COMING UPON A RUINED TEMPLE By Sourav Sengupta

COMING UPON A RUINED TEMPLE

As I intrude among your barren walls
To seek repose in fallen beams and stones
That once held up your spire and sculpted halls,
I close my eyes and hear your wistful tones.
You sing me songs now lost in deeps of time:
Such hymns and chants that once rang soft and clear,
While conches blew and cupric bells did chime,
When men believed that God himself lived here. 
For hope and mercy kings and beggars knelt
In prayer before your lamp-lit sanctum’s door.
Now silence reigns, no words of worship spelled; 
To seek your grace no folded hands implore.
      But lament not – again I shall come by
      On a summer’s night, when stars are in the sky.

Sourav Sengupta is an architect by training and a human resource manager by profession. Apart from his Instagram handle (@souravsg), his poetry can be found in Revue {R}évolution and is forthcoming in Better Than Starbucks and Society of Classical Poets. He lives and works in Kolkata, India.