A lovely day,
For world to say,
‘I love you!’
‘So, will you?’
A day of fun,
Under the sun,
For young and old,
As years, unfold.
A day of joy,
For girl or boy,
To express love;
Thank God above.
A day to talk;
A day to walk;
A day to sing,
A song of love.
A day that comes,
And world welcomes,
When loving hearts,
Renew their love.
Copyright by Dr John Celes
(Poet Valentine of India) 2-13-2008
She had few friends and stayed away from boys!
Her dress was neat although simple and cheap!
She sang some songs alone in high-pitched voice;
She prayed a lot and in her heart did weep?
My elder sister, lovely, sweet and nice,
She joined Health Service as a Government Doc;
‘One blunder in her life proved her unwise!’
She serves the sick and poor by hearty talk!
Did God ignore her desires in life?
Lord, save her soul and keep her safe ’midst strife!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 3-8-2006
Fondly dedicated to my belov’d, elder sister,
Dr. A. Mary Sugagemma M.D., Cbe.
God, bring the season of great happiness;
No longer can I bear my string of woes;
I need your mercy, love and forgiveness;
I hate the ways of men and how life goes.
God, give back my harmony in life;
Restore the contentment I had possessed;
I need your special help in meeting strife;
Oh, make me whole again: keep my soul bless’d!
The devils roam to destroy souls this Lent!
Oh, let me pray fervently and repent!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 3-1-2006
]]>Why blame someone for things going amiss?
A Christian life is full of misery;
Just don’t worry for stands besides Jesus;
“Take up your cross and follow me,” said He!
The devils tempt a Christian soul often;
But Jesus assures him victory always;
The shadow of the Cross leads to Heaven;
A baptized soul on earth has sure D-days!
The Son of God, Jesus, forsakes me not;
Thro’ bloody price on Cross- That’s how I’ as bought!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 3-6-2006
God,
Give me back my peace;
Give me back my will-pow’r;
Give me back my piety,
When I had no disease!
God,
Give me back my heart;
Give me back my faith / hope;
Give me back my love of Thee,
Which I had from the start!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 3-1-2006
God knows my trials, tribulations great,
Those pose a threat to harmony and peace;
God knows the seasons when such things abate,
And fosters will-power to keep my ease.
God knows what’s good and best for me always,
And watches me with tender love and care;
God knows what heights I climb in mundane ways,
And sufferings and strife, my heart can bear.
God knows my iniquities, sins I do,
And fills my soul with grace and spirit too!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 3-1-2006
Oh,
They know how poets suffer in life!
They know how poets land in strife!
They stay unmoved/ inert- spouse or wife:
They wound my heart as if with a knife.
Oh,
How I wish I should be, never me!
How I wish I were akin to them;
Yet, I can’t simply: I’m thus destined;
Bards to Poesy must always bind.
Oh,
This isn’t something that pays at once;
This isn’t something that gives returns;
Poets seek the truth without/ within;
And Truth is God: God abhors just sin!
Oh,
Being like them is not the thing right;
The destiny of world, poets fight;
Bards cannot be dishonest, may be;
Their minds are fixed to Eternity.
Oh,
If they change, could they God realize?
Good Bards want to be always soul-wise;
And like a phoenix die, to arise;
And show the world to be heav’nly-wise!
Oh,
I can’t be taken for an easy ride;
I can’t my emotions/ passions hide;
I can’t live on with ego and pride;
My thoughts to be right, God helps decide.
Oh,
The superfluous from the deep;
Virtual/ surreal from real;
Transient from the permanent;
God help me to know and soul to keep.
Oh,
A Poet is a bruised reed!
His works are immortal indeed;
His heart of love is his one creed;
His mind wants peace and never greed!
A Bard’s a bruised reed!.
Copyright by Dr John Celes 6-12-2004
]]>The quake didn’t care for borders or for creed;
It did not care for sex, age or status;
Its intensity was massive indeed;
It left behind just rubble in surplus.
The death-toll mounts to thousands by the hour;
The country can’t manage the disaster;
Many buried alive await succor;
Cannot the administration act faster?
The quake has closed militant-camps as well;
For survivors and trapped ones, life is hell!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 10-11-2005
“God, please do spare more lives!”
If things didn’t happen, the ways I sought,
And in umpteen troubles, I got caught;
If what I expected, happened not,
Let me not blame others for my lot!
This was the environs given to me;
Whatever they be, let me thank the Almighty;
But, did I use my fullest energy?
Did I use my time properly?
The past is past, be it good or bad;
The future is wide open and right in my hands;
Let me revamp my body, mind and heart;
And do even better, right from the start.
Let me reset my life’s aims and ambitions;
Let me work harder, with perseverance, undeterred;
Let me take things as they come my way;
But let not fear ever dampen my spirits, any day.
For,
Life is to live and to accomplish;
Life is to face its hurdles and challenges;
Life is to make this world a better place for oneself and others;
Life is to seek God’s love and truth and Heaven.
Knowing and continually reminding ourselves,
The impermanence of human endeavors
And transience of our earthly stay;
The omnipotence and incredible perfection of the Maker
And supremacy of Nature’s fury,
Every day!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 5-10-2005
(Dr.A.Celestine Raj Manohar M.D.,
Professor of Medicine and HOD,
IRT PMC, Perundurai)
Dedicated to my beloved medico student CRRIs,
on their completion.
Their dream divine is almost realized;
A global seed was sowed for Christ’s message;
Most human beings now look devilized;
God TV is a golden history page!
The Holy Scripture touches hearts anew;
The Word of God will do great miracles;
Minds, bodies, souls will heal in divine view;
Freed will be souls from devils’ tentacles.
This is God TV’s real, short story;
Glory to God and Wendy and Rory.
Copyright by Dr John Celes (India) 10-1-2005
Dedicated to the divine couple and family
On the 10th anniversary of ‘God TV’
At Jerusalem.
But those were days when they had body-strength;
And now, their frames are weary, also weak;
Their string of life seems cut short now in length;
With will-power, their livelihood, they eke.
God cares for them and blesses them though aged;
They may fall prey to sicknesses sudden;
Their lives were full of crosses: ‘wars’ they waged;
Edentulous, they smile with (out) children?
Today’s youngsters are indebted to them;
One’s elders are akin to rare a gem!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 10-1-2005
Dedicated fondly to my dear old mother, in-laws,
Teachers, friends and all elderly on World Elders’ Day
God knows our earthly needs before we ask;
God cares for future wants beyond our thoughts;
God sees our heart’s true state despite its mask;
God pardons sins, mistakes and blunders lots.
Surrender man, your heart to God fully,
And reap His blessings manifold showered;
God’s grace lightens our works like a pulley;
To face our temptations, we stay powered.
God abhors sins and not those who have sinned;
His righteous souls are never abandoned.
Copyright by Dr John Celes 9-28-2005
When affluent cities get destroyed fast,
And powerful leaders make blunders so great,
And glorious people’s lives turn soon aghast,
Man still believes in science, himself and fate!
All human toil on earth can’t last for long;
Man’s intellect betrays him many times;
Our earthly life is just a finite song;
God is the one who helps man in all climes.
When life is short, why man destroys earth / space?
What Maker plans, no man can ev’r efface!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 9-13-2005
Perhaps I ask for things not important;
My earthly eyes cannot discern His ways;
On Life’s fabric, His love acts like mordant;
“Just ask and it will be given,” He says.
God fully knows what things are best for me;
He knows the ideal time and routes to give;
He sees my heart and soul primarily;
He guides my earthly decisions to live.
So, God is great in everything He charts;
No devils dare raise doubts in human hearts!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 9-12-2005
The world had been caught unawares;
Buildings came down in a trice;
And vanished too had plenty of lives:
Who never dreamt they’d die- like this!
The World Trade Center that reached the sky
Was soon all rubble, twisted steel;
It seemed as though, two arrows had pierced,
The heart of America!
A proud nation had been shocked, maimed;
Her security now challenged;
But these were acts of terrorists-
Men insane, who kill / get killed;
A sad nation with embittered hearts
Could not lament for long;
The new menace had to be dealt by
People’s will, greater resolve.
The world remembers this sad day-
Of chaos and havoc, unheard of;
The fight is now on
To root out terrorism,
From the face of the earth,
Once and for all.
Copyright by Dr John Celes 9-11-2005
A perplexed world turned mad with angry tears;
A surprised globe looked sad with heavy heart;
A civilized world was filled with new fears;
Born was Terrorism’s baby by art!
A menace seemed to strangely threaten all;
The problem was so complex, colossal;
‘Unite ’gainst Terrorism’ –was the clarion call;
The earth’s security lay under pall!
Satan’s baby’s booming cry was aloud,
Stifled by the people’s will-to-fight shroud!
Dedicated to all, in the global fight against terrorism
Copyright by Dr John Celes 9-11-2005
Can I forget my siblings and my friends,
My father’s knowledge great that goaded me?
Can I forget my sins and my amends,
And how I asked God’s forgiveness dearly?
Can I forget the mosquitoes and ants,
That bit each one of us in yester-life?
Can I forget my hunger-pangs, half-pants,
My walks to school in rain and sun and strife?
My childhood years were filled with sadness, joys,
Innocent mistakes, tears and not much toys!
Dedicated to all today, on Mother Mary’s birthday
Copyright by Dr John Celes 9-8-2005
Peeling roofs and tearing roads;
Bringing bridges down by force;
Slamming cars and flooding streets;
Katrina’s the worst storm seen!
Breaking levees, ‘laking’ lands;
Houses submerged by the scores;
Washing corpses, known, unknown;
Rescue-teams can hardly cope!
People had no power, food;
Nor could leave to safer zones;
Caught ’midst swirling currents fast,
Some perished like ‘paper-boats’!
Water, water everywhere;
Unfit for quenching one’s thirst;
The living wish they were too dead;
‘Help is coming- God knows when’!
The swollen rivers flooded towns;
Razing buildings down with ease;
Neighborhoods vanished near shores;
What a ruthless Nature’s show!
A million have been affected;
Homes are flattened, bricks all strewn;
Pleas for help are unheard still;
The world remains deaf, blind and mute!
In memory of the hapless victims and lucky survivors
Copyright by Dr John Celes 2-9-2005
A lamb that strayed has fallen from a cliff;
A sparrow held by eagle’s claws cries out;
A mountain-goat is icy-cold and stiff;
A boxer dies suddenly in a bout.
Some sufferings come like a bolt from blue;
Some woes can make a person’s will to fade;
Some blunder made annihilates a few;
The price of sin is death to soul God-made.
Why blame the God of love for faults our own?
The Maker is the benefactor lone.
Copyright by Dr John Celes 26-8-2005
Great care, we’ve got to exercise in choice;
The human being needs someone to talk;
And when some children come, there will be noise;
Sorrows and joys, life has; ’tis no cake-walk!
The sanctity of marriage is but true:
By which, we serve to procreate God’s way;
A ship at sea in stormy times needs crew;
And surely, we can pass His Judgment Day.
To keep our race going, we must marry;
So, God made Eve and made her to carry!
8-11-2000 Copyright by Dr John Celes
One still remains a flower big on mother-plant:
Weathered a bit, perfuming her landscape;
She yearned but could not turn into a seed!
Nevertheless, she bowed to Divine Will.
The soil was good in which the rose-plant grew,
Watered by rain and bathed by sun for years;
God’s grace and mercy nurtured her growth-curve;
Life’s storms and strife could not up-root the plant.
The mother-plant is very old in age;
Her life-partner left years back to God’s Home;
She lives by sheer will-pow’r, amidst her own,
And thanks the Maker for blessing her life;
God’s plans and ways are strange and mysterious;
Yet, earthlings must abide by Will Divine;
God gives us freedom to decide and act;
But Heaven must remain our goal always.
Copyright by Dr John Celes 20-8-2005
Dedicated to my beloved parents and siblings
The Nation’s Father, Gandhiji was brave;
He etched a place that none can ev’r surpass;
The peace-tilak, tricolor flag, he gave;
We tend to forget how he fought, alas!
India’s democracy’s exemplary;
We want the world to live in amity;
‘Peaceful Co-existence’ message, we carry;
We will preserve India’s integrity.
Despite our problems and diversity,
Patriotism’s our university.
Copyright by Dr John Celes 14-8-2005
Dedicated to the ‘Father of the Indian Nation’
Even the rich appear to go for it;
Five-geared, with mileage almost twenty-two;
And ample space for luggage; five can sit;
It is the car that every heart can woo!
It stands so splendidly in front of house,
And glows with beauty- all appreciate;
It is the car that’s loved by any spouse;
Perhaps, its cost can’t much depreciate!
With Alto, any distance, you can go;
No wonder ’tis India’s foremost car, oh!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 8-8-2005
Dedicated to Maruti Udyog, India
Like a moisture-rusted iron object,
Like a weather-crumbled rocky boulder,
Like an abandoned aero-plane project,
Death closes my mighty life’s book-folder.
Like the melting snows and ice of a peak,
Like the quicksand in the dry river-bed,
Like the vanishing waters of a creek,
Death has proclaimed my functional state- DEAD!
Like a detonated bomb and missile,
Death disintegrates my body profile!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 7-26-2000
]]>The world cannot remain mute spectator;
The world will go on;
The world must go on;
The world will go on, no matter
How terrorists strike.
A bunch of hoodlums,
A group of fanatics,
A ring of hard-core terrorists
And human beings with evil designs
Can’t be allowed to spread fear,
In Mankind’s Heart for long.
With cause unknown,
Methods unjust,
Ev’n God won’t help,
Nor rest of world
Ever give in!
No matter what they do,
All world affairs will continue;
With newer anti-terrorist resolve
And iron-fisted measures,
Steps will be taken to combat them.
The weed of terrorism
Will be unearthed by its roots entire
When the world’s nations unite-
By People’s Will.
How canst a few criminals
Meant for the Fire-pit,
Destroy the peace on earth?
Ev’n God does not love them,
For their hands and hearts are stained
By blood of innocent lives!
And what do terrorists seek?
- The blood and lives of the common man and the meek!
By acts of cowardice much,
They want ‘justice, love and human touch!’
Oh, won’t their ruthlessness ever abate?
They maim the unarmed; slit the human throats like sheep!
Their murders most foul, unjustified,
And heinous crimes,
The world can’t forgive, forget.
Let ‘lions’ challenge other Lions
And not sheep!
The Good Shepherd is omnipresent
And watches ov’r his belov’d sheep,
With His staff!
Terrorists,
Your tribes will cease too soon;
The menace will forev’r be rid;
The world will be turned safe again!
The world will find a solution
That’s permanent.
Written in loving memory of all those killed
And wounded by terrorist attacks.
Copyright by Dr John Celes 7-10-2005
]]>Trudging the streets and lanes;
Seldom a person sane,
You meet; begging for alms
Or for coins in your palm.
On the pavement, you sleep;
Rain, no mercy doth keep;
Half-asleep, the night is gone;
Still drenched, Dawn has come on!
With loin-cloth and a bowl,
Beg you with odor foul;
With bent back, weary walk;
A sick look, none to talk!
You walk for miles and miles;
Emotionless but smiles!
With not enough good food;
On meandering roads.
In fast changing seasons,
Without any reasons,
With feet very fissured;
Uncomplaining, you walk!
No joy, hope or sadness,
In a world of madness;
Unfortunately, born;
Your days linger on.
Perhaps, within your heart,
To God, you must have asked;
“Why am I born like this,
with a wretched, unfair kiss? ”
copyright by Dr John Celes
]]>Well he reared his children seven!
Lived for up to eight times ten;
His forehead sweat fell on the soil;
My Father so well, did he toil.
A man who possessed great talents;
And honesty par excellence;
Cheap Politics did he eschew;
This world hath seen but very few.
He lived in humble conditions;
A law-abiding citizen;
He gave us good education;
And raised us well in religion.
He’s born and bred in piety;
And rose in popularity;
A logic-man, Philosopher;
None could him well decipher.
A versatile man, Orator;
He tried to make a new order;
Oppressed, he died with plenty peace;
Yet in god, he lived in ease.
His learning to him was his wealth!
Together with his body’s health;
And she was great too, my Mother;
Who well-supported my Father.
A human ‘immortal’-being!
With yeoman-service worth seeing;
He loved the poor and downtrodden;
That fetched him place sure in Heaven.
But one day when he died, I cried!
By Heaven’s words, he did abide;
God-fearing, undaunted, he left;
For his great soul, a lot I wept.
I see him as a bright new Star!
In the night-Sky clearly, afar;
Oh what a great man Father was!
Truthfulness was his greatest cause.
Fondly dedicated in loving memory of my beloved father
Shri. A.T.Antoniswami M.A., L.T., Coimbatore
You went to work
When just a teen,
To help the family;
You labored hard
And earned degrees
In Evening-Colleges;
You ate mess-food
And shared a room
And sacrificed a lot;
You struggled much
’midst rivalry
And inched your life’s way up;
You prayed and sang
All night and day
And fought your temptations;
You wrote sad songs
And played guitar,
To vent your emotions;
You led a life
Exemplary
And walked in daddy’s path;
You suffered pangs
Of hunger, sex
Obeying parents/ Lord;
You walked to work
And back to home
To save a few rupees;
You helped others
Advising them,
Expecting no rewards;
You lived a life
Good-principled
Honest and just, righteous;
You washed your clothes
And ironed them
And marched so spick and span;
You polished shoes
With onions
And made them shine so much;
Your brassoed belt
And feathered-hat
Gave you a stately look;
Your days passed off
Away from home,
Away from family;
The years rolled by
With late marriage,
But God gave you a child.
You could not reach
The dizzy heights
In life or ev’n in dreams;
You could not use
Your talents great,
But led a humble life.
When now retired
Your problems irk
And threaten you ghost-like;
You shouldn’t give in
Or feel depressed
Or hopeless anytime;
The things you did
Were achievements,
Not all can ev’r perform;
Past successes
Should goad you forth
And make your future bright;
The God who stood
Always with you
Will guide you through travail;
Your days ahead
Will turn out well
Though problems could still come;
Remain cheerful
My brother dear,
You did so well till date;
Ignore the thoughts/
Fears, unreal:
Have trust in Jesus Christ;
The Holy Cross
Has borne our strife
And sins of all mankind;
No devils can
Ruin our soul
Or make our life wretched;
So, keep your calm
And forge ahead:
Miracles will happen;
The grace of God
Will usher peace
Of body, mind and soul.
Dedicated most lovingly by Dr John Celes
To my dearest elder brother
Er. A.Joebert Selvan ME. Chennai
On 6-30-2005
Blood is precious;
Blood is Life!
Give your blood and
Save a life.
Some blood lost when
From blood-stream;
Saves a life fast,
Like a dream.
Give your blood then,
To patients;
Give them life back,
Almost gone.
Blood-giving
Is sacrifice;
Life’s most sublime
Exercise!
Give the man pale,
Your blood red;
Watch life return
From the dead!
Make blood-sharing
Your life’s prime aim;
Get replenished
Whence it came.
Bleed a little;
Bleed a while;
Bleed for someone,
Or he dies!
By Dr John Celes
God, give my mother, some years that are mine;
She was so caring and reared us with love;
She struggled hard at chores to help us dine;
She was at peace-keeping, a real Dove!
O take away God, years, all that are mine;
The love Thou showed me was incredible;
The warmth Thou gave was better than Sunshine;
My heart has memories, indelible!
O take away God, my entire life-span;
Most precious thing, I can offer as man!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 2000