A Purple Stem (Nature Poem)

A purple stem

To
Many it’s just a cut flower
Just a stem of gladiolus
But, for me
It has been a friend
Of decades
Once our garden
Had a patch, nay
A crop of 30 – 40
Gladioli!
Mostly they were 
Of purple hue, with silky
Texture
They’d last there almost two months 
In the front yard
Next to the driveway
Dancing in the wind
Glistening with the pearly
Raindrops
Year after year
They blossomed without fail
In this freezing zone 5 -
Till a jealous friend
Cast her glance
With a sly comment:
“How come you get
such lovely long floral stems?
I never had luck with ‘em”
That’s it - killed them all.
Or it could be due my own neglect
They perpetually need fertile soil with good
Drainage. They don’t like getting
Their feet wet or cold during the heavy
Autumn downpours and severe
Snow storms.

But
Let’s leave it all aside for now.
Let me enjoy
This single stem from
This season, happily 
Ensconced in a porcelain vase
Last year we lost quite
A few to a pesky virus or thrips; the buds
Didn’t even open – a blackened bud or
A premature disfigured clump of dry petals
Is all we got
But we’re lucky this year
Got five or six stately lanterns
Of colorful gladioli 
Ranging from purple to pink
One even with crinkled petals
And a dose of central dark patch
Now I am transported to the
Carefree days of my college days
Oh, those freshman English lectures
From an elderly scholar with 
Utter devotion to the subject and
Deep love to the young students
He
Told us the meaning of “unheard melodies”
And what is beauty:
Still to this day
It rings in my mind the line,
“A thing of beauty is a joy forever”
This little six-inch stem of
Gladiolus proudly proclaims (confirms)
It. 

Copyright 2026 by the author

Furry Rodentia (Long Poem on Nature)

Furry Rodentia

I did not mind
Sharing our house
With you, your blind new born

We all need a place to dwell
A cozy shelter from the gnawing chilly winter
From the freezing rain
And the hot steamy summer sun
We endured your riotous
Goings, comings, scratchings,
Screeches, mild mumblings
For months, seasons, almost two years

I still remember
Your sudden startling entrance
It was a heavy snowstorm day
In mid December
I was lying down, taking
A brief nap, a much needed rest
For a full recuperation
I too was awfully cold inside
The hearth yet to be kindled
Rudely awakened by your 
Knock on the front porch

In a frenzied rush
I bolted out to seek the troublemaker
With a 1500 watt halogen flood lamp
Did I frighten you? I’m sorry
You had crawled into the little opening
In the eves on the front porch
Perhaps frantically searching
For a vacant apartment
For the hard winter

Maybe your leafy den got too wet
With heavy snow
Or inundated by the fall flash floods
Too late -
To build another nest atop the maple tree
Much of the foliage on ground trampled with snow

I tried, in vain, to scare you
You had your own emergencies
Life’s exigencies – we all have from time to time
An impending addition of 2,6, or 8
Little clasped-eyed naked babies

Then, on that summer afternoon
You were distraught
You tried your best 
To 
Save, retrieve, the fallen young
Perhaps a weakling 
The last one to
Learn walking, seeing.
Your frantic attempts
Desperate crawling vertically
Must have hurt your paws
Delicate toenails
All without success
What a Herculean effort?
You did the best
As a loving mother. 

It was then
We 
Decided 
You would be better off 
In our backyard, in the tall trees
In the midst of walnut, maple, willow
Groves next to the 
Murmuring cool cataract
With a house at the level 
Of our second floor
You too liked that sky view
A rare panoramic purview
Of peachy red sunsets
During the cool months

Sorry,
I did not give you enough notice
That is customary
For any decent landlord
It is due even for 
A free boarder, a freeloader, a delinquent tenant!
I felt bad when you
Hurt your mouth, incisors
In the cage, with only a black walnut to chew
If you were in my little village
You’d have gotten
Plenty of coconut trees
To play with
And all those tender coconut
Flowers, tiny acorn-sized
Green coconut fruits

In a Rajasthan city
You got even a majestic temple
With silver bells and brass platters
Full of tasty sweet dishes
Why not?
You are the majestic carrier
Of Lord Ganesa
Thus, you too are 
Very dear to the Great Mother
The daughter of Silver Mountain
Annapurna – what a majestic peak
What a celestial abode
Of the First Couple

Strange, you too got
Gradations of color
Like all humans
Most surprising
Some of your kin
Have coal-dark coats
And some, even red haired tails

Sri Rama blessed you with
Three stripes on your back
A gesture of gratitude
For helping with the bridge construction
To Lanka

I am just a simple friend -
Like two good neighbors
We look at each other
Across the 
Double pane glass window – 
You munching on a baby walnut
With a curled tail, 
Basking in the morning sunshine on a sumac twig
A rare visual greeting on a wintry day

On hot summer days
You play around my potted
Mango and hibiscuses, on our deck
Strange friends, we are
Yet, perhaps we are part of
The same Brahman!
In the garden of
Brahma’s creation!

Copyright 2026 by the author