The Garden I Left

Now I am gone and the rhododendron bells

Ring silently for none is there to turn

Whose heart is called to wonder mid the swells

Of grasses where the summer roses burn.

Hand in hand together then we grew

Closer than the lilacs in their sprays,

It seemed to me her earthly presence drew

Immortal joy as nectar of our days.

I live in sanctum of an Ashram's peace

Far from the spring that leaped through winter's arms

And ran towards autumn blazing in the trees,

Remembered summer with its drowsy charms

In contemplation at the season's end

And the honeyed paradise of Nature's dole:

I cannot say what future love shall tend

The garden I left to find my long-lost soul.

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To all my friends who have seen the unforgettable beauty of Mother's Garden in photographs I have sent through many seasons of our lives. Know that this is but the faintest taste of the paradise that shall one day manifest as the Matrimandir Gardens.