Vikram Seth's All you who sleep tonight and more!

All you who sleep tonight
Far from the ones you love,
No hand to left or right
And emptiness above -

Know that you aren't alone
The whole world shares your tears,
Some for two nights or one,
And some for all their years.
---Vikram Seth

Vikram Seth is one of my favorite authors. I have read almost everything he has published, and found all his writings masterpieces of his remarkable ability as a poet, storyteller, and as a person who understands and decribes pain and passion really, really well. You may look at the list of his books at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/O3SH7Z2REQLJ/104-1868278-9044732! As you might gather, "All you who sleep tonight" is a wonderful verse! It is also the title of a collection of poems.

Here are a few others that I shamelessly copied from some websites. The best link about every post-colonial Indian author including Seth is http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Seth.html!

Best book: The Golden Gate: if you have not read it yet, find a copy now!


Condition
I have to speak - I must ! - I should - I ought . . .
I'd tell you how I love you if I thought
The world would end tomorrow afternoon.
But short of that . . . we'll it might be too soon.


Prandial Plaint
My love , I love your breasts, I love your nose
I love your accent and I love your toes
I'm your slave. One word and I obey
But please don't slurp your coffee in that way.


Sit

Sit, drink your coffee here; your work can wait awhile.
You're twenty-six, and still have some life ahead.
No need for wit; just talk vacuities, and I'll
Reciprocate in kind, or laugh at you instead.

The world is too opaque, distressing and profound.
This twenty minutes' rendezvous will make my day:
To sit here in the sun, with grackles all around,
Staring with beady eyes, and you two feet away.

Catch more poems at
http://members.tripod.com/~SundeepDougal/vikram.html