Meadows of Corn

It seems but bland to every passing eye,
These regal meadows dressed in ripened corn;
They dance and few can such effects deny,
The brows of greener grass their touch adorn.

As dismal scenes of urban life have choked
Our ageing glimpses hour by hour sans shame;
Whatever tales of beauty once evoked
The pious realms are deemed as cold and lame.

Be patient, youthful hues of feeble breath!
Extend your golden wings, flap them with force;
And cast the ageless umbra over death,
That ruins poison seeds for nature’s course.

It seems but bland to every passing eye,
These regal meadows dressed in ripened corn;
Like laurels owned by men that early die,
They seldom shine but bloom the gates of morn.

 

Eulogy to True Art

Art that chimed in vales is bygone,
Garish thoughts now rule o’er classic;
Inner conflicts feed the skeptic,
Hope wherein can only look on.

Bring me ballads sung in silence,
Also sonnets wrote in sorrow;
Lighting each of winter’s morrow,
Ancient bards have sown their essence.

Tell me where the spring does thunder,
Roaring ‘mid inchoate roses?
Tell me whence the fall composes
If at all its gentle wonder?

Man who dares to blow his trumpet,
Scarce aware that soft is opus
Born of humble deeds whose locus
Lies at worldly circle’s summit.

Men may still in hours of trouble
Mouth against divine, their curses;
Time akin to steadfast verses,
Halves our discords, love does double.

Therefore, every dawn is vital,
Rained from God’s abode on mortals;
For it leads through latent portals,
Far above the blunt recital.

 

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.

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The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.


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44 Responses

    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Dear Amy ma’am, Greetings!

      I have always enjoyed the charms of your poetry, your kind words about mine really made my day.

      Regards

      Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Greetings, Sultana ma’am.

      I am really humbled that you found them interesting.

      Thank you.

      Best Wishes and Regards

      Reply
  3. Margaret O'Driscoll

    So glad to see your lovely work here dear friend…beautiful classical pieces…congratulations…love the accompanying painting also

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Hello Margaret ma’am,

      I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for finding the pieces beautiful. And as a matter of fact, the paintings used on this website impart a richer meaning to the poems.

      Regards

      Reply
  4. Margaret O'Driscoll

    So glad to see your lovely work here dear friend…beautiful classical pieces…congratulations 🙂

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Margaret ma’am,

      I have loved and admired your poems. When these kind words come from someone we admire, it is a feeling beyond words can explain.

      Thank you again.

      Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Dear ma’am,

      I’m really humbled to see such a flurry of compliments from you.

      Regards 🙂

      Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Ma’am,

      I still remember the poem ‘ In the Forest’ by you and many others.
      Glad to hear the appreciation from you again.

      Best wishes and regards

      Reply
  7. Swati Sarangi

    Hi,

    For the Meadows of corn: A vivid imagery has been well set up through the selective use of appropriate words. The repetition of the sentence “These regal meadows dressed in ripened corn” is creating the exact scene that you want to create! Well done!

    Amazingly composed the second poem. I especially liked the last stanza of it which is radiating all positivity and optimism. It’s truly an eulogy to the art!

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Hello Swati, greetings for the day!

      Quite glad to hear that you liked the poems so much. More power to you too.

      Thank you.

      Best Wishes. 🙂

      Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Sir, greetings!

      I’m thankful for these thoughtful words. What poet is a poet if he/she doesn’t work on reworking his/her art? But it is always a great learning process to interact with you and reading your verses makes this process worthwhile.

      Looking forward to learning more. 🙂

      Regards

      Reply
  9. Joseph S. Salemi

    Both poems are very nicely done. The iambic-5 metrics of “Meadows of Corn” are carefully composed. They are much more satisfying than the very loose and oversubstituted iambic pentameter that too many poets in the New Formalist movement are allowed to get away with.

    The trochaic tetrameter of “Eulogy to True Art” is even nicer, going along well with the ABBA rhyme scheme of the quatrains. An ABBA scheme is much trickier to handle than the more common ABAB one, since it requires a defter hand with enjambment.

    I will add that there is a nineteenth-century feel to both poems, probably due to the author’s deep immersion in Shelley, Longfellow, and Coleridge. Nothing wrong with that, to be sure — and perfectly understandable if English is a second language for Mr. Sarangi. The lovely Greek lyrics composed by non-Hellenic Syrians like Philodemus and Romans like Rufinus were also somewhat archaic in their day.

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Hello Sir, greetings!

      I am very grateful for your valuable observation of my poems. It is always a great satisfaction to be praised by one of the legendary connoisseurs of poetry. Surely, this made my day.

      Thank you.

      Regards and best wishes

      Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Greetings, Father Libby!

      I would like to thank you for your kind words. 🙂
      Looking forward to reading more of your poetry.

      Regards

      Reply
  12. Satyananda Sarangi

    Greetings, David Sir.

    Glad that you loved the sentiments I have tried my best to convey here.

    Thank you.

    Regards

    Reply
  13. James Sale

    These are two very good poems indeed, especially considering the age of Satyananda and also the fact that English is not your first language. It also to me reveals something very interesting about your style and what perhaps you might want to focus on. For, whilst I prefer the theme of Eulogy to True Art, I think Meadows of Corn is the superior poem. Whys is that? Both are tightly and beautifully constructed, but Meadows of Corn uses the longer pentameter line, and this, I think, gives you more space to ‘breathe’, to say what you naturally want to say; some lines of the Eulogy seem a little ‘cramped’ by comparison. Thus, I would suggest to you that you might want at some point to experiment with this idea: actually, does writing with the longer line go with your own natural ‘grain’ as it were? For we must keep in mind, all poets have preferential forms that ideally enable them to express their Muse. I love the way the Meadow poem returns to its opening and varies it too.

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Sir, greetings!

      Indeed it is the Muse, who plays the pivotal role in a poem. Your observations have always stressed on valuable points and have been helpful to me, I must confess. I have noticed that the muse is somewhat unpredictable, it may vary its choice from iambs to trochees, from anapests to dactyls and so on. But as always, I will keep your thoughts in my mind.

      Really humbled that you liked both of the poems. For a young poet whose first language is not English, this means a lot. I am on my way to learning more. 🙂

      Thank you.

      Best Wishes and Regards

      Reply
  14. Disha

    Way to go SS!! 🙂

    Wishing you all the best for all your future endeavors.
    Needless to say, these poems are awesome, but I am sure your best work is yet to come….

    ^_^

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Hello Disha,

      Greetings for the day!

      I am quite thankful for this kind gesture of yours. Glad that you loved the poetry. And I believe that the best is yet to come.

      Thank you so much.

      Best wishes. 🙂

      Reply
  15. Shruti Kumaresh

    Bravo satya…just now read two of your poems…usually you follow abab rhyming scheme in most of your poems if m not wrong…. Happy to see the other one with abba pattern which is a complex form to delineate…The second poem initially started with the rhyming scheme of abba pattern which ‘Petrarchan Sonnet’ possess and it continued and ended with the abba rhyme scheme… would like to read more such poems of yours with the above said poetry form with “abba abba cde cde” or “abba abba cdc cdc” rhyme scheme…

    Apart from the form of poetry two of them are rich in vocabulary,quite eloquent and profound to the core…keep writing and keep inspiring…good luck pal…

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Hello Shruti, greetings!

      I would like to express my gratitude to you for finding the poems profound. The iambic pentameter and the rhyme scheme of abab is quite common, though it still needs a bit of craft. In the first poem, as you said I have stuck to iambic pentameter and abab rhyme scheme. Trochaic tetrameter is not usually followed, but I tried my best to pull the second one off with an unusual rhyme scheme.
      Really glad that you liked both of them.

      Best wishes

      Reply
  16. Swati Tanaya

    Hi.
    It’s evident from the above poems how subtly you manage to create perfect rhyme schemes along with maintaining the meter. The language and imagery portray the visual and emotional effects of both poems vividly.
    In Meadows of Corn, the repetition constitutes the hallmark of the poem and highlights the theme.
    Speaking of Eulogy to True Art, I must admit, this is one of the best poems I have read so far. This is one of your poems that I’ll keep visiting over and again to get drench in its artistic aura. The pair of rhetorical questions in third stanza creates a metaphorical effect that adds to the beauty. Moreover, art and spirituality shines throughout the poem leading the readers to a bigger picture portrayed in the final stanza.
    Obviously, you are one of the best poets I genuinely love to read. Your works do reflect the essence of your Guru’s works. In a world where free verse is ruling the poetical firmament, it’s truly praiseworthy how you have kept yourself rooted to the poetry of romantic age. Maybe it’s you who can rekindle the fading love and passion for rhyming poetry. What you are writing is rapturous, yet rare!
    On the flip side, I think you must try a tad to work on the rhythm.
    Rest is solid!

    Love and light.

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Dear Swati, greetings!

      I really feel humbled by this very kind and warm response. Indeed, it is true that free verse of post modernists is what most from this generation seek, since there is this flawed thought process that beauty in art cannot be created through rhyme and meter. Still I would say that olden poems with rich rhyme are what make into first eight spots if we’re talking of making a list of ten most sought after poems by readers. You must have noticed that the first line of the second poem drives home the very fact that most of the modern art doesn’t leave a lasting effect on the mind.
      And as far as working a bit on the rhythm is concerned, I will try my level best in honing it.

      It is always a pleasure discussing with you about poetry and its forms. Moreover, you have been reading my poems for quite sometime now and I’m quite thankful for that.

      Best wishes and love. 🙂

      Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Hello Dipti, greetings!

      Quite thankful for your lovely words. 🙂

      Best wishes.

      Reply
  18. Kashish Kaur

    Eloquence imbued with perception, and delivered with just the right imagery to engross the reader’s mind within a mere second. This is what both the poems– Meadows of Corn and Eulogy to True Art does!!
    Upon reading, the ripple of thoughts not only get stirred, but they flow effortlessly as the poems unfold themselves, not only seeing the world from the poet’s perspective but also, drifting into the tangential abyss of self-perception to find the meaning within these words that exclusively belongs to the reader.
    Such brilliant poetry in today’s world is so hard to find these days and Satyananda Sarangi has achieved that.
    So much respect, mate!
    Keep up your brilliant work. ♡

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Now, this is really something I would treasure for a long time to come. Much gratitude for these kind words, Kashish.
      Keeping in mind that I have always stuck to what comes naturally to me, this adoration is valuable.

      A huge token of thanks to you, mate. <3
      Best wishes.

      Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Greetings ma’am!

      Thank you very much for your lovely words. I appreciate it.

      Best wishes & Regards

      Reply
  20. Antara Guha

    Satya
    Your each poetry works like the most positive power to a lost mind. Keep writing for all the lost minds in the world.

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Greetings!

      This is indeed one of the toughest tasks assigned to the poet by nature – to make the lost people feel that they are not lost.

      Best wishes.

      Reply
  21. Sathyanarayana

    Hi Sarangi, how I missed these poems…wow! What a great talent at such a greenly age. Really i am so proud of you Sir. Besides your perfect meter your compositions have a natural classical flavour. Bravo my dear.

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Greetings Sir!

      I am really humbled. Thank you so much for these kind words.

      Regards

      Reply
  22. Bhagyashree Mishra

    Enjoyed reading this from the core. Flawless ink dear poet. Keep shining, sharing and inspiring. Kudos

    Reply
    • Satyananda Sarangi

      Greetings for the day, Bhagyashree!

      Thank you so much for reading me.

      Best wishes to you too

      Reply
  23. George Winters

    Hello Mr. Sarangi.

    It seems as if I walked into time machine and ended up in 19th century.
    Fine work.

    Reply

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