Anushka Mimani, Class XI G
Long ago, a tired ancient chest,
Lay isolated, in the Holy Land.
The chest, faithfully fortifying,
The two-faced pearl.
A treasure so divine,
Its praises were sung,
As it stood proudly on the throne.
The two-faced pearl,
Half black like pure burnt charcoal,
The other as white as the first snowflake,
Inaugurating the holiday season.
‘It’s a mirror’, said the rationalist,
As he saw himself in the white.
‘Human nature, two faces,
Conqueror in victory,
Beggar in plight.’
‘A woman, the luscious dark hair,
A camouflage in the night.
And her naked skin,
Oh so tender, Oh so fair.’
‘Yes’, said the lover,
‘The treasure was a gift.
A tribute to the woman.’
‘Hope!’ the optimist argued.
‘Look how the white shines,
Even as the water rages,
Even in the stormiest of eras,
Even when the Almighty wages,
War on our mere selves,
The white, undeterred, still shines.’
And as the world quarreled,
Unaware, that high up,
The Artist sat watching,
A slight smile on his face.
For He, only He knew,
That neither committed irrelevance,
Nor were they truly true.
And that was the beauty,
Of His creation, His masterpiece,
An everlasting poetry.
