THE INDIAN POETS COLLECTIVE

Mar 2014

Vijayalakshmi Harish

Potent

the clouds bloom
like mysterious flowers
seeming  to survive by soaking up
the tears of the waiting multitude.
they churn the wind
causing it to blow through
my every cell
filtering through my every pore
as i abandon any hope
of maintaining some adult-like dignity
the puddles call
the rain falls
and i let myself go

- Vijayalakshmi Harish
   10.07.2013
   Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish

Mar 2014

Kuzhur Wilson

Map

while drawing the map of India
I know of a kid who was
worried as to where was Kuzhoor

a sketch job that took just five minutes
to score three marks
misled him many a time

between the question paper and the answer sheet
he
searched for his canal, bunds and fields

here’s Varkey chettan’s tea stall
there’s the butcher shop
here cricket is played
Subramonnian temple there
Kundoor river bank here
the friends wait here
Preethi turns into the alley here
like that he marked

even after the warning bell
India wouldn't be drawn in full

Kashmir not marked at all

Translation : Rajasree

(Map, Book-e-2003)

Mar 2014

ajit peter

HEROES

Not by the autographs they sign
not by the clothes worn fine
yet to them with deeds divine
true are these heroes as distant star shine
…
young be a boy helping a blind man
old be a lady lending water in a can
smart be a nurse cleaning a bed pan
even a dog for its dying master ran

rude maybe a teacher yet for the poor a fees he give
hard might be a butcher yet a meat free for poor to live
cruel can be a soilder yet blood he doth give
a hunter even adopts animal kids to live

not by the image heroes they are
not by courage heroes they are
yet by acts of love none see
heroes of time tough little their deeds be

to all those unseen heroes

Mar 2014

Ghazal

Yes I ****

What you do best-
Feel love with the deepest intensity
What I do best-
*Keep jolting you back to my reality

Mar 2014

Meenu Syriac

Hidden

You tried to hide all this while
Blew out your own light.
You fought to hide
What you really are,
Ravished being hidden behind.
Never spoke a word
Or even lift a hand.
Still a placid face
Through all emotional dues.
What was it that you lost?
That's made you so cold.
I don't even know
If you're here anymore.
You wage a lonely war,
Am I crazy to want a part of it?
Your world is slowly sinking,
Can I be the one to lift you up to the sky?

Mar 2014

The Flipped Word

Dear Silence

Oh Dear Silence, who do you conceal?
Is someone there, or to a shadow I speak
I call out once and then restrain, a tiring act
Is someone there or not? Are you there for a fact
Sometimes, you respond, depends on your blues
Me? I'm just happy to get an answer from you
It leaves my stingy, this emotional hide-and-seek
For once and for all will you truly speak
Happiness on one, doubt on the other hand
Emotions so extreme, for once something bland
Would actually suffice, would be okay
Just tell me this once, Are You Going To Stay?

Mar 2014

Amit Bajracharya

Paper Boat

That paper was still me,
Today, I found i m still the same
I still hate rain
I still make paper boats.

Stupid rainfall of march
Stupid me, not carrying raincoat
But that paper was with me
I still love making paper boats

I m still the same, who don’t go restaurant alone
I m still the same, I love standing alone
But that paper was with me
I still love making paper boats

The rain stop! Finally i can go
I still love doing Ha..a: to feel the fogs and act as if i m smoking
I didnt throw the paper boat, i m still carrying it
That paper boat is still with me,

That paper,
That paper(the bill) of a coffee, I had yesterday.
I m still the same.

Mar 16, 2012

Mar 2014

amrutha

Your love is a cursed gift.

Once you know what heaven feels like,
It simply becomes the hardest thing
to survive between four walls
to survive among people
and eventually
die.

Mar 2014

Mehar Bawa

Cause of her fear.

She was sitting by the window and looking out.
Dark thoughts haunted her but never came out her mouth.
Instead they rolled down her cheek like pearls
She could see the future of her life in curls.

The world called her stupid and nobody saw her talent.
When she decided to speak they told her to be silent.
She wanted to spread her wings and fly
But every time she tried,they made her cry.

She often asked herself,does she live or just survive?
Why did she need anyone to tell her she was alive?
She hid her sadness behind that smile.
In the end she wrote 'I quit' on that tile.

She was beautiful both inside out
When the world told her to be silent she should have made a shout
She feared the world,not death
Don't give up just yet,take one last breath?

Nobody remembered her nobody wished to see her again.
They said 'life goes on,why be in pain?'
The world was cruel,the world is cruel.
Or maybe they're just all fools.

Mar 2014

Pradip Chattopadhyay

Pause

Our pause is momentary.

What for we pause is eternal.

came to mind after reading the poem Lost Winter by Mary R Short
http://hellopoetry.com/poem/637980/lost-winter/

Mar 2014

rained-on parade

Eden

I will be like a tree to you
neath whose shade you lie
as the days pull you down
and my branches long for
the pull of your weight-
the only kind I will allow
to pull me down.

Painless is the way
I shed my leaves for you,
die a slow death
all for your love for a golden autumn,
and again I come back to life for you,
because winter is a lonely business.

Your faith in my hold
is strengthened over these glad years,
unbreakable perhaps,
like how my roots are interwoven
into your ribs.

My poetry is eternal for you,
growing each day
and when you cut me open,
the rings will tell you of the years
I bled for you.

I will be a tree to you,
your very own Eden,
and the day I die,
I hope my roots reach out to you
when the time comes for you to
marry into the earth.

Only a vehement storm
can put me down.

I hate myself right now.

Mar 2014

Himanshi

Don’t you miss the point there!

When the crooked morning greets you
don’t you miss the point there!
When the crow chases away the cuckoo
don’t you miss the point there!
When you hair refuse to obey
and your clothes begin to fade
don’t you miss the point there!
When the sun shines too bright
and the moon is out of sight
don’t you miss the point there!
When the chores seem too daunting
and the day feels too lazy
don’t you miss the point there!
When the time runs out of hand
like sand pressed too hard
and the flowers are more thorny than fragrant
don’t you miss the point there!
When that old lady with a hat
gazes at you for too long
and the stray cat refuses to leave your side
don’t you miss the point there!
When the sweetest journeys
become the darkest memories
don’t you miss the point there!
When the kiss lingers a little longer
and the hug doesn't seem tight enough
don’t you miss the point there!
When the hero dies to
bring the end of evil
don’t you miss the point there!

Written at dawn,while thinking about certain events that took place in my life.

Mar 2014

amrutha

Maestro

His words pacify my thoughts
Painting my busy mind an angelic shade of white
Upon me, he cast his spell
Gave me wings, a halo and set me to flight.

He walked up to his Piano with a smile
Within a minute, I could feel chills down my spine
The way he threw his head back
The way his fingers explored those white keys so fine

Lost in a trance, tears run down my eyes
My wish has come true because of him
Instead of crying because I am weak or meek
My tears I have devoted to music, my loyal mate.

How humble, how naive, how passionate
Despite the surrounding drama and his oscar fame
Words, he doesn't use them much
And to his enigmatic freshwater ocean of Music,
I am a happy slave.

To Sir A.R Rahman. His music is the reason I'm alive today. As long as I'm breathing, my heart shall dance to his tunes.