मेरे गाँव की बयार

मेरे गाँव की बयार,
मेरे कानों में आकर
मानों पूछती है मुझसे,
ख़ुश हो शहर जाकर?

अमराई की छांव में,
मिट्टी चूमती पांव में,
वहाँ पीपल के पत्ते,
और खेलने को गत्ते
वो गांव की गलियां,
वो फूलों की डलियां,
क्या याद है तुमको,
या भूले हो मुझको

दादी माँ का दुलार,
ममता भरी पुकार
वो खेलने गुल्ली डण्डे
वो गोबर से बने कण्डे
सच सच बताना
कुछ नहीं छुपाना
मेरे गाँव की बयार
मेरे कानों में आकर
मानो पूछती है मुझसे
ख़ुश हो शहर जाकर?

– गौतम प्रधान ‘मुसाफ़िर’
केलो विहार रायगढ़, छत्तीसगढ़

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I keep my circle small,
True friends are hard to find,
People tend to come and go,
Not leaving much behind.

But the ones that I hold true,
Have been the kindred souls,
Walking here beside me,
Whilst achieving their own goals.

In laughter and in silence,
Through trials we have grown,
Each moment shared together,
Turns strangers into home.

A bond that’s built on trust,
With memories that we weave,
In this tight-knit little world,
Kindness is given and received.

So here’s to the loyal hearts,
That walk together through life’s days,
You are appreciated and loved,
True friendship always stays …

 Esther Bennink

“On Fear”

It is said that before entering the sea

a river trembles with fear.

She looks back at the path she has traveled,

from the peaks of the mountains,

the long winding road crossing forests and villages.

And in front of her,

she sees an ocean so vast,

that to enter

there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.

But there is no other way.

The river can not go back.

Nobody can go back.

To go back is impossible in existence.

The river needs to take the risk

of entering the ocean

because only then will fear disappear,

because that’s where the river will know

it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,

but of becoming the ocean.

By Kahlil Gibran