Sakshi Gopal das<\/p>\n
There were pagans and potheads
\nand Indian chiefs
\nThere were druids and hippies
\nand mounted police
\nThere were drinkers and smokers
\nand drummers galore
\nWho played on through the night
\n’til their fingers were sore<\/p>\n
There was dancing, while some
\nstood around on the grass
\nSome huddled in blankets,
\nsome sat on their ass.
\nSome filmed the proceedings
\nwith smart mobile phones
\nAs everyone gathered
\naround the great stones…<\/p>\n
That have witnessed the turning
\non Salisbury Plain
\nOf season and century,
\nsunshine and rain
\nWitnessed chieftains and druids
\nand Celts offer thanks
\nWitnessed farmers and hippies
\nand soldiers in tanks…<\/p>\n
Have seen tourists and picnickers,
\nbikers in leather
\nAnd ancient oak avenues
\npass into heather
\nSeen wars and invasions,
\nthe triumph of thieves
\nHave seen lovers and losers\u2013
\nbut who could believe…<\/p>\n
That the stones were now witness
\nto God\u2019s holy name
\nAs the chanters in saffron again and again
\nSang their mantra and danced
\nto the cymbal and drum\u2014
\nThat the people here gathered
\nwould eagerly come
\nTo celebrate KRISHNA! and R\u0100M! and HARE!
\nAs they waited for sunrise
\non Midsummer’s Day…?<\/p>\n
The floodlights shone out
\n‘cross the fields as they came
\nin their hundreds and hundreds
\nlike moths to a flame
\nPast the wall-to-wall vehicles
\nrow upon row
\nTo the people who joined
\nin the throng that helped tow
\nOn the ropes of the chariot
\nyellow and red
\nof the Lord of the Universe
\n(so the man said)<\/p>\n
The procession proceeded
\napace through the fields
\nAs a BBC journalist
\nsaw the the appeal
\nAnd recorded the party
\n\u201cYou’ll see it next year\u201d
\nSo she captured some footage
\nand then disappeared<\/p>\n
There were takeaways lined up along the field edge
\n(From the smell of their cooking it sure wasn’t veg)
\nBut the hunger for food
\nand the hunger for love
\nAnd the hunger for sharing
\nThe Gift From Above
\nsaw FOOD FOR ALL
\ndishing out hot dahl and rice
\nAnd those freshly fried papadams,
\ncrispy and nice<\/p>\n
So the people queued up
\nwith their spouses and mates
\nAnd feasted from biodegradable plates
\n‘Til the buckets were empty,
\nthe tubs were scraped clean –
\nAfter two thousand servings, a satisfied scene
\nAnd they called upon
\nKRISHNA and R\u0100M and HARE
\nAs they welcomed the sunrise
\non Midsummer’s Day<\/p>\n
Did they each feel their sanctity
\nsomehow restored – ? –
\nIn divine celebration
\nthey danced and adored
\nWith a jubilant heart
\nand a spiritual eye
\nThe rhythm and mantra
\nas old the sky…<\/p>\n
HARE KRISHNA
\n(they chant)
\nHARE KRISHNA
\n(they pray)
\nKRISHNA KRISHNA
\n(they follow with loud…)
\nHARE HARE
\nHARE R\u0100MA
\n(the song)
\nHARE R\u0100MA
\n(the hymn)
\nR\u0100MA R\u0100MA
\nHARE HARE
\n(to drumbeat and ring…)<\/p>\n
…Of the karatal cymbals, percussion of old The mantra of angels
\nconnecting the soul
\nWith the Lord of Existence
\nbelow and above
\nReuniting the spark with the fire of His love
\nStill awaiting within us
\nif we could but see
\nThat flows like a river
\nwithin you and me.<\/p>\n
Some say we are energy,
\nspiritual light
\nAdrift from an ocean
\nof endless delight –
\nYet energy means
\nthat we’ve come from a source:
\nAnd primal
\nOriginal Person,
\nof course<\/p>\n
His realm of transcendence
\nis where we belong
\nWhere each step is a dance
\nand each word is a song
\nLet us chant the vibration –
\nR\u0100M! KRISHNA! HARE!
\nWhen we greet the next sunrise
\non Midsummer’s Day
\n