on plateaus rife
With blurred assurance, fancies high up float;
The silhouette of fading light and life
Extends towards a holy land of note.

But still this battered soul does know its way
Around the widespread moor bereft of trees;
For here the hopes anew as heathers sway
When Death upon our breath engraves his crease.

From brittle bones of heroes lying down,
A future pilgrim yet can carve his crown.

Somber Hours of Youth (An Alexandroid)

The hours that sing of sombre mood
____and echo truth,
Though seem the aged’s favoured food,
____they feed the youth.

But lest this world upon me doubt
____and stamp my view
As false with notions now worn-out,
____there’s something new.

The glow of fame, the pine for love
____Consume the life
Of young, who never stare above
____To win o’er strife.

An alumnus of IGIT Sarang, Satyananda Sarangi is a young poet who enjoys reading Longfellow, Shelley, Coleridge, Yeats and many others. His works have featured in Glass: Facets of Poetry, WestWard Quarterly, The GreenSilk Journal and other national magazines and books. He also loves electrical machines and renewable energy sources. Currently, he resides in Odisha, India.