Faces of Peace in India and a Cento
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What is a Cento?
A Cento is a poem created with lines from a variety of poems. This Cento was create from an anthology of poetry published in India, The Current, International Anthology of English Poems, edited by Seena Sreevalson. A Cento can be create from a book of poetry, an anthology of essay and prose, or a newspaper or magazine. Lines and words are selected from each page, poem or essay. The numbers next to each line represent the page and the poets are listed below.
A Cento from The Current International Anthology of English Poems
“A reflection of human psyche from across the world
transcended all borders” (preface by editor Seena Sreevalson, 144)
I do not like emptiness (1)You are a powerful flier (2)
taking the longest road (3)
everywhere a just silence (4)
nature teaches (5) surprise pervades (6)
the blue spell of your gaze (7)Like powerful lightening (8)
it’s time to rejoice (9) I became (10)
See the wonder world (11)
peace and prosperity on earth (12)
to the riverside humming (13)
packed with soil from porous paradise a (14)Proclamation of hope (15)
the lightening (16) conjures love gods (17)
sing with the thundering (18)
the sun rises and sets with molten gold (19)
and colors on lips (20)The hum of the sea around your (21)
buds yet to bloom (22) cherish and nurture (23)
colorful and filled with tenderness (24)
mother in the mountains (25)
burst into a day like an unbridled fountain (26)Born of poetry again (27)
dancing in monsoons (28)
tide weather and winds (29)Her blue eyes (30)
lured by their daydreams and (31)
charming speeches (32)
and my mother tongue (33)
a memory will remain (34)Those beauties of nature’s recent past (55)
nuances of inner peace (67)
meandering through (73)
on secret maps (85)
immersed in a pool of (99) sunlight (144)
cymbal beats in my heart (144)
penetrating metaphors (157)
found on the mountain side (160)
a new chapter in our lives (161)
— Original text from The Current, International Anthology of English Poems. Editor Seena Sreevalson. Published by Pulitzer Books, India. March 2019. All the poets includes: 1. Abdel-Rahhim Jdaih (Jordan), 2 Achuthan V R (India), 3. Afroos Jafarinoor (Iran), 4 Akash Sagar (India), 5. Akhilesh Pandey (India), 7. Alicia Minjarez (Mexico), 8. Alicja Maria Kuberska (Poland), 9. Dr. Alok Kumar Ray (India), 10. Aloysius Papang (India), 11. Anand Kumar V (India), 12. Anil Mitranandapuram (India), 13. Anil Kumar Panda (India), 14. Annapurna Sharma (India), 15. Annie George (India), 16. Alby Raymond Parackal (India), 16. Dr. Anuradha Bhattacharyya (India), 17. Dr. Aprilia Zank (Germany), 18. Ashok Bhargava (Canada), 19. Dr. Augustin (India), 20. Aziz Mountassir (Morocco), 21. Barbara Pogacnik (Slovenia), 22. Dr. Barathi S (India), 23. Bhaskaranand Jha Bhaskar (India), 24. Bhisma Upreti (Nepal), 25. Bhuchung D Sonam (Tibet), 26. Dr. Biplab Chakrborty (India), 27. Biplab Majee (India), 28. Candice James (Canada), 29. Dr. Dalvir Singh Gahlawat (India), 30. Delo Isufi . (Albania), 31. Dilip Mohapatra (India), 32. Dilip Basu (India), 33. Dr. Diti Ronen (Israel), 34. Eliza Segiet (Poland), 35. Elizabeth K Mona (India), 36. Elizabeth Marino (USA), 37. Elvira Kujovic (Serbia), 38. Gayathree Srikandavel (Sri Lanka), 39. Geethanjali Dilip (India), 40. Ghada Arnaout (Lebanon), 41. Gili Haimovich (Israel), 42. Geetha Nair (India), 43. Geetha Nambudrippad (India), 44. Gopakumar Radhakrishnan (India), 45. Gopal Lahiri (India), 46. Gopichand P (India), 47. Hassan AI Matrooshi (Oman), 48. Heera Nawaz (India), 49. Dr. Hem Chandra Dube (India), 50. Hema Ravi (India), 51. Hikmat Nawayseh (Jordan), 52. Himanshu Bhushan Jena (India), 53. Dr. Hitendra Goyal (India), 54. Huda Hajji (Tunisia), 55. Hulya N Yilmaz (USA), 56. Huzaifa Haryanawala (India), 57. Izza Fartmis (Morocco), 58. Jairam Seshadri (India), 59. Jaydeep Sarangi (India), 60. Dr. Jernail SAnand (India), 61. Dr. KV Dominic (India), 62. K. Jayakumar (India), 63. Kalpna Singh-Chitnis (USA), 64. Kalyna Temertey-Canta (Italy), 65. Dr. Ketaki Dutta (India), 66. Dr. Khedija Gadhoum (USA), 67. Kimberly Burnham (USA), 68. Dr. Koshy A V (India), 69. Dr. Kumud Bala (India), 70. Latha Prem Sakhya (India), 71. Lee Kuei-Shien (Taiwan), 72. Leena Rajan (India), 73. Lily Swarn (India), 74. Lopamudra Mishra (India), 75. Dr. Mahesh Babu S N (India), 76. Maya V M (India), 77. Md Taslim (India), 78. M SAjayan (India), 79. Magie Faure-Vidot Vijay Kumar (Seychelles), 80. M Prasad (India), 81. Majrooh Rashid (India), 82. Malswmi Jacob (India), 83. Mandour Saleh Hikel (Egypt), 84. Maria Do Sameiro Barroso (Portuguese), 85. Maria Palumbo (Italy), 86. Marion Rigli (Italy), 87. Mauricio Gomes (Brazil), 88. Mohmmed Alkhair Ikleel (Sudan), 89 Mohammad Alaksar (Yemen), 90. Dr. Molly Joseph (India), 91. Monsif Beroual (Morocco), 92 Mridula Menon (India), 93. Muniam Alfaker (Iraq), 94. Mustapha EI Maataoui (Morocco), 95. Nayanathara (India), 96. Niels Hav (Denmark), 97. Nisreen Khoury (Syria), 98. Nisar Ahmed Syed (India), 99. Nizar Sartawi (Palestine), 100. Omullo Elly (Kenya), 101. Otteri Selvakumar (India), 102. Padmaja Iyengar (India), 103. Padmini Janardanan (India), 104. Pande Manoylov (Macedonia), 105. Pankajam K (India), 106. Perugu Ramakrishna (India), 107. P Harikumar (India), 108. PKN Panicker (India), 109. P Nagasuseela (India), 110. Prabha Varma (India), 111. Prabhanjan K Mishra (India), 112. RSuresh Babu (India), 113. Dr. Raghuram T M (India), 114. Raj Babu Gandham (India), 115. Rajan Mehra (India), 116. Rajeev Moothedath (India), 117. Dr. Rajwanti Mann (India), 118. Ramesh Anand (India), 119. Dr. Rangarajan G (India), 120. Ra Sh (Ravi Shanker N ) (India), 121. Ratan Ghosh (India), 122. Renette Disouza (India), 123. Reshma Ramesh (India), 124. Dr. Rinzin Rinzin (Bhutan), 125. Riya Hemant (UK), 126. Rochelle Potkar (India), 127. Sudhir Kumar Nanda (India), 128. Saad Alghoraibi (Saudi Arabia), 129. Saadeddin Shahin (Palestine), 130. Dr. Sabahudin Hadzialic (Bosnia), 131. Sabitha Satchi (India), 132. Sadhana Subramanian (India), 133. Saikat Nayek (India), 134. Dr. Sali Bytyqi (Kosovo), 135. Sanaz Davood Zadeh Far (Luxembourg), 136. Dr. Santosh Alex (India), 137. Sarala Ram Kamal (India), 138. Saranya Francis (India), 139. Sachidanandan (India), 140. Sathian K S (India), 141. Satkarni Gosh (India), 142. Sauvik Acharjee (India), 143. Sayeed Abubakar (Bangladesh), 144. Seena Sreevalson (India), 145. Serpil Devrim Turkey, 146. Shashi Kothari (India), 147. Sindhu Varghese (India), 148. Somasuntharam Pillai (‘Sopa’) (Sri Lanka), 149. Souhaib Enjrainy (Syria), 150. Dr. Srinivas Vasudev (India), 151. Sudarshan Kcherry (India), 152. Sujatha Warrier (India), 153. Sujit Yadav (Nepal), 154. Sunil P N (India), 155. Sunita Paul (India), 156. Supratik Sen (India), 157. Swapna Behera (India), 158. Tahera Mannan (India), 159. Thryaksha (India), 160. Tzemin Ition Tsai (China), 161. Dr. Usha Sridhar (India), 162. Dr. yaranasi Ramabrahmam (India), 163. Veronica Golos (USA), 164. Vignesh Thangavel (India), 165. Vijay Nair (India), 166. Vineetha Mekkoth (India), 167. Vinita Agrawal (India), 168. Vishnu Pandya (India), 169. Williamsji Maveli (India), 170. Yahia AI-Samawy (Australia), 171. Zakkir Hussain (India), 172. Sebastian (India).
Faces of Peace in India
Peace is clear if not easily achieved
notices the patterns, the words, nuances of inner peace
understand a Badugu speaking child in Tamil Nadu
seeking “nimra” both peace and tranquility
while “samatā” elevates fairness, impartiality, equality and
peace is “amn” or “shaanti” in Dogri
“sukh” in Gurmukhi is both happiness and peace
as we build a “gate of peace” “kezekevi kharu” in Angami Naga (Nagaland)
while women gather “tescongzem” peace, contentment and patience in Ao Naga
a patient life, content with what is, no struggle just “chimie” in Northeast India
where peace is hushed, still, and soundless in Apatani (Arunachal Pradesh)
men listen, learning ways of peace, sharing “sānti” or “xanti” in Assamese
“aman” in Awadhi and “ldyakidyak” slow, calm, quiet peace in Balti
“samadhanam” peace in Malayalam or “Sainta” in Bengali
“salamu” peace and safety in Canarese (Kanara) in southwestern India
across the sea “kum chik ren” peace, pleasantness, happiness
or “halöök” to put a right, straight, to make peace
in Car Nicobarese of the Nicobar Islands
and a world away reigns “shánti” or “sjaantie” peace in Caribbean Hindustani
as we all feel the nuances of peace in the faces of India
Kimberly Burnham’s poem “Faces of Peace In India” is featured in The Current, an International Poetry Anthology, consisting of poems from 36 countries. The book will be released by eminent poets at the Prime Poetry Festival on March 10, 2019 in Thrissur, Kerala.
Originally Published at The Current, International Anthology of English Poems, Editor Seena Sreevalson on December 4, 2018.
