anilkumar-parat - Hello Poetry

Hi there, I say to the dusty weary stranger At the ramshackle shanty Perched upon a precipice. As he sips tea Steam rises silently from the cup He looks up And he says Hi Letting out some steam Where from, I ask Guessing he was from down south He slurps lazily And replies in one miserly word. And I see I was way off the mark My eyebrows knit in knotty defeat My instincts have blunted I grunt at myself Where to, I ask He gropes around in his shirt pocket A cigarette appears, slightly crumpled He lights up, squinting his eyes The smoke is acrid I smell it's long-forgotten male scent He drags, the tip glows bright He opens his mouth in a stylized 'O' Blows rings in a fibonacci sequence I suddenly crave tobacco But I wait He hasn't replied... On the far hill I see A tiny car Careening off the road Tumbling in slow motion Ricocheting here and there Disappearing In a golden flash And a plume of smoke He drags on the *** again Lets out a plume of smoke And points at the far hill And its winding road And the plume of smoke Rising wispily skyward I crave a smoke all the more I say to no one: Play it again, Sam Play it once, for old time's sake. He starts whistling A long-forgotten song He gets up to go, Starts trudging down the road I pick up my satchel And start climbing. Ahead of me on the snaky road There's nobody.

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Jun 8, 2023

Jun 8, 2023 at 11:36 PM UTC

I'm on my way

Hi there, I say to the dusty weary stranger At the ramshackle shanty Perched upon a precipice. As he sips tea Steam rises silently from the cup He looks up And he says Hi Letting out some steam Where from, I ask Guessing he was from down south He slurps lazily And replies in one miserly word. And I see I was way off the mark My eyebrows knit in knotty defeat My instincts have blunted I grunt at myself Where to, I ask He gropes around in his shirt pocket A cigarette appears, slightly crumpled He lights up, squinting his eyes The smoke is acrid I smell it's long-forgotten male scent He drags, the tip glows bright He opens his mouth in a stylized 'O' Blows rings in a fibonacci sequence I suddenly crave tobacco But I wait He hasn't replied... On the far hill I see A tiny car Careening off the road Tumbling in slow motion Ricocheting here and there Disappearing In a golden flash And a plume of smoke He drags on the *** again Lets out a plume of smoke And points at the far hill And its winding road And the plume of smoke Rising wispily skyward I crave a smoke all the more I say to no one: Play it again, Sam Play it once, for old time's sake. He starts whistling A long-forgotten song He gets up to go, Starts trudging down the road I pick up my satchel And start climbing. Ahead of me on the snaky road There's nobody.

55

Fly away my dear li'l butterfly on those golden gossamer wings May you set aglow every peak high! Don't look back dear, don't you even try to scan my sad face for tear's springs Fly away my dear li'l butterfly I won't let you see my tear-filled eye, the deep anguish that farewell brings. May you set aglow every peak high! Now, dear child, let's wave a goodbye; Go, ride every wave, break all strings Fly away, my dear li'l butterfly May every kid you touch also fly with you, wonder, sprout their own wings May you set aglow every peak high! Your goal's set, your aim is the sky Yon horizon's where glory springs Fly away my dear li'l butterfly May you set aglow every peak high!

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Mar 7, 2023

Mar 7, 2023 at 4:14 AM UTC

A villanelle : To my daughter

Fly away my dear li'l butterfly on those golden gossamer wings May you set aglow every peak high! Don't look back dear, don't you even try to scan my sad face for tear's springs Fly away my dear li'l butterfly I won't let you see my tear-filled eye, the deep anguish that farewell brings. May you set aglow every peak high! Now, dear child, let's wave a goodbye; Go, ride every wave, break all strings Fly away, my dear li'l butterfly May every kid you touch also fly with you, wonder, sprout their own wings May you set aglow every peak high! Your goal's set, your aim is the sky Yon horizon's where glory springs Fly away my dear li'l butterfly May you set aglow every peak high!

19

Friends! Remember my camel, that loafer with a permanent grin? he's been a-chewing a-ruing, ruminating, upon the yonder and beyond a-pondering His reins hang loose, his saddle's dusty his bit is chewn his blanket's musty his coat's crusted with the scars of Time he's forlorn for no real reason or rhyme he's footloose as ever, he just has to wander in search of all the oases of the yonder You should see his gait as he kicks up the clods when he plods, he plods and plods and plods and when he saunters, it's quite a canter he and I, we argue, disagree and banter I think I'm his master but he thinks otherwise I wish i could rein him in but i know it's unwise and so i let him have his wayward ways, together we tread this crazy maze. (Just last week I tightened his saddle and he took me to a land all-green-and-no-sand where it rained and sploshed and we both got sloshed... when the clouds parted and clear was the sky he was much younger and so was I he sprang in the air like a kid newborn there was spring in the air, I too was airborne the grass was washed, so was the moss gone from his hair was all the dross he stopped grunting, he sang instead, full of Malayalam thoughts in his head we went to gaze at elephants (loved their finery but not their chained legs) we heard drums in their elements well into the nights we pranced in ******** raptures we tranced and woke up lazy by mid-afternoons with heads so hazy and postpartum blues) He and I, we've had many a fight o'er who's the one wrong and who's right he's been calling every oasis a mirage I say none of them's a camouflage he's adamant that it's all an illusion that I'm tripping and under a delusion I say I hear him bleat like a goat, I touch his rain-washed mangy coat I see him, like a ship, heave and sway I smell him from quite a mile away yet I ask myself if all this is not Maya, if even mirages weren't of realms higher.

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Feb 27, 2023

Feb 27, 2023 at 8:51 PM UTC

Camel trail

Friends! Remember my camel, that loafer with a permanent grin? he's been a-chewing a-ruing, ruminating, upon the yonder and beyond a-pondering His reins hang loose, his saddle's dusty his bit is chewn his blanket's musty his coat's crusted with the scars of Time he's forlorn for no real reason or rhyme he's footloose as ever, he just has to wander in search of all the oases of the yonder You should see his gait as he kicks up the clods when he plods, he plods and plods and plods and when he saunters, it's quite a canter he and I, we argue, disagree and banter I think I'm his master but he thinks otherwise I wish i could rein him in but i know it's unwise and so i let him have his wayward ways, together we tread this crazy maze. (Just last week I tightened his saddle and he took me to a land all-green-and-no-sand where it rained and sploshed and we both got sloshed... when the clouds parted and clear was the sky he was much younger and so was I he sprang in the air like a kid newborn there was spring in the air, I too was airborne the grass was washed, so was the moss gone from his hair was all the dross he stopped grunting, he sang instead, full of Malayalam thoughts in his head we went to gaze at elephants (loved their finery but not their chained legs) we heard drums in their elements well into the nights we pranced in ******** raptures we tranced and woke up lazy by mid-afternoons with heads so hazy and postpartum blues) He and I, we've had many a fight o'er who's the one wrong and who's right he's been calling every oasis a mirage I say none of them's a camouflage he's adamant that it's all an illusion that I'm tripping and under a delusion I say I hear him bleat like a goat, I touch his rain-washed mangy coat I see him, like a ship, heave and sway I smell him from quite a mile away yet I ask myself if all this is not Maya, if even mirages weren't of realms higher.

50

We mate like two snakes entwined raw passion wrestling with raw power dancing to dominate we hiss, we kiss we roll and coil we set the grass on fire And then, the big bang of nothingness, endless eternity... until we slither away, our separate ways. The sky blushes a deep red so does the lotus as some crazed cockerel shatters the silence into a thousand shards.

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Feb 16, 2023

Feb 16, 2023 at 5:59 PM UTC

After the eternity

We mate like two snakes entwined raw passion wrestling with raw power dancing to dominate we hiss, we kiss we roll and coil we set the grass on fire And then, the big bang of nothingness, endless eternity... until we slither away, our separate ways. The sky blushes a deep red so does the lotus as some crazed cockerel shatters the silence into a thousand shards.

17

This is such a shrill silence where a thousand thoughts clamour and wrestle in the fine dusts of time, their grunts and roars merging into a steady drone like a metronome gone crazy. I hear the blood coursing through my veins the air entering and leaving the food and the whisky being churned into slurry the hair being tousled by some unseen hands. I hear the atoms and molecules conspire they want a new universe a new everything a new I I hear them quarrel, collide, coalesce I hear long-dead stars wink. how long will this last? will I wake from this reverie like a startled rooster or will i sink into the vast oblivion of this beautiful nothingness where I will hear every little reverberation?

0

Dec 24, 2022

Dec 24, 2022 at 10:34 AM UTC

Untitled

This is such a shrill silence where a thousand thoughts clamour and wrestle in the fine dusts of time, their grunts and roars merging into a steady drone like a metronome gone crazy. I hear the blood coursing through my veins the air entering and leaving the food and the whisky being churned into slurry the hair being tousled by some unseen hands. I hear the atoms and molecules conspire they want a new universe a new everything a new I I hear them quarrel, collide, coalesce I hear long-dead stars wink. how long will this last? will I wake from this reverie like a startled rooster or will i sink into the vast oblivion of this beautiful nothingness where I will hear every little reverberation?

25

Inside our silken cocoon it's always two in the morning dark and throbbing silence within, chaos without. And I'm always hungry, my whole being forever snuggling caressing, snaking, searching, seeking soft mounts and peaks... Ah your hair your hair! jasmine -scented serpents all over my face and chest writhing in ecstasy! I breathe you in and let you out in delicate rings that float away in vanishing wisps Someday soon will we, my dearest, shed this cocoon and seek the light together for flowers and nectar?

0

Dec 1, 2022

Dec 1, 2022 at 6:12 PM UTC

Someday soon

Inside our silken cocoon it's always two in the morning dark and throbbing silence within, chaos without. And I'm always hungry, my whole being forever snuggling caressing, snaking, searching, seeking soft mounts and peaks... Ah your hair your hair! jasmine -scented serpents all over my face and chest writhing in ecstasy! I breathe you in and let you out in delicate rings that float away in vanishing wisps Someday soon will we, my dearest, shed this cocoon and seek the light together for flowers and nectar?

23

I couldn't touch you Even if I wanted to. Under that curved glass lid Maybe you were just asleep Breathing a steady relaxed breath After weeks of heaving and rasping Maybe those were droplets from your nostrils Not signs of refrigeration. That red flag draped over you, Cold, dead, not fluttering at all, Seemed incongruous and pointless Because those comrades gathered outside Were whisking ennui away with flat jokes... Did anyone really mourn for you brother? Except the woman silently sobbing In your dark bed? Or your son and daughter Reflecting on your sunny smile? Or me, maybe?

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Nov 17, 2022

Nov 17, 2022 at 10:39 AM UTC

Or me, maybe?

I couldn't touch you Even if I wanted to. Under that curved glass lid Maybe you were just asleep Breathing a steady relaxed breath After weeks of heaving and rasping Maybe those were droplets from your nostrils Not signs of refrigeration. That red flag draped over you, Cold, dead, not fluttering at all, Seemed incongruous and pointless Because those comrades gathered outside Were whisking ennui away with flat jokes... Did anyone really mourn for you brother? Except the woman silently sobbing In your dark bed? Or your son and daughter Reflecting on your sunny smile? Or me, maybe?

19

As crickets chirp-chirp In staccato bursts Weaving this web of silence I wait immured Within my own walls To see if this darkness will fade All I hear Is the silence of the night Her sighs, her slow breath, The rise and fall of her soft ******* I dread this lull That, like heady wine, Pulls me into the whirlpool Of drowsy sleep Am I dreaming that I'm asleep Am I asleep or awake If only this web were a trampoline I'd jump like a newborn kid And prance and bleat in unbridled joy But for now I simply wait Within my own walls For that demented rooster To crow and crow and crow And rouse the lousy lazy sun To shine for one more day

0

Jul 19, 2022

Jul 19, 2022 at 9:01 PM UTC

The wait

As crickets chirp-chirp In staccato bursts Weaving this web of silence I wait immured Within my own walls To see if this darkness will fade All I hear Is the silence of the night Her sighs, her slow breath, The rise and fall of her soft ******* I dread this lull That, like heady wine, Pulls me into the whirlpool Of drowsy sleep Am I dreaming that I'm asleep Am I asleep or awake If only this web were a trampoline I'd jump like a newborn kid And prance and bleat in unbridled joy But for now I simply wait Within my own walls For that demented rooster To crow and crow and crow And rouse the lousy lazy sun To shine for one more day

25

moonlit silver night like a spider weaving this fine web of silence around me trapping in it tiny pearls of dew forlorn calls of lonely koels suppressed sighs of yearning tormenting thoughts pacing about sobs buried in drenched pillows pleasure escaping in moans as nails titillate dark inky night doggedly weaving to the cricket's staccato rhythm this fine web of silence around me trapping in it remembrances of things past and forgotten of humiliation and angst of jubilation and smiles of tenderness and love Every time I try to curl up in this cosy silence the raucous cockerel rips it to shreds letting in golden streams.

0

Jun 1, 2022

Jun 1, 2022 at 8:45 PM UTC

Sleepless

moonlit silver night like a spider weaving this fine web of silence around me trapping in it tiny pearls of dew forlorn calls of lonely koels suppressed sighs of yearning tormenting thoughts pacing about sobs buried in drenched pillows pleasure escaping in moans as nails titillate dark inky night doggedly weaving to the cricket's staccato rhythm this fine web of silence around me trapping in it remembrances of things past and forgotten of humiliation and angst of jubilation and smiles of tenderness and love Every time I try to curl up in this cosy silence the raucous cockerel rips it to shreds letting in golden streams.

29

The earth here is red my friend Because if you dig it up You'll find the congealed blood That was spilt in so many silly battles Over ownership and honour and faith And that blooms today as roses And hibiscus and a thousand other flowers The earth here is red my friend Because it's already clotted And waiting for more to be interred While they wail and mourn yet again As vendetta spawns vendetta And ****** cockfights fuel the thirst For more blood, more gore The earth here is red my friend Because her lust for blood is insatiable And yet look how she clothes herself In a luxurious glimmering verdant silk Hums one of her sweet birdsongs And smiles at you, innocently Beckoning you like a coquette.

0

May 30, 2022

May 30, 2022 at 8:02 PM UTC

Kerala

The earth here is red my friend Because if you dig it up You'll find the congealed blood That was spilt in so many silly battles Over ownership and honour and faith And that blooms today as roses And hibiscus and a thousand other flowers The earth here is red my friend Because it's already clotted And waiting for more to be interred While they wail and mourn yet again As vendetta spawns vendetta And ****** cockfights fuel the thirst For more blood, more gore The earth here is red my friend Because her lust for blood is insatiable And yet look how she clothes herself In a luxurious glimmering verdant silk Hums one of her sweet birdsongs And smiles at you, innocently Beckoning you like a coquette.

21