Between dim lights behind and
the streetlamps below, here,
shades of darkness where
my shadow mingles with
those of the chairs and the vase,
the lamp, and the cyclic rhythm
of the shadow of the fan
that slices moments to pieces,
to the music of  the gushing waves;
As you are busy illustrating slices
of life down there, you Señora,
stand illustrated, in these loving
shades of grey and black;
Now the wind travels far
beyond where the sky in her tunic
adorned of stars takes a dip
in the sea; These clouds, like me,
travel miles to weep by this same sea
that washes their native shores.

Hypocrite
you lie
you tell me you're fine
Not this time
I see the fear
don't think I can't hear
the things you say behind closed doors
And I know you're fighting a war
but please understand
we're here to hold your hand
stop lying
no ones buying
I can't believe after all this you think no one cares
but all I know is I can't bare
the thought of loosing you
stop
we all know you can push through
don't think you're not strong
because clearly you belong
Lemme get this right
you can tell others to fight
through
but you can't even
believe in
yourself
Please
we all know you can
man
you still don't understand
how much life is worth
between death and birth
You say you have it bad
we know.
But some are cursed
with a life much worse
So chin up
blade down
change that frown
because there is never something
worth cutting
Hypocrite
you must admit
theres a lot more
worth smiling for.

She watched the clock and traced the bruises that peppered her pale skin
She counted the days till the end and kept track of her every sin
When the sun was up, she was a lamb: lovely, kind, polite
At night she was a lioness, with a quick and vengeful bite
She drowned in wine and whiskey, and a cigarette here or there
She wasted her time with silly boys, but to love, she wouldn’t dare
Her life was short and meaningless, but she refused to give up control
Until that tragic midnight hour when the sadness took its toll
So that night she finished her drink, and with God, she made a truce
And without looking back, she gave herself to the loving embrace of a noose

And in the folds
Of every heart
Is a nave
That ends in an apse
Of reminiscence
Sacred and august

An apse to be trudged
Only by the beholder
To perform
Not very often though
A little prayer

For this corner
Is an ether
Volatile even by a thin lustre
As it lights bright through
The shades of retina
The altar of the sacred corner
Is ablaze; all aglow

A trickle of single tear
And sanctified smile
Often unnoticed yet appear
So close just
Yet away from the world

The altar of memories
Is cherished year after year
Seldom to be mass opened
And yet for a pure prayer

~~                                                                            it was
                                                                            Complacency
                                                                                   and never
                                                                                  Curiosity

                                                                                         that
                                                                                       killed
                                                                                        the cat

- Vijayalakshmi Harish
   14.01.2013
   Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish

the sideways glance of an evening sun
streams through the curtains .
the crepuscular light  spreads
through my home.  
the gloaming announces -
the harshness of the noon is past.
soon Diana shall reign supreme
bringing with her the restlessness
that graces my dreams
every time awakening to the same
half-formed scream that barely
struggles out of my throat
choking joy on its way out.
once more the same dew will
glisten in my eyes
as the lullaby of relief
cantillates me to repose

tomorrow i resurrect

- Vijayalakshmi Harish
   14.01.2013
   Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish

Nothing could have prepared me for this day.
The day my soul dispersed.
The day when you went away.

Life is now gloomy and gray.
I knew from then on I was cursed.
Nothing could have prepared me for this day,

There was nothing no one could say.
Words just made everything worse.
The day when you went away

My feelings will now decay.
Turning me around in reverse.
Nothing could have prepared me for this day,

That moment just chooses to replay.
The day death got you first.
The day when you went away

Now forever my heart will stray.
Wishing the day you died, it burst.
Nothing could have prepared me for this day,
The day when you went away.

These faultlines we tread:  
of island loves, we dread.
On the crests, lie parked our loyalties:
siblings, friends, parents and loves,
every love, bounded by sadnesses;
Faultlines that carry buried
embers under piles of smoke; and then
once a while, a paper wheel that
was still, revolves in the slow wind -
and embers come alive;
Suddenly unrequited attractions flame
over: O the lure of danger-laden
pathways on these faultlines that
we dread, yet love to tread.

How in dark lights, shadows talk and
could-have-been's and how-nice-
it-would-have-been's play out,
lonely paths, where embers
and shadows flutter in the winds, we
walk on. The fair wears out,
the gathering disperses, and
this deja vu cabin flashes
out exactly like those years ago and
hope emerges out into the
renewing fair, with the crest,
in that undivided year
when the sea hadn't reduced this mass
of our loves to these island bits
with these faultlines that we
dread, yet, love to tread