hope it is not, but not despair too || Rationale

The sky that shears the edge of this darkened nothingness

Shall breed the light of solitude, and save

A brilliant hope. For when the long gone summer

Returns the light of a million smiles, I shall be ready to recede.

universe || life in delhi

habits die hard, so does love

this habit of yours is invariably contagious, you know

every notion of which is the least wearisome though

suddenly, i'm not in hopeless love any more,

seems i've grown it in me these days…..

Another Time, Another Place.

You’re in the air I inhale, so

You’re not for me to keep…

The cup that brews this love is hoary,

Hence this moment is not for eyes to weep…

Beyond the songs I wrote for you, today

And for always, will stand by thee…

Fruits from Eden and a forbidden touch, thereof

ones that bother you today are but someone else’s plea…

Faith is faith long-gone for a faithful soul,

This elation is true and will forever be. A kite

That flies your sky at night, be the one

That brings you peace and eternal bliss alike.

Now that you be light years away from my days,

My dreams won’t trouble your nights as well. But to souls,

Which tried to touch you with their earnest wish,

You shall give them a chance to a fairer fight.

And then in days to come, in lights to shine, in another being,

Like rivers meet, when the eyes chance..

The way you said hello to me, when we first met...

And I’ll long to see this flower come back to life.

Father and Son

This is an incomplete poem. I tried writing this one after coming back from a recent trip back home. No matter how much I tried to think how this one should end, I just didn’t seem to know. So I put it up as it was ... hope some of you will try and help me finish it. Leave me a comment.

Father and Son.

Written on your face, I see

All the stories of your life so far…

All your thoughts and every muse,

That made the man – today, you are.

With your hand and on your steps,

That’s how I’ve learnt to lead my way….

And, with the light of your wisdom on me,

All my fears have steered away.

I’ve seen the world like you wanted me,

And wondered how I’ve so pensive grown.

I know you fear that I’ll float away,

Like a boat that sails the seas alone.

the last paragraph stands incomplete

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author claims no rights for the above photograph

Biddings || Pax Mortalis

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To L. H.




Sweet slumber cometh only to the peaceful mind,
For the mortal needs to rest....
And, if there's not beauty in the things you see,
My biddings have gone in waste..

Sad and hurt, this heart of mine,
Doeth enough to rouse a fire…
Yet, strands of you don’t cease to fill,
The barrenness of this vacant mire…


To part with what I have with me,
To fray this cloak i wear…
To be in love, is just a point in time,
When the mind’s without fear…


To stop this fight and live a life,
I’d make my conscience clear…
But, sadly will you tell me why,
That we’ve made this fight so dear?

... ion

Dreams

Dreams

As the last of the day’s hopes give way to sweet slumber, my imagination remains active. I’m not sure where it is that it wants to wander off today, but my eyes are tired. Yes, they are. Tired after the thousand faces they’ve found and rested upon during their day-long expedition. Their search continues.

Soon I shall slip off into another world. There is nothing that can stop me. There will be roads that won’t end, and there will be places unknown. And all that I’ll see will be the sepia hue, derived from long evocative memories.

There will be flashbacks, and there will also be pictures that there never were. Some will make me happy, and there will be others I would disown. But before I close my eyes, there’s just the one thing I remember – …but I’ve promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep…

Strawberry Fields Forever

..

a still from the movie of the same name

Little red bubbles of love, you call them.

Trembling voices and figuring woes, gather momentum

As we walk across the misty trails, like two souls lost

In abandoned passion, and the valley’s grass gently crushed underneath.

When you speak, the words fill up my mind.

Staying awhile, I know, I might find one more dream in your eyes.

As your fingers run through my hair a voice escapes me....

You're here today, it says.

Blinded, I am, but I feel your piercing gaze

Run down my face, an inch at a time,

Its placid charity echoing your warm touch.

Only, you are here today , and it is beautiful.

Not sure if you figure what you see in these eyes,

I can see your lips curl up into a smile, as you let me

Walk you through these strawberry fields.

Just a promise lingers – forever

Ruff and Me

Ruff and I absolutely love it at the park. So when I have the time I take him there in the evenings. “A little exercise like that is exactly what the two of you need”, my doctor tells me. But I think he’s read too much into the annual med test reports. But then things like chasing down the Ice-cream Man and putting his face through the park fence trying to reach out at a ball on the other side really gives him a kick. I don’t mind letting him act once in a while, in the way he used to when I brought him home with me. As I sit on the bench pretending to read the paper, I actually watch him be his inquisitive self. I think he knows that. Sometimes, I think he knows more about me than I know about him.

Usually, we find a lot of children playing around in the park in the evenings. I guess, the two of us just love sitting there watching the kids play. A lot of them bring their Frisbees. They are usually of bright colours. Some are conventionally beautiful and some exotically so. I think he likes the Frisbees more than the kids. I’ve often seen him watching the Frisbees fly past him, even as he sits without a wag in his tail or a rub on his belly (the two things he does best). I sometimes wonder, “What is this guy so thoughtful about?” when he’s busy watching the kids play. That he’s never chased down a Frisbee, is rather strange. Back home if I were to show you one piece of furniture which did not have the impressions of his teeth, I would fail miserably. So, it came as quite a surprise when he finally did what I had thought he’d never do.

It was one of those beautiful evenings in spring, a couple of years back. We had just settled down on our usual bench when I noticed this group of kids playing with a Frisbee. And, this dark blue plastic thing reflected the setting sun’s rays, off it, every time they threw it around. It was simple yet enigmatically beautiful. More importantly, it had taken Ruff's fancy. It had started to make him edgy as I could tell form the way he had started breathing now. I knew exactly what he was thinking. I knew him too well for that. “I have got to re-hook the chain to his collar”, I thought. Even as I groped around for his chain I could see the nervous energy in him reach threshold.

But, before I could even shout out his name, he had turned his head around. My orders never mattered, but tonight I didn’t want to give him one anyway. And, in any case it was too late. A smile escaped me as he leaped to his feet, sprinted right at the object of his desire, dodged the bewildered 6 year old in the way, jumped, caught it right out of the air and crashed.

The sun’s rays continued to hit my eyes off the Frisbee, now held tightly between his teeth.

His droopy little eyes assured me “... we are fine ... ” … I didn’t doubt him. Never have.

Perfume - Somewhere In Time.

A face stares out at me from under the covers, I don’t recognize. Lovely eyes, I don’t know at all. The warmth of the room is suddenly taken away, and i feel a shiver run down my spine. There is something I want to remember, but I can’t. I try harder, but all I feel is the numbness of a mind drained off all its thoughts.

I stand up and let my stupor guide me around the room for a while. Grabbing the whiskey, I pour some in a glass. Desperate to burn my throat back to sense, I stand there looking out at the busy street, some 15 storeys down. Not sure if “this is just a feeling” that I have, I try to shake myself out of this stupor. Yet again, nothing happens. I can hear a buzz in my ears. But then, I think it’s been there for some time now.

All I keep seeing are flashes of a distant place. And I can’t recognize the faces in these as well. Flashes, I’m sure, that belong to a different place and time. Sometimes I think I see a lot of younger people in them. They all seem happy.
And the next thing I know is I have been taken back to that morning. The very one which changed everything forever. Where, a receding smell of yours, still lingers. I think it’s your perfume I can smell. And then suddenly, an avalanche of beautiful light floods my eyes completely. It blinds me for a moment. And then it’s gone, and the intense pain starts all over again.

I drown the whiskey in me, in one gulp. The throat feels a sudden sting and yet I can’t make sense of any of this. It is a ritual that my mind follows, and on which I absolutely have no control. It is just like walking the streets with her. She would let you hold her hand but not quite guide her through. And you’d still love her for doing that. I pour myself another drink, smiling.

As the whiskey hits me numb I slide under the sheets, undetected. I always try not to disturb them when they are sleeping. Closing my eyes I think to myself, “.. but your perfume… it still lingers on me.”


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