Midsummer at Stonehenge 2023

Sakshi Gopal das

There were pagans and potheads
and Indian chiefs
There were druids and hippies
and mounted police
There were drinkers and smokers
and drummers galore
Who played on through the night
’til their fingers were sore

There was dancing, while some
stood around on the grass
Some huddled in blankets,
some sat on their ass.
Some filmed the proceedings
with smart mobile phones
As everyone gathered
around the great stones…

That have witnessed the turning
on Salisbury Plain
Of season and century,
sunshine and rain
Witnessed chieftains and druids
and Celts offer thanks
Witnessed farmers and hippies
and soldiers in tanks…

Have seen tourists and picnickers,
bikers in leather
And ancient oak avenues
pass into heather
Seen wars and invasions,
the triumph of thieves
Have seen lovers and losers–
but who could believe…

That the stones were now witness
to God’s holy name
As the chanters in saffron again and again
Sang their mantra and danced
to the cymbal and drum—
That the people here gathered
would eagerly come
To celebrate KRISHNA! and RĀM! and HARE!
As they waited for sunrise
on Midsummer’s Day…?

The floodlights shone out
‘cross the fields as they came
in their hundreds and hundreds
like moths to a flame
Past the wall-to-wall vehicles
row upon row
To the people who joined
in the throng that helped tow
On the ropes of the chariot
yellow and red
of the Lord of the Universe
(so the man said)

The procession proceeded
apace through the fields
As a BBC journalist
saw the the appeal
And recorded the party
“You’ll see it next year”
So she captured some footage
and then disappeared

There were takeaways lined up along the field edge
(From the smell of their cooking it sure wasn’t veg)
But the hunger for food
and the hunger for love
And the hunger for sharing
The Gift From Above
saw FOOD FOR ALL
dishing out hot dahl and rice
And those freshly fried papadams,
crispy and nice

So the people queued up
with their spouses and mates
And feasted from biodegradable plates
‘Til the buckets were empty,
the tubs were scraped clean –
After two thousand servings, a satisfied scene
And they called upon
KRISHNA and RĀM and HARE
As they welcomed the sunrise
on Midsummer’s Day

Did they each feel their sanctity
somehow restored – ? –
In divine celebration
they danced and adored
With a jubilant heart
and a spiritual eye
The rhythm and mantra
as old the sky…

HARE KRISHNA
(they chant)
HARE KRISHNA
(they pray)
KRISHNA KRISHNA
(they follow with loud…)
HARE HARE
HARE RĀMA
(the song)
HARE RĀMA
(the hymn)
RĀMA RĀMA
HARE HARE
(to drumbeat and ring…)

…Of the karatal cymbals, percussion of old The mantra of angels
connecting the soul
With the Lord of Existence
below and above
Reuniting the spark with the fire of His love
Still awaiting within us
if we could but see
That flows like a river
within you and me.

Some say we are energy,
spiritual light
Adrift from an ocean
of endless delight –
Yet energy means
that we’ve come from a source:
And primal
Original Person,
of course

His realm of transcendence
is where we belong
Where each step is a dance
and each word is a song
Let us chant the vibration –
RĀM! KRISHNA! HARE!
When we greet the next sunrise
on Midsummer’s Day

Ratha Yatra at Stonehenge 2023