Shanta Acharya, India-UK
Snowy Egret
Smeared in ash, head bent in the morning mist,
one leg crooked, resembling an Indian yogi,
the snowy egret meditates beyond regret
and desire on the struggle to assuage hunger.
Perched on a boulder at the edge of the river
that keeps retreating every season, he waits—
a seasoned fisherman poised for a catch,
for a taste of flesh to freshen his mouth fouled
by plastic. Suddenly, he darts forward, dives in,
scoops a mouthful of quivering slivers.
Standing upright he savours the moment,
rapt in the dazzling company of clouds.
Lifting a creel of sunshine, he spreads his wings
with the grace of a ballet dancer retreating—
unaware of his separateness, one with the light
soaring on his back to the call of the universe.
Song of Praise
Praise the sun, powerful yet unwavering
in its journey across the sky, light pulsing
through clouds, mists—life sustaining.
Praise the earth as it moves on its axis—
inner and outer cores holding on to each other,
partners on the dance floor, steady as they go.
Praise the stars in the constellation
for knowing their place, yet blessing all migrations.
Praise the moon always true, waxing, waning,
constant in its daily transformation.
If the sun and moon should doubt,
our world would immediately go out.
Praise day and night, mere limits of our perception,
death, a release from our earth-bound vision.
Praise plants sun-facing, light-changing,
breathing in carbon, green deities in meditation,
giving us oxygen, expecting nothing in return.
Praise water in all its forms, giving and taking—
blood flowing through continents of bodies.
Praise the sky, air, ether; praise the universe
for awakening us to worlds beyond our imagination.
Praise every species in our planet,
masterpieces each of evolution—
rich, rare and wild keepers of infinite secrets.
Praise the eye of the guest—clear, observant.
Praise the giver of life—almighty, benevolent.
Note: This poem is based on prayers from different traditions around the world.
Shanta Acharya won a scholarship to Oxford, where she was among the first batch of women admitted to Worcester College. A recipient of the Violet Vaughan Morgan Fellowship, she was awarded the Doctor of Philosophy for her work on Ralph Waldo Emerson prior to her appointment as a visiting scholar in the Department of English and American Literature and Languages at Harvard University. The author of eleven books, her latest poetry publication is Imagine: New and Selected Poems (HarperCollins, India; 2017). Her poems, literary articles and reviews have appeared in Poetry Review, PN Review, The Spectator, Guardian Poem of the Week, Oxford Today and elsewhere. Some of her poems are due to appear in Here and There, edited by Boey Kim Cheng, Arin Alycia Fong and Justin Chia (Ethos Books, Singapore; 2019). Visit her website: www.shantaacharya.com.