dark winds of self-doubt
blow furiously today
in their sway i flee
toward those same old roads
where i sure do suffer
self-inquisition

- Vijayalakshmi Harish
   10.01.2013
   Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish,

We set out from our homes
With aspirations bright
A bag pack of skills
And a sceptre of perfection
A potion of blessings
To keep company
We are complete.

Through the low nights
And during the blazing noons,
Through the hard needles of showers,
Until we reach the land of flowers,
We unravel
Secrets of the deep and the dark
We gain and yet sometimes loose
We fathom
Through the layers wise
And make our axioms

On a quiet night however,
When we plunge in retrospection
A star shines bright
Connecting and completing the picture
We are but one glowing dot from the many
And the canvass completes
With the treasure of family lineage
All encompassing and strengthening
A synecdoche of life.

The fireside retreats
into the wall
as another TV Christmas special repeats,
with its sound echoing in the hall.

Tangerine,
Satsuma,
Clementine-Orange
peel litters the tabletop;
orange runway for the action figures,
plastic arms, moulded hairs.

Nina Simone plays loud,
'Nobody Knows When You're Down And Out',
Christmas is over,
and now there's nowt to do.

An adieu is
A trace of new beginning

An adieu lays foundations
For creating new memories
To cherish and share

An adieu is
A reason to fondly recall
Rendezvous

An adieu is
Just one step away
From a soon coming hi

So dear confrere
Do not rue an adieu
Time shall soon fly by
As the bye becomes
A fresh hi!

When I felt like nobody cared, YOU were there,
Soothing the wounds in my heart…

When I felt life was not worth it, YOU came around,
And proved the opposite…

When no one knew my worth, YOU showed me,
How much I meant to you…

When I had issues, YOU supported me,
Showing me how much I need you…

Now, when I look back, I have no regrets,
Because to know YOU is to know LOVE…

Harish Natarajan
12.01.2013
Copyright © Harish Natarajan

you robbed me
of something i didn't even have
and i let you
i believed your lie
lived your dream
it was too good to be true
a dollar and a dream is what we have
what we lived on
i love you
i can see you
you can't hide from me
i miss you
but i can't tell you
can't let you back in
because you're reckless
a bull in a china store
no notion of care
forward movement
no looking back
in the company of fake friends
artificial stimulation
living a lie
i'll still be here
when you come calling
disgusted and ashamed
worn and weary
with open arms
an arm length away from my heart
what's the point?
i love you and i care
I've been there
been in your position
and i'm not living up to my role
but i shouldn't
i'm not a man
i loved your chivalry
while it lasted
you know how to make a girl feel special
going the extra mile
and i let you run away with my heart
and now it's floating somewhere because you let it go
i want to find it
take it back
but then i can't give it back to you
so it will be over
hence, i'm not looking for it
drowning, hanging on
to the fact that you will want me back
but i know it will be too late
so let me go now and take back what's mine
what i didn't have to give you
but gave you anyway
and you let it go
it's mine
it's mine
you didn't deserve it
didn't want it
didn't care
so i take it back
tape it up
and carry on

Words in different patterns
In different shapes and forms
I can't put them together
As they join in massive swarms

Letters and symbols and spaces
That bring worries and fears and doubt
How do I put them together
How do they come out?

On an isolated strip,
sheltered by them green,
the wind ruffled my hair
and time moved gently,
I heard a sigh,
that was swept away in a roar,
in the land of his shrine

I think it was my soul.

Dripping rain...
Splash!
Croak croak...
The frogs!
Buzz
Assorted insects;
Wind gush -
Trees sway, but
Not the banyan...
Screech!
Monkeys again;
Splash!
Dripping rain...
Streets gone
empty, sky too
Where are the stars?
Hiding behind
monsoon clouds
of course!