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AncientHippie
Member

since 2009-10-15

Posts 411
Surfing the Cosmic Flow

0 posted 2009-11-20 02:01 PM

A chill wind descends
from the lofty meadows of Gulmarg.
It carries the scent of those same wildflowers
that captivated noble Sultan
Yusuf Khan six hundred years ago.
It sweeps across the mirror surface
of Dal Lake,
gently rocking the stately cedar houseboats
that recall the elegance of the Raj.
Busy shikaras, those bustling workboats
of this Venice of the Himalayas,
ply their trade along watery avenues
bordered by tall deciduous trees
whose leaves and blossoms
give accent to these shining lanes.

In Srinagar's marketplace
the vendors' calls
exaggerate the splendour of their wares.
The cacophony is joined
by the muezzin calling the faithful
to the ancient mosque Jama Masjid,
where Sultan Sikandar
sought favour with his god.
The market's wooden buildings
have a worn and beaten look:
the price of continuing war
and ethnic violence engraved
on their facades.

Far above the valley,
on the fabled road to Ladakh,
the golden fields of mustard
wave a tribute
to the snow-clad guardians
of this troubled valley:
the mountains wait,
and dream of peace.
Glacial streams leap noisily
to strengthen roots
of mighty chinar trees,
whose ancient spires
daily fall to economic growth.
Across the valley
the Nanga Parbat mountains
swallow a golden sun,
and darkness
claims its due.

From the series "Realms of Gold"

"We are stardust: we are golden: and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden." --Joni Mitchell "Woodstock"

Margherita
Member Seraphic

since 2003-02-08

Posts 22236
Eternity

1 posted 2009-11-20 05:24 PM

quote:
the mountains wait,
and dream of peace.

Exquisite poem, dear Jim. I googled pictures of Dal Lake and other parts you mention. A place of beauty and charm, yet with such scars.

Thank you for this series too!

Love,
Margherita

Marchmadness
Member Rara Avis

since 2007-09-16

Posts 9271
So. El Monte, California

2 posted 2009-11-24 01:46 PM

I also googled Dal Lake after reading this, Jim. The imagery in this is just beautiful.
Next best thing to being there.
Ida

AncientHippie
Member

since 2009-10-15

Posts 411
Surfing the Cosmic Flow

3 posted 2009-11-25 08:39 AM

Margherita and Ida: Thank you. It was a pleasure sharing this remembrance with you both. Kashmir was (and is) a magical place. We spent a week on one of the old cedar houseboats, and explored the waterways, and the mountain pastures, the mosques and the countryside. How I detest sectarian (and indeed all) violence. It is the very antithesis of civilised behaviour.
Peace
Jim

"We are stardust: we are golden: and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden." --Joni Mitchell "Woodstock"

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