The Portrait

The Portrait reveals in free verse the inner emotions of the poet impressed by experiences we all face on life's journey and how we react, respond and appreciate. A prolific writer on current issues especially on those that concern us so much, Victor Karunairajan, also searches his inner depths of his being, its meaning and his place in humanity from time to time. "I derive my strength and inspiration from deep within" he reacted when we asked him about his poem, "Welcome to my Heart" He added: "Deep within me are many wonderful people, great events, intense challenges and situations of all kinds that have made me what I am; and that is so to all of us. We must harmonize with all of them."

One delightful December dawn
After a Pandyan Express jaunt
As I entered a Madurai home
To a warm , gracious hug and greet
Suddenly I beheld on the ledge
Of the family’s prized bookshelf
A portrait of a gorgeous lass
Watching me in beguiling charm
With the loveliest of gentle smile
On the face so divinely calm.

Surely she stirred my inner depths
Muted but with passionate beams
Dazed I stood in rapture seized
Wished I was a younger guy
Then I would have surely left
To search the world for her hand.

I have seen many a face
From Audrey H to India’s Tabu
Two so lovely full of charm
Charismatic and so cool;
Their portraits I did treasure
Along with Burma’s San Suu Kyi
And two from my childhood days
Even today I dream of them.

Once I scoured the rural scene
Pursuing peace and quietude
It was then I experienced
The zealous emotions of my life
For in those zones I did see
Nature’s exquisite handiwork
Preserved in primal magic and grace
On the faces of female folks
And their rhythmic sways and swings
In the green green pastoral land.

Having searched my inner self
From teeny times to elder years
I can say without a doubt
The face that serenely gazed at me
In that pleasant Madurai home
Is the one that captured my heart
With joyful peals and lovely folds
Enraptured me in ecstasy

About Author: Victor Karunairajan, a journalist with extensive East-West experience has had an exciting career having worked with Anglican, CSI and Catholic institutions, a Buddhist organization and a socialist government in as many as seven countries. He has been a parents' leader of Jaffna College which he served as member of its Board of Directors and for four years, a member of the Jaffna Diocesan Council. Recently he wrote and published a book on the Dances of India which was very popularly received.