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Shahriar Shahriari |
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Poems - On Freedom - Group 1
On Nature of Freedom
I saw a tiger in a cage
His eyes glinting with rage
Something lacking in this page;
I sought the advice of a sage
Concisely said, no verbiage:
A natural law of old age
Captivity breeds outrage.© Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
May 31, 1997
I talked with the waters of the pool
Asked them by what command by what rule
Are thus encaged yet so calm and cool?The waters remained calm and clear
And through their ripples far and near
Reflected the sun's golden sphere.One bubble smiled, said look you here
Are you so blind? Can you not hear?
Laughingly it burst, the vapor so dear
Rushed to the sky like a reindeer
Clouds were forming, thundering with cheer
Rain was pouring, distant and near
With a gentle beat upon my ear
Some drops fell in the pool, brave, no fear
The message was there, obvious, clear
Cage is perception, freedom is here.© Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
April 19, 1997
The Truth is what works, some say
A mind frame for which they dearly pay.They create their own prison
Invent techniques with their reason
To free themselves from their bondage
And get out of their self-made cage.And they believe in their technique
Even though of madness it may reek;
To anyone who'd listen they speak
Of this panacea for the meek and weak.But in truth I can forge a chain
Shackle my ankle with my own brain
In my own mental prison can remain;
Although it works, it is insane.In truth a chain is still a chain
Whether made by hands or the brain.
No matter how much I complain
If I build my chain, in it remain,
And if I free myself with strain
Very soon I'll forge another again.Chain and key truth works just as they say
But in truth, it's a recurring way
An illusion driving me astray
Till I awake to light of day.
And for enlightenment pray
Embrace Truth as my only way.© Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
June 26, 1997
On our eternal quest for success
Sometimes we create one big mess,
We plot, we scheme, we lay a trap
Slowly, our vital energies sap,
We hunt the game in our trap
Another feather in our cap.My question: if hunter traps the game,
Is he not trapped just the same?
I wonder if bait catches fish
Or if the bait is fish's dish.
I want to know in this debate
Am I the fish, or am the bait?© Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
August 17, 1997
So many different kinds of cloud
Travel the skies, humble or proud;
Some clouds glow clean and bright
Some are a fluffy shade of white
Some are flat, some are gray
Some stand in the mighty sun's way
Some are gentle, like a thin veil
Others vicious, thundering, hail;
Different clouds, different shades
Made of same water, different grades.
Each travels the skies for some time
Disperses, unloads, old, or in its prime.We too like clouds, in different shades
Of the same essence, in different grades
Travel the earth for some time
And disappear to the celestial Chime.© Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
September 12 , 1997
Each star has just as much right to be
As any, in the skies, as we see
Each one is so unique and singular
As any other planet, meteor, or star;
Each one is born and lives its life's course
Then it dies and thus returns to its source.
In the scheme of heavens, close or sparse
Made of the same essence, unique stars.So it is in the world of human kind
Each is unique spark of the Greater Mind.
To his own life's tunes, each dances,
Facing his constellation of circumstances.
In essence though equal, of same frame
Each life unfolds with its unique flame.© Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
September 23, 1997
I heard an Eagle and a Hawk
Engaged in an intimate talk
Comparing notes in a proud display
Of the stories each one could say
Of their lives, achievements, glory
How high they could fly without worry;
Of the speed of their flight
And the clarity of their sight;
Ascending clouds, descend like a dart
And with thermals, making clouds part.
Preying upon salmon, rat, and hare
With beak and claws their flesh would tear.Engaged in this discussion, hot
To adversaries never gave a thought.
Suddenly from far out of sight
A darting arrow took to flight
Pierced the Eagle's mighty wing
Angel of Death began to sing.
With one glance at the arrow
Both Eagle and Hawk got to know.
"You win" said Eagle to the Hawk
"With your feather this arrow has struck.
The feather that once gave you flight
That same feather has sealed my plight;
Your feather has guided arrow's path
Thus the arrow has brought me wrath. "Hawk replied, "My dear friend
My feather brought you to your end;
But your death is also my plight
Your feather will give an arrow it's flight,
And one day from far out of sight
With my wing, arrow will pick a fight;
And that day, I too, shall be struck
Eagle feathers shall end the Hawk!
How short sighted, how did I not see
That what goes forth, shall return to me. "© Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
October 10, 1997
The clock ticked away
As in my bed I lay
Is time passing me by?
Or is time and endless lie?To understand this I tried,
There I sat, laughed and cried
Time is an eternal loop
Marching on with its troop;
Though it seems an endless thread
Passing me by in my bed,
In cycles time moves on
Seasons pass, one by one
Until time reaches again
The beginning, that first grain;
It is only in my brain
That I'm subject to time's pain.
I am deathless, eternal
Time cannot touch me at all.© Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
June 5, 1997
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