Lament and Prayer And when my soul in secret sleep Its vigil with the Lord doth keep Will then I know the awesome truth Of the wasted years of wanton youth? Still now the ray within me burns And all my inner being yearns In a single leap Her truth to know What then denies this spark to grow? The sea winds call and cloud-covered sky Damp earth, the forest's floor and by A winding stream I've left a part Of a poignant, longing, searching heart. Deep dream or wakened falseness feel? Was ever then the search this real? Have

Agni 1960's In a tranquil dawn Thy voice I once did hear, Though now in me the waves of chaos roll And ears turn deaf to finer chords so near, As weeping again I read the sacred scroll. To stony silence turn the sibling hordes, The demon kings upon the steeds of might, Fears that pierce the pulsing heart like swords, And voice the incandescent word of light. Ride, O Fire, sweeping paths so bright Through homes and towns and galaxies in flight, Through hearts and nerves and veins and sinews tight, Burn, O Flame and raze inconscient night.

To Mother and Sri Aurobindo I looked upon the outer sheath I wore And saw as if in shadow vaguely dreaming Inconscient parts that now could live no more For in the night the sacred sun was beaming. Though hard within a seething spectre waits And works at weaving light-engulfing snares I see beyond, His Feet, the future's gates, Her golden form upon the golden stairs. Child of day who would the dawn behold Of night thy need is ended, light embrace, Impassion, fill with truth this mortal mould And greet the Mother in each form and face.

To Sing Savitri Then Savitri let me sing to men And earth awake to the mantric call, Of a blue-white light, and her diadem In our hearts the sacred flame install.

Mantra of the Name On the path that leads my soul to Thee Let me not often rest or stray, But plunge into thy sea of love And never the hand of Grace betray. I know that Thou hast watched me through The ages of my childhood's flame And resting on me eyes Divine Instilled the mantra of Thy name. If by Thy Force this frame might yield To melodies of light and bliss Receive the blessings from above With gratitude and openness.

On The Way I feel but cannot see the coming change Its copious attention to detail, The final preparation for the Force To cleave the multi-storied edifice Of being past and present, time-adorned, And build anew a cellular harmony. A dual is needed, the rapid inner turn, Core exposed, let fall the labyrinth Of doubt and patiently among the hours, Invest in the body, consciousness.

Sounds of the Silence Where is thy song, o my soul in its soaring, The rapturous hymn in the heart's pure space Harmonies subtle and vast outpouring Celestial chant of the dawning race. In the quiet hours I hear their voices And in the immeasurable movement of night; Sounds so pure that life rejoices As silent feet come bearing light. Of this pure and immutable Presence I sing, Bearing the children of Usha near, Music's transcendence let me bring When the Lord shall once again appear.

The Hibiscus and the Rose As burns a lamp of oil in night, Suffusing all with tender glow, So does thy love, a radiant light Upon my room of life bestow. The open gate, the magic moment caught, Flies free my soul transmuted in repose The mystic seer instills the sacred thought, His gift of the hibiscus and the rose.

Vision in Darkest Night I have in the night of earth's ultimate despair An aurora borealis fill the air Aglow with beings iridescent robed Who merciful with lightning lasers probed Through caverns sealed, ensconced against the light. Their ruby rays did pierce inconscient night, Their sun-beams burst through age-encrusted mire And lit in the cavern of death the eternal fire.

Voice of the Darkness I am the All-Negating Voice The No to your pitiful cry The Void, the zero, the fathomless One, The mote and beam in your eye. I am the darkness that suffocates light Thwarting your hopes and dreams Encouraging ever your animal acts Your wars and your death-bound schemes.