Poetic Delicacies from Mauritius

Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Devrions-nous danser au rythme des ombres
Alors qu’elles ne cessent de remplir nos océans,
Nos terres et même nos vies ?

Devrions-nous vibrer aux rythmes du nouveau monde
Alors que la vérité de notre existence se manifeste par
Les maux sociaux, les problèmes de drogue,
La perte du respect envers les femmes et les personnes âgées
Et même envers ceux qui vivent pour la spiritualité
Et pour les normes religieuses ?

Les rythmes qui résonnent aujourd’hui dans notre monde sont si puissants
Qu’en les écoutant, les guerres naissent comme des nuages
Qui se forment à l’approche d’une tempête.
Les rythmes du monde sont si sales que la Terre
Rejette tout ce qui les concerne et nous envoie de puissantes calamités
Capables de détruire tout et tous sur leur passage.

Ces rythmes sont les mêmes pour tous, car nous avons tous le même sang,
Les mêmes veines, le même cœur et nous venons tous de la même source.
Pourtant, ces rythmes sont acceptés différemment car
Certains d’entre nous les perçoivent
Comme signifiant que, puisque nous régnons sur cette terre,
Nous pouvons donc la manipuler, l’abuser, la polluer et même la détruire.
D’autres parmi nous les perçoivent comme signifiant que nous sommes
Supérieurs à tout le reste et que nous pouvons être égoïstes, arrogants,
Racistes et que nous pouvons même avoir recours au meurtre et au vol !
Certains, cachés dans des abris fermés,
Perçoivent ces rythmes comme leur donnant la permission de
Violer et de massacrer ceux qui ne demandent qu’à être protégés
Et qui souhaitent voir la confiance dans les yeux de ceux qui les regardent.

Dans ce monde incompris,
Utilisez votre force et changez ces rythmes en éclats de lumière.
Faites en sorte qu’ils deviennent les sons de flûte que vous suivrez
Pour arriver à un portail magique
Qui fera de vous la différence que vous souhaitez voir autour de vous !

Permettez à ces rythmes de pulser tellement en vous que vous deviendrez
Une fleur poussant dans la boue,
Un cygne parmi les corbeaux,
Une bonne intention parmi les mauvaises,
Une main secourable parmi l’adversité, et
Une prière parmi les malédictions.
Car
Les rythmes qui jouent autour de nous peuvent être
Une opportunité magique
Qui compte sur nous pour tirer le meilleur parti
De la seule vie qui nous a été donnée !

Anoucheka Gangabissoon

The blind man held out his hands
Hoping to receive some alms
From those blessed with good health
Passers by walked fast
Their destination being the objective
Caring not to notice the blind man standing there
Palms open and begging for anything
That would help him fill up his stomach!

Blinded man, scary plight, sorrowful stature
Blessed people, scary plight as well,
As the fall into a state of blindness
Can occur at any time!

Scary world, whirlpooling in a calm ocean
Creating destructive typhoons bringing about
Havoc and snatching life away
Scary world, creating dependency among us all
If I need you not, I would surely need someone else

The blind man stood, amidst the cold winds and the rain
Needing the attention of the rest of the people
Who, filled with goodwill, allow him to survive!

It is to be wondered then,
If God stands same among us
Hoping that we see Him, notice Him, and help Him,
While we search for Him in temples, in far away lands
Across the oceans and the seas
And risk endangering our lives
Whilst He, silent among us, measures our actions!

A Primary School Educator in Mauritius

Jeewan Ramlugun

Ineffable you are meant to be;

quintessentially sentient beings

within their depths discover

the power of your beauty,

expressing in lyrical , odic lines

the ardour of their feelings,

while you mutedly nod

and seductively sway,

your roses expressing love,

your camelias in naturalness

their unfeigned affections

uttering into the spirits, all alive,

your azaleas sincerely beckoning

with their loud alluring colours,

but which still becalm the mind;

in your chestnut blossoms

is the lexicon of luxury;

your rhododendrons clamour

for attention, yet advise

to stay safe and admire from far;

tender words flow from all flowers.

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.

Jeewan Ramlugun

All the wizardry of words

all the lyrical pyrotechnics

or poetical exploits

could hardly suffice

to depict or describe the sunset

you have witnessed

and that your heart had moved,

the waves rolling ,crest over crest,

crescendoing upon sheer cliff rocks

then falling away as if in tears,

exhilaration ending in anticlimax,

though myths through the years

have attributions of sadness

vested the story of stones

that weep the pains of sorrows;

in the distance the blue waters

dance under light glimmering,

joy with melancholy intermingling.

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.

Dovishka Muskaan Shaib

The way leading to you,

Was worse than being imaginary,

I would still want to remember it,

As my only memory,

I would want to hold you only,

It could be eternity,

At any horizon,

Real or illusionary,

With pleasures or empty,

It would not matter really,

It could be till infinity,

Real or illusionary,

With pleasures or empty,

I would want you only,

It would be you only.

You have one life, be yourself, who knows that you being too much is the light of someone else.

Anoucheka Sweety Gangabissoon

Tangled in vines swirling in a typhoon

The woman – child dances blindly

Ecstatic at everything life promises her:

Warmth, comfort, Queen title,

Giving her the impression that the world

Is a fluffy playground and that the smiles she carries

Shall always remain the same

But she knows not when and how the typhoon

Crosses the oceans merely to land her

On new lands, where her smiles have to be earned

She is now woman, no longer child

And life plays another symphony for her,

Most of time laden with sad notes

So much that everything is no more given

On a golden platter

The protection she received when she was yet a child

Now plays a scary game of hide and seek with her

Its rules are clear;

Should she lose her steps, should she forget to look ahead

She will be subject to a life lived upon sheer pretense

The smile she carried upon her face turned into tears

Then into screaming agonies in the middle of the night

Then into silent submission while waiting for the typhoon

To land her somewhere where she shall get that which

She could not find anywhere while she lived on Earth

And which caused her to agonize at all times:-

R-E-S-P-E-C-T !

Dovishka Muskaan Shaib

Eski to Konner, eski to realizer,

La verite ki devan to lizier,

Lizour p kassiet, Sitant li p touffer,

La nuit p éloigner, Sitant li pas respirer,

Mais kot nous soley, Mais kot nous ban pier,

Couper ranzer, Pou fer la monnai,

Piocher azordi, demain to pou gagner,

Azordi lever ranzer, Touzour pou la monnai

Mais nou nepli get soley, Nou nepli respirer,

Nou nepli écouter, nou nepli riyer,

Telma nou engazer, Telma nou ranzer,

Mais kot nous soley, Mais kot nous ban pier,

Kan nou pou riyer, kan nou pou respirer,

Azordi nou in oublier, demain p faire nou rever,

Ouver to lizier, respirer, kot Konner,

Demain na pa kav realiser,

Azordi aussi to kapav rever.

You have one life, be yourself, who knows that you being too much is the light of someone else.

Jeewansing Ramlugun

You were right here, wistfully

it will be recalled,

at the crux of history,

having been an anxious time back

then , now in peace settled,

no conscience to rack,

the once dire days remembered

dignifiedly, from tribulations resiled,

an unflashy fishing village

succeeding in putting its stamp

on the world heritage map;

all benign and peaceable

it is an imposing , statuesque place

where all would seem to be so well,

sea and sand for disportments;

for a glorious time

you are warmly welcome

to sojourn even if briefly,

amid so much in the topography

that is ecstatically dramatic,

the angular grandeur

of the peaks, notably the iconic

Le Brabant: you would have merged

here into one singular splendour.

©Jeewan Ramlugun

19 June 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.

Dovishka Muskaan Shaib

Sometimes I close my eyes,

Or hide under smiles,

They call me shy,

While my friend aside,

Looks up the skies,

And talks to the clouds,

As winds ride,

Two tunes apart,

Yet our hearts,

Seem to,

Sing the right lines,

They call me mad,

Sometimes wild,

I burn fires and ash,

While thunder and lights,

Breathe along my side,

They call me mad,

Sometimes bad, sometimes wild,

Meanwhile my friend,

Weeps and cries,

Pink all the time,

That kind, we call,

Once in a while

Yet our hearts,

Seem to,

Sing the right lines,

Our hearts,

Seem to sing the right lines,

Holding hands tight,

Keeping minds alive,

Making the best times.

You have one life, be yourself, who knows that you being too much is the light of someone else.

Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Cold winds
Void whispers
Silence in the shadows

A world relying on forgiveness
Hatred brings suffering
Separation comes without being heeded
And our paths are to be walked, alone

Cold winds
Unageing sceneries
Empty hands
Flames which burn for eternity

Moods swell
Comfort in the goddess
Temporary world
The stars hide and laugh at us

Cold winds
Cold hearts as well
Words forced back
Let’s plunge in dreams
Pools of amnesia

Life is just a dream