Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar Poems

Science without humanity
And knowledge without compassion
Do more harm than good to mankind.
Business without ethics
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Let the head and the feet be clean.
Let the beginning and the end be good.
Let the meeting and parting be nice.
In between what is there is discounted.
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The kite flies.
Its lightness is its merit.
The tree breaks.
Its stubbornness is its merit.
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A submissive wife is a strict mother.
A henpecked husband is a terror.
A pampered son is a gut less lot.
A shy daughter is a straying lot.
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Being stupid, I’m not jealous.
Being coward, I’m not ambitious.
Being lazy, I’m not greedy.
Being impotent, I’m not dangerous.
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Conservatism is the process
That admits not anything first.
Religions are kept alive
Solely on conservatism.
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It is not enough that you requite my love,
Nor am I content that you desire me.
Others must know that we love each other
As a mother wants her child born to be known.
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A duck praised a goose for her rich songs
And wanted the goose to comment her songs,
Which she did as the propriety demanded.
The duck believed true the comments made.
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A man of my clan won;
I am conscious of my clan.
A man of my tongue won;
I am conscious of my tongue.
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The candle is shut and the flame is out.
The candle is left and the life has set.
Before shut, the candle must have been lit.
The unlit candle can never be shut.
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