little bird up on high
out of me tease a sigh
and thrill me till i'm prone
flap your graceful wings
and rise into the blue
little bird heaven-bound
sing your catchy song
but dear please I pray
don't make it too sad
lest the sky weeps
in deep melancholy
and my eyes in reverie
sympathetic, soak the world
with a flood of sad tears

Sick people sit sickly
on oaken benches
in a clinic with clean floors
and modern gadgets
for vetting clients
Little boy of three or four
bawls an unusual request:
he screams for an injection
where he's softest
and for the briefest of moments
Sick people suspend their agony
forget their fear and pain
and marvel at the boy's craving
for a needle that is terror
to most toddlers

There were times when the fine film of thin dust
on the gloss of well-polished genuine leather shoes
spoke of long winding roads that led to a deep moment
frozen by the breath of new seasons on the brows of hills
and etched in spray paint on the skies of our yearnings

The long winding routes along windswept terrain
How they frustrated the wild dreams of youth!
Dreams of a surfeit of everything and a dearth of want
These roads we travelled believing we were not alone
are the archives of our extinguished hopes and dead dreams

We live in continual prayer that opportune moments
will once again come before us on some blessed day soon
and are certain that this time victory is ours to take
Our moments of elevation are well and truly nigh
They wait to be set in motion by the winds in the wishes

in this belated realization that it's a raw and cynical age
we search diligently in the rubble for relevance
just as we look where we shouldn't for excellence
and bemused by it all we find that we're in a cage

again and again we lap against the shores
of our sleepfulness as we do our chores
and hope for the echo that tells us move
even if there's no treasure trove promised

at the end of a dream we start another
at the start of another dream there's no bother
about detail or assurance it will happen this next time
it is in the nature of life to keep hoping and struggling

so now that times move quickly towards resolution
and now that contradictions dissolve in revolution
i hear the chiming of a distant bell in the far distance
it bids me move resolutely to my perpetual perch

where i shall crane my neck for metaphorical gold nuggets
So my wild adventurous friend and fellow traveller
let us be off then and be doing and let us truly be deserving
of the adoration and adulation that comes with being a winner

in victories that taste like ash because you begin to wonder
what it was all about and just who it was stole your thunder
it is a perpertual puzzle how everything only lasts a moment
and how we can't quite recall it all even though we would

look me in the eye
and make me high
with a passionate sigh
that's like a sublime musical note
and I shall for ever be your vote
in the annals of lovers' exploits

The ambience gone
The panache is next
And ye of elegance
Would not linger here
Is it the stale water in the vase
or the sweaty shoe gone smelly?
Verily, I say unto you all;
it's none of the above -
Just love gone bad!

some people have it all
and they have it on call
to summon as they will
i only when there's a lull
in the bouts of slow-paced fortune
that haunt my every little move
i see you've changed your car again
since you came back from Dubai
you travel everywhere business class
and your collection of sunglasses is amazing
you want a suntan when you have a natural one
you pout your lips and roll your red tongue
you ogle men with those big deep eyes
where they read the fate of their fancies
i see that you've become a fashion guru
with low-cut outfits and cups running over
young people everywhere swear by your name
and i look on and wonder where i know you from

1 -
a therapeutic calm wafted across the valley
and a wispy mist in blue filled the still air
i stood transfixed on the tense river bank
seeing and not believing this magical sight
that on my mind weren't ever a blight

                               - 2 -
a frog with a bobbing throat leapt into the water
and sent a ripple that crept up the serene pond
till in time it reached the floater of my line
whereupon i felt a grip upon my timid heart
and a fish bigger than in stories broke the surface

                              - 3-
in that mystical moment the scales fell from my eyes
and i beheld a sight most wondrously mesmerizing
for there upon a delicate water lily in ballerina pose
was a maid with a beauty that no artist could conceive
in a soon forgotten sluggish million years or more

                           - 4 -
her eyes were like twinkling stars recently escaped
from the whirling depths of a cosmic wormhole
her nose was like a bridge to whimsical fantasy
and she beckoned to me with ever-increasing urgency
till i felt my will melt before her seductive wiles

                           - 5 -
then the voice of my mother called me from the edge
and the sleep induced by the moment began to dissipate
the maid began a dance like one for her nuptials
and the sound of distant drums bore into my soul
in faint echoes that were forever sinking into endless time

                            - 6 -
as in a surrealistic dream before the break of another day
the frog leapt out of the pond and onto the grassy bank
from the lily, like a fancy, the dancing maid disappeared
and there was neither mist nor breeze as i stood there
alone again with my fishing line and my baffled thoughts

we never really forget the pain
since our hearts carry the stain
etched there by wanton partners
driven by unbridled debauchery
and a wild sense of adventure
so we never really forget the ills
and we never forgive the sins
of our lovers in a thousand years
so let your unseeing eyes weep
and your foolish heart bleed
till the bare truth is wrung out
of the chronicles of your malice
and i have the lovely satisfaction
of seeing you squirm unforgiven
as it dawns on your indolent mind
that you can never make amends

the lean boy with hungry eyes
kept his eyes glued on my pack
like a beggar hoping for a bowl of rice
and i who had more than i could ever want
            gave him my snack pack
            and watched him eat
just slices of bread with butter and marmalade
and he ate his meal like one fit for a king
                       with respect
                          finesse
                      a­nd ardour
in that fleeting moment i knew for sure
   that a man at table is a king indeed

In that moment for mementos
When everything will stand still
We shall remember sentimental tokens
Of promises made in the heat of an embrace
And feel that we let slip drafts of elevated joy

By forty you’d be rich and famous
              So you said
By fifty you’d be a revered opinion maker
With princes and the rich queuing for your ideas
              So you said
By sixty you’d be a modern but erudite oracle
Dispensing flakes of stunning wisdom to all
              So you said
By eighty you’d be a rare phenomenon
Physically strong and mentally sharp beyond belief
              So you said
But who’s this tattered old person in rimless glasses
Begging the indulgence of amused passers-by
And selling rusty memories at two for a dollar?

she cared so little
and he cared so much
he loved her to distraction
though she wouldn't have cared less
were he to drown in a mirage

that feeling again
i'm on top of the world
  and there are no stains
      on my conscience
  i'm the idea that was to come
    the mother of all miracles
    and women's darling boy
       how they all want to cuddle!
that tangy taste in my mouth again
                   life is kicking
and everything has a taste
right now there's spice in my life
                    i'm a jetsetter
             and a party favourite
          my finances are sound
my associates are impeccable
       and i move in powerful circles
i have the pope's private number
and i am a force on wall street
             life is jumping
              not limping
              oh the jolt!
  i wake up and all i see is the mist
       of my dissipated dream
    as it vanishes into thin air
     and i'm groping again
    life, thou art a ***** still!

Fresh as a hot bun out of the oven
Buoyed by the glee of a bubble bath
Dying to put the best foot forward
Warm tongue of the sun on my nape
I saunter to greet my fate of the day

See how the jealous clouds frown
As they creep in like a jittery thief
Hear the twitter of soft, sad bird song
They know for certain, sultry winter's in
And we must soon be shaking cold

The sons of man are frantic I tell you
Day gone is another chance lost for good
When will they make their mark in life?
Sweeter halves are disillusioned now
They've lived too long on dreams and fantasy

Moon above as daily you court that wily old sun
Teach us the art of relentless patience and labour
Show us how grim persistence matters most
How reward, elusive as ever, comes one sweet day
Though hope diminishes day by day each day

this day has to be the day
when i finally  have my say
in the scheme of things;
it's all up to us earthly beings
                    i say
to love and savour what life gives
from its veritable bounty
today is my day of harvest
and i gather into my memory bank
the swishing of the wind
the whisper of the breeze
the lulling bird songs, so reminiscent
of the first morning on creation
the sound of the coming storm
that never ends
and the echo of the wisdom of the ages
that says make your foundation strong
today i cup the palms of my heart
to receive the showers of cosmic blessings
it's been a long hard road
but i never walked it alone
there was always another searching soul
so though today is my day of harvest
i still wonder how i deserved it

you have always been there for me
smiling your warm wonderful smiles
seeing the good in me  when i couldn't
for that and more, my friends, i thank you

your deep belief in me was legendary
and if truth be told, it was amazing
you hung onto my every single word
for that and more, my friends, i thank you

my dreams were always your dreams too
and you were never ever in any doubt
that one day the artist in me would shine
for that and more, my friends, i thank you

these many years later with many of us gone
some of you think i can, even now, still make it
your faith in me is really and truly amazing
for that and more, my friends, i thank you

day in and day out i cry before life and fortune
i beseech those who dispense these things
to please just give me a break before it's too late
but for everything, my friends, i thank you

i'm writing this one big book for us all
a book to justify all the waiting and all the faith
a book to make other books pale into oblivion
and for keeping the dream alive, my friends, i thank you

With eyes bled red by oozing tears
His sallow all-pleading visage wan
Weeps my grandson at the dentist's
Convinced the man is a dealer in pain
The little boy inside of me weeps too
What can I do, what must be must be
Each boy must find out for himself

it was for me a glum and dark world
until I discovered the perfect antidote
deep raucous laughter from the heart
the creases on my face disappeared
and I was soft and smooth like a baby
when they took me off the mad island
I could laugh a fine sophisticated laugh
or do a coarse sarcastic cackle that jarred
against the aesthetic ring of affluence
so richly abundant in those emulating glee
they didn't know that i had stumbled upon
laughter when I needed something to do
In a world defined by magnificent loitering

it's never really that important
what you amass while you live
unless it's love and goodwill
enough to give you a ***** thrill
brought on by your urge to give
therein lies the mystic mix and fix
for to give freely is to get blessed
and see your muddles melt away

A sweet rainbow in dreamy colours
Materializes from the whispering pool like magic
And in that storybook moment
Our fingers are entwined by hearts in torment
As they seek that elusive fusion of wish-mania
We seek each other in the  blue haze
Of a morning that'd have us melt into this phase
With the shy sun in our eyes
I see yellow gardenias in a field of fragrant glory
And in the setting sun
I see a tropical angel poised for her transition

so tantalizing
the whiffs from the kitchen
an omelette of freshly-laid eggs
home-grown onions and tomatoes
and a touch of spice to thrill my tongue
as i chew the goodness of the mushrooms
so enriching
jazz as a soundtrack for the first meal of the day
cooked over an open wood fire after sunrise
the blue sky is a huge canvas
on which the rising smoke etches multiple shapes
that dance and dissipate as a whispering breeze passes by
here our sweat is the appetizer for the natural goodness
of the rich and abundant foods in our organic garden

her shredded heart hot with shameless tears
she felt him close the door to her dreams
              and it was night at noon
she watched him go rucksack on shoulder
blending with the sunset like a Hollywood hero
              and time wept with her
her thoughts screamed his name heplessly
but modesty told her she knew better
             and night crept into her soul
a little voice sailing the evening breeze
said a girl must always have something to hold back
             till a bountiful morning came
but she knew he was gone for good without any doubt
and there she was once again bowed like a weeping willow
             and tears welled in her eyes

when your child starts speaking like a sage
you're no longer in a fast prisoner's cage
your deed's done; you can be frivolous once again
and spend time on the useless things that tickle you

the tree tops are mourning
        no more monkeys
the breeze whispers a dirge
       no more monkeys
simpson street has gone concrete
and the trees are silently dying
        no more air-borne swings and leaps
they've dug up the hill and modernized it
pretentious mansions spell monkey doom
we weep to see the primates gone!

there are no moments of distraction
when love wanes like sickly flowers in a vase
       pining is an alien preoccupation
when love has lapped your shores and ebbed
    you sleep dead like a drunken old *****
snoring the nightmares away on a bed of stone
sighs, whispers and sweet-nothings are mirages
when love won't stay for coconut juice and pulp
you don't conjure up sublime verse anymore
  after reticent love has fled your sandy shores
you don't dream up fantastic schemes anymore
    when love proves to have been a bad idea
and you were always going to be the one hurt

smog
has assailed tropical havens
nostalgic weeping

The water was quiet and unruffled:
Though intemperate winds blew on it
Ne’er once did it ever really stir
And we got so used to its pervasive presence

In line with global trends everywhere
We took notice only when loud waters bubbled
       Like wayward children we scoffed
       When delectable words of wisdom
Wafted like therapeutic mist out of Wisdom Well

But now that the well is empty and dry
Our deprivation begins in earnest
And soon, very soon, nostalgia will whip us
One and all till we learn the bitter lesson:

That second chances belong to storybooks only;
Now that this veritable repository of true wisdom
Is in other dimensions our dilemma cries out
Who amongst us shall quench our thirst
Now that the water in the well has dried

Of all known phenomena
Birth is the most wondrous
And the most miraculous
In the assortment of life’s stunners
So you always are a miracle
One readily celebrated each year
As the sparkle of your smile
Dazzles the world
Like sunshine after a dark tunnel
And the fire in your eyes is a smelter
To melt iced hearts and smelt rock faces
So dance maestro dance
And never once forget the choreography
Of the poetry in your fervent heart
Where hopes and dreams are a lovely duet
Happy birthday mover of the spirit
You who creates joy in moments of magic
When configurations of rainbow futures coax your heart
To beat intricate rhythms from life’s score sheet
Happy birthday to you, child from eternal vistas
Let your dreams carry you forward to fruition
Till life is oozing and dripping with honeyed dew
And each early morning walk is capped with shower bliss
And that promise of tomorrow and the day after the feat
Of never giving up on the business of living, no matter what
Happy birthday  to you; you of stardust and moon glow

the fine essence of her ethereal being
oft times floated and wafted into the air
then would the music in her truly ring
with the poise and peace making it so fair
to hanker after the lasting and lusting hues
of the demented pleasures of abandonment
thus did i feel the dent from her covert teasing
she was soft and mellifluous like richest cream
and her walk was like a choreography to the hidden notes
of a musical profusion of poignant melodies and a rich pulse
deep in my lulled consciousness i knew for certain
she was the source of my beckoning dreams in technicolour
the sin that i didn't commit lest her purity  be forever soiled
she was the sweet walker in whom nestled my wildest fancies

creepy night river awake like a fever
as fireflies glow in furtive morse code
the eerie evening commands silence
in the hollow empty spaces yielded
in sonorous silences by a yawning dearth
of everything that's sacred, pure and sweet
once there was raw laughter and joy here
and weavers wove rich tales of fat worms
for their pampered nestlings afloat on air
once there was life and presence here
but now small spaces abound in this vast absence
of sunshine smiles and catwalk swinging
now it's plovers, owls and night jars galore
as their apocalyptic cries smite the night
like a plague in New Canaan where glory
is never too far away from the surface gloss
of a loveliness kidnapped by the salacious gods
of lewd desires and morbid libidos alive in tales
that are forever testifying to the loud presence
of envious divinities on a free ride upon our egos
everything is gone now but the thunderous silence
and the smiles that lit up our days are now but a memory
of wan looks and faded joys clad in the hollow feelings of pain
and that's all that ever remains when our futile antics are done

gingerly on the knife-point of a problem
my inflated ego slowly was punctured
i heard the hiss of its demystification
in that constricted moment of revelation
a moment that enthused about the demise
of my avid hallucination now laid bare
salvation, the voice of naked truths chanted
is neither in the fig leaves nor in bashfulness
and the humming monotone of desperation
is a boost to candid inactivity and stillness
it is in such big-bore moments that we of
puerile yearnings recognize our childishness
a voice told me to stop tempting fate forthwith
for in truth i was a child with a dangerous toy
and only pampered tutors could stay the course

big red sinking sun
hangs low, and the
horizon is a canvas;
that silhouettes
dance eerily on
for night is coming
and the yellow moon
has a cold numb glow
the leaves whisper
a swishing melody
dreading the touch
of a cheerless moon
that paradoxically
makes  the girls swoon
on this nightmarish evening
wolf whistles slice the silence
with a sick aching desire
atop mythical wings
speak softly and hold me close
strange things can happen
on nights such as these

The moon makes you cold
but therein lies its remote wonder
You soon become a devotee
trapped in the grip of its allure
and wondering how it is
that this oft silvery orb
is at once so cold and yet so warm
it leaves many a lover
moonstruck and abstracted
On a leafy night like tonight,
with a tropical moon up on high
dancing phantoms peep through
the gaps in the palm fronds
and the moon woos them
with its promise of worlds unknown
She looks at me face up-tilted, and
eyes consumed with heart-fresh passion
I have a foreboding feeling,
and a fearful certainty of loss
for time the unyielding enigma
promises  you everything
but seldom delivers
what you ordered
in the heat of the moment
Tonight the shadows are dancing
the dance of silhouettes,
ethereal yet as real as the moon that shines
and the stars that beckon
I am a wandering disciple of life's mysteries
recruited on leafy nights such as this one is,
and I'm tied to you  by  an unebbing desire
to plant an idea on your tempting lips
and hear you dispense what my fate is
in this so changed world of our time

A coy celluloid look
From under false eyelashes
Borrowed from a third-rate movie
A dry grin on the green
Just the way it was on the screen
These are the things you can learn online
And catch a big one any day
Thereafter it's a pizza in dim light
With digital music completing the rout
Soon it's cuddling time and your fate
Is sealed in a move replete with hollowness

this is where it was always leading
this parting of the ways, this fleeing
from the sore shots of life's arrows
it was always coming, this pulling
asunder in the glow of a last twilight
so fare thee well my friend and foe
you who slew my hopes and dreams
and made sure there were no streams
to cool my burning soul and quench
this horrible thirst that still persists
i hunger for the warmth you exuded
and thirst for that temperate streak in you,
a virtue now so rare and dear in this world
most are well-schooled in shameless artifice
so here now i sit in this elevated oblivion
watching you melt into the unkind distance
fare thee well, my spring and my nemesis
i shall in time learn to want nothing gone