Poetic Delicacies from Mauritius

Anoucheka Gangabissoon

A hesitant smile paints itself upon my face
The night, from my window,
Seemed so scary whilst being so warm at the same time!

Looking at it, shadowy, silent, dark, weighing down
Waves surge up in my inner self
Probing me to question my choices
To wonder at the future
And to shudder at the idea that
I may be simply fooling myself and
That I nursed my wounds
Simply by foraging for myself,
An underground fortress,
In which I proclaimed myself queen!

The waves recede at times
And have me feeling wistful
The sweet and rosy gifts my fate
Has placed upon my hand
Are somewhat a token of love from the divine
And armed with this love
There should be no place for hesitation
Or for fear at what the future shall turn out to be!

The dark night seems to be watching me as I watch it
It invites me to explore its depths
While I choose to remain rooted in my chair
For it can be unpredictable
Just like the waves that lap in my shore!

The tunes of regret play on in my fortress
And the night bids me to understand
That that which didn’t come into my palms
Was never meant to be!

The smile broadened on my face
The waves shall keep lapping
And the night shall accompany me for some more time
Wise words shall be enounced
And I breathe in the silence of the dark night!

Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Has the clock moved so fast
That the sceneries of my country
No longer resemble the teachings imparted to me
Thereby laying emphasis on the need for respect
For one and all?

Stepping out of the house used to be flowery
As the streets were laden with brothers and sisters
Having smiles carved out on their faces
So much that hands would always be ready
If ever times of need showed up!

It was not that long ago that I was being taught
That my island is an example for the whole world
And that this image has to be maintained at all costs
Merely because, in my island, lives matter
And since lives matter,
Values, respect and faith are to be placed at the forefront!

Acknowledging faith requires respect
And acclaiming respect involves having faith
Regardless of the belief!

The clock keeps ticking
Life has progressed to its peak
We now live with comfort in all fields
Be it in technological tools or in medical procedures
And amidst this flow,
My island only seeks to feel the bliss that a mother receives
When all her children are content with their due
And that comes with us all tipping our hats to the brothers and sisters
That we meet on our everyday calls!

Pushmaotee Subrun

Since girlhood, triumph over triumph,
Petty victories over siblings kept me afloat with oomph.
Came schooling, with much success,
Making me cherish my cargo of happiness.

I tried with might and main, my joys to harness,
Strongly to tether the triumphant moments,
Deeply in the inner core of my existence.
Seen it tempest tossed a hundred times,
Shaken, challenged, bruised,
Mocked, insulted, belittled,
But, like the phoenix I have risen to build my boat of life,
Despite innumerable strife.
Hazards presented often but my efforts were not in vain,
Though came thunder, lightning and rain.

With more patience, with more tolerance
With assiduity, and endurance,
Managed to salvage and celebrated my coveted triumphs.
A successful career added to my trophies of triumph,
In the journey of my life,
As a daughter, educator, wife, mother,
Bearing sweet fruits as grandmother.

To be crowned now with love, confidence,
And gifted by the Gracious Lord some plus years,
To go to greater triumphs in the world of soulful beauty,
Blissful serenity, on the wings of Poesy.

©Pushmaotee Subrun

Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Swivelling humans carrying on their shoulders
Debts
Owe money to banks,
To credit organisations,
To their relatives
Owing so much, yet, unable
To walk on, free and carefree
As this world is made so;
It is itself enslaved to a routine
That binds it to rotate upon itself
And hence, humans dance along
To its tunes,
Believing themselves to be happy
Whilst being chained!

Swivelling humans, drunk in their indebtedness
Feel not the growing weight of their spiritual due,
That which boldly reminds them
That life is transient and frivolous
And that the main aim of living on Earth
Is to shed off that due
And to grow in worth
So as to reach worlds in whose soils
The earthly debts would just seem
Like routines made of absurdity
When faced with the glory of existence!

Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Notre monde est malade
Alors que j’observe le tumulte de ma fenêtre,
Je me sens comme un nuage sombre,
Maussade et déprimée,
Prête à faire le saut vers
Les vignes de raisins rouges,
Où je prendrai le temps
D’en savourer la douceur,
Afin d’oublier ce qui meurtrit mon cœur.

Notre monde est malade
Et seules les chansons d’amour peuvent apaiser ma mélancolie.
Être forte, c’est aussi être maussade,
Triste et en colère à la fois.

Ces chansons viennent à moi
Comme des bulles de savon, insouciantes et légères,
Pour éclater au-dessus de mes nuages embrumés
Et me faire respirer les frissons de l’été.

Les yeux fermés,
À l’abri dans mon monde intérieur,
Je ne peux que faire semblant que notre monde n’est pas malade !

Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Ma boule de cristal est vivante
Se sentant délaissée
Elle a pénétré mon jardin secret
En poussant dans mon journal intime
Des souvenirs,
Si sombres et déprimants
Que je me suis réveillée avant que les lumières de l’aube
Ne fassent scintiller mes fleurs et mes fruits avec les gouttes de rosée !

Je l’ai donc cherché
Et après des heures, je l’ai enfin trouvée
Rangée dans un tiroir de ma chambre oubliée !

Parle, dis-je à la boule magique
Parle
Donne-moi une idée de mon avenir
Dis-moi si mes océans seront asséchés
Ou si mes déserts seront inondés
Dis-moi si mon monde va s’effondrer
Ou s’il me permettra de devenir une déesse
Dis-moi si les nuages sombres se dissiperont
Ou si mon âme sera envahie par le mal

Dis-moi si mon dieu est fait pour être le mien
Ou s’il a rejeté mon amour
Dis-moi boule de cristal
Dis-moi tout ce que je veux savoir
Et donne un peu de soulagement à mon cœur malade
La boule de cristal me regarda en silence
Ses yeux étaient fermés et sa bouche close
Elle semblait me dire que mes réponses seraient données
Sous forme de sentiments dansant dans mon cœur
Ou comme des rêves chuchotés dans mon âme
Ou même sous forme de poèmes saignés sur du papier
Quoi qu’il en soit, je saurai ce qui m’attend
Je dois simplement apprendre à comprendre le chant des oiseaux
Ou les jeux des papillons
Ou même les tatouages de la lave fraîchement refroidie sur les terres
Les réponses que je cherche sont toutes écrites dans le monde qui m’entoure !

Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Muse turned into romance
Stars twinkling into new beginnings
Life, singing a song of its own
Dancing into existence
And I, pen in hand,
Feel like a wilting flower
Ready to be uprooted, just so,
To make way for fresher ones!

Muse, so silent, so absent
Yet, filling up every empty space
That fills up the destiny that has been
Written to be mine!

Teary smiles, loaded with regrets
Shaking heart, gazing out of tomorrow’s window
Stricken gait, unable to allow a confident walk
Yet, the road ahead calls out to me
As it leads to my muse;
Other half of my human heart
Eternal mate of my soul!

Jeewan Ramlugun

The wider world’s noises

all the clamouring dins

get silenced behind their shores;

over here raucousness reigns

a while, the escape to serenity

not taking long,

regaining the perfect tranquillity

of a time newly sprung,

from the freshness of a dawn

and the sight of a darting fawn

through the swirling sunny mist

raising the spirit, uplifting the soul,

the hum of humanity distant,

the heartbeat of nature resonant.

©Jeewan Ramlugun

Jeewan Ramlugun BSc. MSc. CFCIPD FCMI FRSA.

Poet, Academic Researcher/Writer ,African Development Advisor.

Poetry Publications:

Wellsprings: Poems of Life & Nature( 323 pages, UK, 2010).

Poetry from Paradise ( 108 pages, Mauritius, 2010).

Bushy Park: A Collection of Poems( 221 pages, UK, 2015).

Mother & Memories( 110 pages, Mauritius,2022).

Hornbeam Dreams: A Collection of Poems( 182 pages, India, 2023).

My previous publications:

Wellsprings: Poetry of Life & Nature
Poetry from Paradise
Mother and Memories
Bushy Park: A Collection of Poems

Published in :
Mauritius Caught in a Dream
An Anthology of Surrey Poets

Fellow of the Mauritius Institute of Directors.
Longstanding Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Honorary African Capacity Building Consultant
An academic researcher and writer.

Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Le regret joue sa mélodie dans mon cœur
La vie, que je croyais jadis monotone,
A montré ses couleurs
Comme étant une tricheuse,
M’ayant trompée sur tous les plans.

L’amour s’est matérialisé, avant de se perdre,
L’amour, pour lequel mon encre s’est épuisée,
Brûlant les pages en flammes,
Inondant mes oreillers de larmes,
Détruisant mon sanctuaire,
Et déchaînant sa tempête sur moi.

Le regret joue sa mélodie d’un ton régulier,
Et m’invite à me demander
Si c’est la vie qui m’a trompée,
Ou si je ne me suis pas moi-même trahie,
En choisissant d’oublier l’amour
Et en plongeant dans une mare d’oubli.

Le regret joue, et la mort raffermit son étreinte,
Le mouvement lent de la vie devient rapide,
Révélant enfin que nous avons si peu de temps
À passer sur cette belle Terre.

(Poetic memories of Mauritius)

Jeewansing Ramlugun

Fallen head over heels

in love with nature

at the tenderest of times

of life , was of another order,

the purest of emotions

sensed, without perplexities,

with devotion unquestioned,

joys altogether unalloyed

felt whilst sojourning

and raptly surveying

head-turning tapestries

of lushness and luxuriance,

all still adhering in memory

with remarkable endurance.

©Jeewan Ramlugun

3 September 2025.

Jeewan Ramlugun BSc. MSc. CFCIPD FCMI FRSA.

Poet, Academic Researcher/Writer ,African Development Advisor.

Poetry Publications:

Wellsprings: Poems of Life & Nature( 323 pages, UK, 2010).

Poetry from Paradise ( 108 pages, Mauritius, 2010).

Bushy Park: A Collection of Poems( 221 pages, UK, 2015).

Mother & Memories( 110 pages, Mauritius,2022).

Hornbeam Dreams: A Collection of Poems( 182 pages, India, 2023).

My previous publications:

Wellsprings: Poetry of Life & Nature
Poetry from Paradise
Mother and Memories
Bushy Park: A Collection of Poems

Published in :
Mauritius Caught in a Dream
An Anthology of Surrey Poets

Fellow of the Mauritius Institute of Directors.
Longstanding Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Honorary African Capacity Building Consultant
An academic researcher and writer.