FOR PATRONAGE
By Manieri S. Isvaran
To
the sovereign of an Indian State,
a
patron of arts and letters,
thus
said a Poet:
My
liege, I know it
that
to the royal court flock my betters,
and
inside it poetry is in spate;
still
here is my half quatrain,
humbler
than a drop of rain!
It
will please us greatly, came the gracious nod,
and
the Poet burst like a pea from its pod:
How
wonderful is the lighthouse!
I
must also get money!