Muriel A.E. Brown
Chenar Leaves: Poems of Kashmir (1921)
Mrs. Percy Brown
Published by Longmans,Green and Co (London) in 1921.
Kashmir’s soul-flower! thou most sacred bloom
What wondrous treasure lies within thy heart?
Deep hidden down amidst that rosy gloom
Thy petals as its guardians do their part.Om mani padmi hum*
Ah! how can I describe thy beauty rare
To those who have not seen thy gracious form?
Serene, majestic, yet pulsating there
With love thy full blown petals roseate warm.Om mani padmi hum.
It desecration seems to pry or gaze
With curious eye upon that calyx gold,
Which tremulous yet glowing doth amaze
Us by the jewelled beauty we behold:Om mani padmi hum.
Intricate is the pattern finely wrought
By the Great Craftsman’s Hand, with cunning skillOh! Lotus bloom thy shrine have many sought
And worship thee, and oft revere thee still.Om mani padmi hum.
Proudly erect, though full of simple grace
Thy beauteous head is reared towards the sun,
Flushed by thy love perhaps is thy fair face
Or joy that precious jewel to have won.Om mani padmi hum.
The rosy dawn hath kissed thy petaPs hue
And on the surface of each leaf is lain
A diamond drop of clearest crystal dew
Quicksilver beads which rolling break in twain.Om mani padmi hum.
Thy leaves of deep, yet tender green are spread
In multitudes upon the Dal lake’s breastA noble throng of leaves to form thy bed.
And on each leaf a subtle bloom doth rest.Om mani padmi hum.
Who first with soulful vision clearly saw
The spiritual jewel here revealed?
Composed that mantra full of occult lore
In which the mystic secret is concealed?Om mani padmi hum.
Surely the humble, faithful souls who find
Some solace in repeating o’er and o’er
Those magic words, grope blindly for That Mind
Which on the Lotus flower such grace doth pour.Om mani padmi hum.
*A Buddhist mantra meaning — “The Jewel of the Flower of the Lotus.”