Pale Moon Poem by Saroj Padhi

The night swoons like a widow's burnt out lamp
heaving smokes of sighs near goddess Brindavati
still exuding the fragrance of prayer into thin air
resonant with the chants invoking the Goddess;

the Moon wades thro' the dark clouds to glimpse
the earth bracing divine energy to manifest
the mystique of the feminine to the humanity-
caught in trap of hypocrisies of a rude patriarchy;

the millennium city drags on with its tired legs
along the streets of custom without festive shine,
distressed frogs croak in vain in absence of rain
as we scramble to supplicate the Deity feminine;

the pale Moon looks at shadows of fluttering leaves
as wind mutters prayer into ears of Autumn sheaves.