A beautiful song I had heard
not into any norms
be it a couplet, sonnet,
lyric or the modern Haiku
it is a song simple and sweet
melodious and lovely
as it came from the soul
deep from the heart
composed by a naive man
” Arumugam” as he be called
a dark lanky figure
with grey unkempt hair
knew not to read or write
yet spoke with worldly wisdom
named his daughter “Peace”
being born on the day
the second world war ended
called his grandson “Hot Water”
as he was drinking hot water
at the time the child was born
worked in my mother’s place for long
fond of all of us we being six
used to sing a song on the Pongal Day
a simple translation of his
” let the pot boil, boil
let the milk boil, boil
so does my master’s
wealth rise up and up
and his children grow
up and up”
singing he would throw me
up in the air with a laughter
wishing me to rise up to the sky
a genial man dead and gone
his voice echoes from the nether world
every year on the day of Pongal.
Meenas Poems 