Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

 

Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

 

The Midnight Hour

 

At the stroke of the midnight hour

date 15th, month August, year 1947,

My country woke up as a free nation,

Freed from the rule of the British Raj!

 

What an hour of midnight that was

For a country to know it was free!

What an hour of midnight that was

For a nation to know it could breathe!

 

Many midnights came and many went

But the midnight India became independent

That wonderful midnight of my country

will forever remain etched in history!

 

 

Midnight Musings

 

For me midnight’s the time

when my mind takes a stroll

Accompanied by my old ideas

And returning with new ones.

 

For me midnight’s the time

To rummage for a snack

In between writing poems

When I feel fresh and nice

 

For me, midnight’s the time,

When body seeks relaxation,

My mind demands attention,

And my sleep just wanders off…

 

For me, midnight’s the time,

When my thoughts and ideas

Dance with a gay abandon

Into my myriad creations

 

For me midnight’s the time

With my creativity at its peak

To write poems that rhyme

Then peaceful sleep to seek.

 

 

Midnight Moments

 

Often, a time comes during midnight,

When I wake up feeling fresh and bright,

As if to do anything I’m all set and fit,

Ready to challenge with wisdom and wit.

 

My eyes wide open try to woo sleep,

As I continue to count endless sheep,

As if I have several promises to keep,

As I wait for my alarm clock to beep.

 

I have those midnight moments,

When I wake up all of a sudden

As if jerked out of some ennui,

With my mind still quite dewy.

 

What should I do? Wake up?

Throw my cosy cover aside?

Spring like a jack-in-the-box?

Or do a rocking hip-hop slide?

 

After the mental wanderings,

I will my mind to be standstill,

Pulling the thoughts together,

My poetry pages I begin to fill!

 

PADMAJA IYENGAR-PADDY

 

PADMAJA IYENGAR-PADDY, formerly a senior banker and an urban governance consultant, is currently Literary & Cultural Convenor, ISISAR, Kolkata, and Editorial Counselor-India, International Writers’ Journal, USA. Her maiden poetry collection ‘P-En-Chants’ has been recognized as a Unique Record of Excellence by the India Book of Records for its never-before-attempted movie reviews and management topics in rhyming poetry. Paddy has compiled and edited 6 international multilingual poetry anthologies of which ‘Amaravati Poetic Prism’ 2016 to 2019 have been recognized by the Limca Book of Records as “Poetry Anthology in Most Languages”. She is the Guest Editor of Setu, the Pittsburgh-based e-zine, for their women-focussed March editions since 2019. Paddy’s poems (translated into several languages), articles and short stories, some of them prize winners, have been published in many anthologies, print journals, e-zines and newspapers. A recipient of several awards, Paddy is a regular at litfests in India and overseas.