Children from the evening classes at FORWORD in Mamallapuream:

The Silent Nature

This poem is one of a collection of about 60 poems in English I've written. I often write poems on the subjects of women, children, and nature in an effort to bring back the fullness of life to these areas through poetry.

The Silent Nature

She was a Sapling when I planted her,
in the garden of my friend afar off.
Days rolled on and years passed on.
Our directions changed. I was away from my friend.

When I did visit my friend, it was after twenty years.
I rushed to see "her." I saw "her."
What a wonder! she was no more a child, but lushy,
clad in green with a well structured trunk.

Amazed at her growth, I touched her gently.
She responded to me all in Smiles,
letting down some fresh flowers to fall on me.
Engulfing me in the fragrance of her own.

As I was still spellbound,
I could listen to her strange voice,
cradled in the music of wind,
singing lullaby to the sleeping baby sparrows.

O! You a Mother too! I stood in awe,
wondering at her multi roles, all carried on in silence.
Silence is more powerful than words!
What a Contrast! prattling me and Silent Nature!

Brides of Christ

One of my dreams and goals is to start a church only for women. The word "church" has negative connotations for many; it brings up thoughts of oppression and repression, of constriction and corruption. But the church of the Bible was meant to bring life. In this group of women, I would hope to create a community of women who view themselves as beloved by God. Hence, the name of this group: Brides of Christ.

Life was designed by God in a perfect way. When we live according to that design, we are fulfilled. It is when we choose to abide by our own rules that we enter into confusion and despair. This is the problem with society today. Brides of Christ would be a safe haven for women to seek the Bible's truth on how to live within God's perfect design, to use the Bible as a basis for shaping a holistic life. Here, women could encourage each other to exercise their human agency to choose to live against the current patriarchal culture. They could build up each other's confidence by forming deep, trusting relationships. Relationships would be at the core of this church: not structure and repression. Women could learn from one another to love God and love humanity more fully.

Each day is a search, a journey, for perfection. Even those who have been Christians for many years still cannot understand God fully. On journeys there must be room for questioning and "failure:" failure to understand God's ways, failure to choose God's will, etc. But each moment of life is precious, whether it contains a loss, or victory; we have to embrace both. Our best course of action is to seek after God with all our hearts, to do what we feel called to do, and to do the best we can at it. We all need a spiritual community that embraces the fact that we are on this journey.

Being a Christian is not so much a privilege as it is a responsibility: we are responsible for sharing the love of Christ with our world. Worshipping success is foolish, because it is not permanent. This includes spiritual success, as I explained above. But it also includes material success. Can a church or a Christian really say it's "achieved so much" if it cannot even provide the basic needs of its neighbor?

These are some of my thoughts on the church, and on the way I hope to see Christian community developed.