530 Power of Story

I grew up lost in books. Some authors are timeless and I would like to weave impressions that 6 of them left indelibly on my heart.

Khalil Gibran told me time and again the message of the Prophet.
Though it's years since I read him, I fancied myself the Forerunner,
Who begs for Harmony *1, asking Liberty to incarnate, granting it,
So we can leave off our small selves and to each other be dear!

Richard Bach touched me at a tender age with Seagull and Illusions.
These 3 books I oft discussed with my teacher, I miss sharing them.
He touched me again with Curious Lives *2 that we should teach our sons
And daughters, inspiring them to live a Divine Life, a true gem

Of literary genius. Louis L'Amour spoke to me through college,
Drawing me to the wild west and what beauty it contained.
I got to read 12 of his books again in 2013, felt blessed and full of courage,
Thinking how life must have been simpler then, not tainted.

Another master I discovered growing up was Wilbur Smith,
I took the name Shasa, a character of his, when my first paper child *3 was born.
I cried deeply when I read Diamond Hunters, my heart with
Johnny Lance, a genius geologist. Sad the author left us forlorn.

Always competing with each other for a place in my heart,
I love and venerate JRR Tolkien with his Mythology so grand,
Now available as 12 volumes called the history of Middle Earth.
When Niggle fell of his bicycle, I promised to someday make the world understand

The need for art in the world. My art is in the woven word,
What Sri Aurobindo called "The Future Poetry". A sage
Of Herculean strength, he battled titans for decades, his wit as a sword.
Calling for us to walk the Sunlit Path, an Avatar heralding the new Age.

*1 imran/harmony/
*2 imran/curious-lives/
*3 ym (since 2013)