Best Stript Poems
On men* of high birth or station, the THIRUK-KURAL admonishes
[*on modern-day Kings, Emperors, Dictators and the like leading nations declining as powers through faults of their own ]
K963: perukkaththu veendum panithal siriya
surukkaththu veendum uyaavu
Bow down thy soul, with increase blest, in happy hour;
Lift up thy heart, when stript of all by fortune's power. (Transl. G.U.Pope)
In great prosperity humility is becoming; dignity, in great adversity. (Transl. Drew & Lazarus)-
When life bestows upon you fortune, be humble;
when life by-passes you, maintain still your dignity.* (Transl. T. Wignesan)
[* boast not of your fertile "imagination" nor of your vaunted "original idea" for ideas are – as you know - dime a dozen, Mr. President, for most even at that rate can get to be richer than you if they were not blocked by the likes of you]-
K964: thalaiyin ilinththa mayir anaiyaa maanthar
nilaiyin ilinththak kadai
Like hairs from off the head that fall to earth,
When fall'n from high estate are men of noble birth. (Transl. G.U. Pope)
They who have fallen from their (high) position are like the hair which has fallen from the head. (Transl. Drew & Lazarus)
Just as strands from the scalp wilt, so do those from exalted positions fall to the lowliest depths. (Transl. T. Wignesan)
K969: mayirniippin vaalaak kavarimaa annaar
uyirniippar maanam varin
Like the wild ox that, of its tuft bereft, will pine away,
Are those who, of their honour shorn, will quit the light of day. (Transl. G.U. Pope)
Those who give up (their) life when (their) honour is at stake are like the yark [sic] which kills itself at the loss of (even one of) its hairs. (Transl. Drew & Lazarus)
Much as the kavarimaan* would lay its life down for good should one strand of its hair be shed, so should the high-minded whose honour is called into question. (Transl. T. Wignesan)
[* kavarimaan: a mythic animal in literature]
© T. Wignesan - Paris, 2017
KING OF NAPOLI (PT. 2)
Bright Altar of the bloodless sacrifice,
sweatless stains drenched your jerseys.
Which armoury delivers this season's Scudetto?
It's the masked number 9 that emerges our hero!
And summoned the spirit of deep emotion,
from the unknown graves of dwindled passion,
where victory was long gone and finally over.
The aura of late king Diego Armando Maradona
Saturate the entire stadia like the scent of confetti.
Night falls on the celebration in the great city,¹°
Shadowy clouds darkened o’er the helm of Naples,
Wind swaying the trees, branches & vegetables...
The firmament yawned; heaven stript bare,
the spirit of Maradona hovers & fills the air.
The Mountains heard the voicing earthquakes,
travelling through those top towers.
Thunderous voices at the metropolitan
rattled roofless halls of fame of our foreign sultan,
where the portraits, statues & banners of Deigo
Stood high & mighty like the great Armando.²°
The whole of Italy & Earth woke out of their slumber;
A blaze of light between two heavens sets asunder;
The first hero of Napolitans bears down
on the new king Osimhen, & wears him the crown.
All hail the King of Napoli.????²
Vick Manuel Poetry {VMP}
Form: Rhymes
Copyright ©? May 2023.
Unconcious mind, and I still see your face
From the moment I close my eyes to when I wake
Enter this paradise stript bare of hate
Where the willows do not weep I sit and wait
Fly with me high on the wings of a dove
Emerse your soul in my everlasting love
Lay upon my chest on the white sand
Let my passionate caress speak volumes so grand
Let the sky fall, we shall dance upon the clouds
Our footsteps imprinted forever, the heavens will echo our sounds
Yes come, come into this magical place
Where the willows do not weep I sit and wait
Bit if you stay absent before I wake
I will still see your face
And for granted
This i do not take