Hope!

On this wet night
With the moon hanging low
And the stars hidden behind
Billowing dark clouds
Hope seems like a stranger
Knocking on the doors
Of a wretched warrior
Uninvited....

Eager I am to unmask the veil
And see for myself his scarred face
In the light of a flickering candle
Protected from the ghoulish winds
Just by the crook of a shaking palm

Let him come in weak and debilitated
Staggering on injured legs
Dripping blood
Oozing pain
At least he is not lost completely
In the labyrinth of life

He has sought his path
Into my heart
By a stroke of luck
His fluid entry
Is my light

Let him draw close
And embrace me tight
I have waited light years
For this torrid hug

At last...

A Joyful Little Bird



Autumn burns within me
As I feel the spring in his walk
A few gray strands mock me
The fine lines around my eyes
Smile benevolently  in return
The wrinkles on my hands
Indicate the years on this planet  Earth
I groan softly as I move
From one posture to the other
The pain in the joints poke me
In search of a comical interlude

Then there are many more

Hints covert as well as overt

Pointing a finger at the approaching winter

But I laugh in sheer pleasure of living

Life is just not sizzling in summer

Impaled in winter

Joyous spring and arduous autumn









 

 

 

Life is living beyond the seasons

Tells me a little bird

Every morn as I wake up to another day
She rocks the tender twigs of my plants
And shrieks in abundant glee
Isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it?







 

Danced The Moon All Night

 

The moon danced all night

Shaking her plumpy bum

"Zoo-Be-Zoo-Be-Zoo-Traa-Laa"

Rap-A-Zap-A-Zap-Dum-Dum"

The sky shimmered a smile

Skimmed out of pain

The stars looked alarmed

Distressed, bored

A few snored

The meteors sighed and remarked

"Oh! She's kinda hyper y' know sometimes"

"Love happens to just a few you morone"

The "moony-eyed" cried unfazed

 

 

A little glazed in the eyes

A little dazed in the head

"Love just a Tweet away..."

She crooned

"I wondered whether t' was Britney's latest

"Oh my love  on FB page...." she sang

An octave higher than the mighty Big Bang

Whatttt! I gawked in utter dismay

Even she has an FB profile...?..my...my

What the world's coming to these days!!!!!

Wee hours fellas the party stretched

And would have carried on longer

But a shake and a raucous alarm later

Sob...sob... a hasty goodbye I bade

The Unseen

The silence of the night

The droplets of rain

Dripping from the leaves

The moon feels shy

Hides behind a cloud

A dog whines somewhere

At the end of the alley

A car passes by

Its headlights throwing

A weak patch of light

On the pitch dark roads

Long way to go till

The arrival of dawn

I sit in my lawn

Encircling a white bungalow

Now stilled in slumber

Everyone's gone to bed

Only I am alone, awake

A drape on a window

Shivers in the soft breeze

And an owl wails

Plaintively on the old, Peepal tree

I clutch the white shawl

And let my mane slide down

My fragile boned back

A song comes to mind

Heard ages ago

I hum with a smile

A bleak light burns

In the hut further down

By the running stream

I tread thither along

Somebody passes by

An old hunched man

Stooped on a stick

Chanting the holy name

I swoosh by like the

Flowing, whispering wind

On invisible wings

Leaving a thin trace

Of mist behind

A swish of silk

And the holy chant

Echo in the green

 

Valley beyond...

On This Day...

A week or so early
On a restful evening
All of a sudden
Maa woke up from her reverie
And asked me,
"What was it on 22nd or 23rd of this month
Something that happened
Seems quite important to me
But can't remember now..."
She put one wrinkled finger
On her temple
And concentrated hard
Her face lined
In a zigzag of emotions
And forceful recollection

I opened my mouth
In a loud protest
And clamped it shut again
No point, none at all
Just a waste of time
Thought I
And let the complaint
Quivering in my vocal chord
Die a natural death

And as suddenly
She looked up at me
A glint in her foggy eyes
"It was 23rd no?

Really I am getting old
These days..." 

The Window

 

 

 

She said “You know you are good at it!

Its long you haven’t written those words

In a row of rhythmic meters”

I blushed & replied,“ Poet’s block, you see?”

“Oh! Just look out ‘the window

Inspiration galore.” Said she

I looked up from the sheaf of papers

Stacks of files lay askew on the table

The plasma screen blinked twice

Some virus…obscure, deadly
A few plastic folders lay hither and thither
Holding a Proposal or two for life
“Harbingers of change”, they said,
“Once implemented, systemic corruption

Would sooner than not fade away…”

I sighed, the pain in my neck

Was again giving trouble

“Cervical”, the doc said,

“Was a lifestyle disease”

I smiled, “Nowadays, medical terms

Did boast of aesthetic ease.”

Shrugging off my sedentary thoughts

I neared the wooden cabinet

Bulging to bursting point

There was hardly any space

Neither on the shelves nor in the room

Shared by two

The door shutting us off

From the rest

A caged existence none the less

Could have been the cause of asphyxiation

But for the AC angled cleverly

To pacify jarred nerves

As stale breath mingled in the air
And she said “Look out ‘the window”

The phone rang…

 A staccato of urgency
My boss
As static as the wooden boards of my cabin
Sometimes I was at a loss
How well he was in sync
With the colorlessness
Around
Secured in his high-backed chair
Not so secured perhaps…
He always left me acutely aware
Of my clumsiness, my lack of everything

I shook myself out of reverie

At times things get so awry
Oh! She said, “Look out ‘the window”
Remember?

If only…

 

Everything’s Gonna Be Okay

Oh it was a sight

When the clouds had a fight

Tears flooded down

Brushing aside Earth’s frown

The sun scooted off

The trees visibly scoffed

The road bathed long

With a cup of tea strong

I watched the droplets dance

The day in a rainy trance

My window sill was wet

When I called upon my vet

He said “You wait! My dear,

The pup you ordered will be there

But it may take some time”

I said in a tone resigned,

“What’s the hurry doc, for life

Has its own timing set

Nothing happens before

Or nothing’s too late

When time is right & ripe

Everything falls in place

So let me enjoy this moment

As the wrathful sky vents

Tomorrow is another day

Sure everything’s gonna be okay”