Dear Patti, it has been three years
Since you left us
A lot of things have happened
Many more have changed
Yet, never can I forget you at all
Always, did you stand tall
As the head of our family
Under you, were we all happy
You were the kindest family member
Your sheer compassion, will I forever remember
My friends were your friends
No relationship with you ever had an end
Really, were you the height of altruism
Through you, did God speak humanism
You have appeared, in countless dreams of mine
When you were alive, never did I feel alone
At times, when all hope seemed lost
You reminded me of my best
Thus, did I develop resilience
Very well, could you understand my silences
Throughout my life, were you with me
The good me as well as the bad me
Your goodness had absolutely no limits
Yet, rarely did you sugarcoat things
Every time, did you speak your mind
And let me know what I had to amend
In order to become a better human being
To you, could one go on listening
And learn a lot about the world
In spirit, never were you old
Tremendous courage, strength and determination
Provided you the ammunition
To go on working, in spite of your numerous health issues
Now, badly do I need a box of tissues
Let me say it once more
Never can I forget you at all, Dear Patti
Rest, not in peace, but in power!

A precious friend, you are
Almost any kind of trouble, can you bear
You speak your mind without worrying
About what most people would be thinking
Praise, criticism, you give in equal measure
Really, are you a friend to treasure!

A precious friend, you are
To work with, great fun you were
Spot on, were your suggestions
Seldom, were you out of action
To you, am I very grateful
For being extremely kind to me
When I didn't deserve it at all
Really, did you set my mind free
From all my shackles of self-doubt
Your compassion is hard to beat!!

A precious friend, you are
And a wonderful wife and mother
Vivek has a heart of gold
And your children are themselves gold!
Moreover, being at your home
Has always felt like being at my own home!!

A precious friend, you are
Now and forever
May Jesus bless you and your lovely family
With everything that makes you all happy!!

In India, we need feminism
Because, it stands for equality
Before you start losing your calm
Please allow me to clarify
Feminism means not, women dominating men
It means equal rights for both men and women
And of course, women empowerment
Now, let me be blunt
India is not and has never been a great place for women
Our society enables male *******
In almost every sphere of life
Which ends up creating a lot of strife
It is time to change all of that
Hence, is feminism so important
Because, women need to find their voice
And for that, they must have a choice
To do what they desire
Without invoking the society's ire
So, it is time to dismantle our Brahminical patriarchy
Only then, can we really reform our society
Because, gender and caste go hand-in-hand
We cannot destroy gender inequality with a magic wand
It is necessary to strike at its very root
Which, essentially, is caste
For instance, why do so many rapes happen?
Because, they enable upper caste male *******
****** harassment and **** reinforce the caste structure
Thus, does the Manusmriti continue to influence gender
And proactively hinder women empowerment
Again, this is why feminism is so important
But it also needs to be intersectional
And include women at all levels
Of our wretched caste hierarchy
In order to achieve gender equality
It is necessary for Brahmin and Savarna women to take a pause
And allow Bahujan women to make uniformed choices for themselves
Instead of dictating terms to them all the time
Also, men need to be part of feminism
After all, inclusiveness is the very core of feminism
It transcends gender, ***, race, religion and caste
Was not Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar one of India's greatest feminists?
It is thanks to this beautiful soul
That, at least in theory, are men and women equal
As far as our country is concerned
Therefore, feminism is something we greatly need
But it can be successful only when it includes everyone
Thus, in order to make India a much safer place for women
Everybody must adopt feminism
Because, it is equivalent to humanism!
Jai Bhim!!

I stand with you, Dear Comrade
Because, always do you stand
With the oppressed
With the marginalised
With the hated
With the silenced
And finally
With the ignored!

I stand with you, Dear Comrade
Because, every time do you take the lead
When it comes to fighting against injustice
Calling out media bias
Exposing the hypocrisy of the liberals
Highlighting gender and caste issues
Blasting the central government left, right and centre
And last but not the least
Making us all feel your righteous anger!!

I stand with you, Dear Comrade
For you, does my heart bleed
Because, are you an extremely kind soul
Who cares for humanity above all
Beneath your raging passion
I can feel your sheer compassion
You've been through hell
And yet, do you stand tall
Fighting endlessly and fearlessly for social justice
And striving your hardest for peace
Without even thinking of giving up
To you, greatly do I look up!!

I stand with you, Dear Comrade
Of you, forever will I remain proud
Whenever I have a bad day
It is you, who shows me the way
During my darkest phases
It is you, in whom I find solace
Even when I am extremely negative
You provide me the motivation to be positive
May Jesus bless your beautiful soul
And may you find your inner peace, above all!!

What if I love you, Ms. V?
It will make me shine like the Sun
Never again, will I be alone
My heart will beat at the speed of an aeroplane
Like a top, will my brain spin
Like a flower, will my face bloom
And from ear to ear, will I beam!

What if I love you, Ms. V?
Talk for hours and hours, we can
About any topic under the Sun
Be it Harris Jayaraj music
Or Indian or international politics
Or chicken vs mutton
Or travelling in trains
And can I go on and on
Trust me, never will I get bored
Of course, neither will you get bored
I will make sure of that
No matter what!!

What if I love you, Ms. V?
A shoulder for you to cry on, will I be
With anything and everything, can you trust me
I keep secrets
As well as Hercule Poirot connects the dots
In any Agatha Christie ****** mystery
And never will I be in a hurry
So, you can take your own sweet time to open up
Or for that matter, can you yap and yap
And I won't mind a bit
After all, every single relationship requires a lot of effort!!

What If I love you, Ms. V?
For you, am I ready to change anything
To ensure you keep smiling
Just not my character or nature, of course
To do anything for you, am I not averse
Just not anything unethical or immoral, of course
I will be there for you on your best days
And of course on your worst days
After all, love doesn't come without its share of pain
And as we all know, there is no gain without pain!!

What if I love you, Ms. V?
Definitely, will it change my life
If you are to become my wife
But yes, not so soon of course
To deciding anything in a hurry, am I averse
I will give you all the time and space you need
It's part of love, will I add!!

What if I love you, Ms. V?
Well, I hope you will love me back
If yes, then will my life be free from anything and everything dark
I will be one of the happiest people in the world
Even all the gold in the world
Cannot give me THAT feeling
Because, to me do YOU mean EVERYTHING
If no, then thank you for giving me the opportunity
To write this piece of poetry!!

Whenever I experience pain
Whether it be physical or mental
I don't feel I am alone
Because your words are so powerful
That they transport me into another realm
Where I begin to feel a sense of calm
And a voice speaks
"Everything is going to be alright soon"
Slowly and steadily, the pain fades
And I begin to feel at ease again
You may not be a witch
But your poetry is so rich
And so full of passion
That it gives me motivation
To do whatever I earlier thought was impossible
Your attitude makes EVERYTHING seem possible
The way you write a novel
Sets an example for us all
Full of dry and witty humour
Not to mention, extreme candour
And at the same time, you keep the readers guessing
Hence, no book of yours can ever be called "boring"
And your activism lights a flame in us
Which is extremely difficult to extinguish
Thanks to you, am I starting to find the courage and strength
To fight my battles with mental health
And hoping to emerge stronger than ever
Dear Comrade, I will forget you never
Jai Bhim! Vaazhga Periyar!!

You made me feel lonely
What you did was very ugly
I loved you and you cheated on me
In fact, you BETRAYED me
Because of you, did I go into depression
Very very wrong, were your actions
Thanks to them, greatly did I suffer
For me, not even one bit did you care!

You made me feel lonely
I thought you were lovely
How cruelly did you prove me wrong
My suffering was quite long
You drove a wedge into my heart
And tore it apart!!

You made me feel lonely
And treated me very badly
Thanks to you, did my self-belief shatter
Because, you struck at my very core
Sending shockwaves all over my soul
And effectively trapping me in a prison cell!!

You made me feel lonely
While you played a game coolly
Trying to destroy my relationships
With my family and my best friend
And trapping me in a toxic relationship
Which seemed as if it would never end!!

You made me feel lonely
But I came back strongly
Thanks to my sister and my best friend
To your twisted games, did they put an end
You tried to break me
But my goodness set me free
While you will eternally feel guilty
For your treachery and infidelity
Yes, you made me feel lonely indeed
However, from the trauma have I recovered
And learnt a lesson for life
Goodbye forever, my "poor little" ex-wife!!