the world’s got a habit
of chewing you up,
spitting you out
like a bad cigarette.
it doesn’t care
how many dreams you’ve got,
how many scars
you’ve earned.

people will smile at you,
talk about hope
like it’s something you can hold in your hands,
but they never mention
how it slips through your fingers
like sand
and disappears
before you can even grab it.

they tell you
there’s always a way out—
but you know better,
don’t you?
the exits are all locked
and the keys
are hidden in places
nobody bothers to look.

so you drink,
you smoke,
you **** up again and again,
and maybe you smile,
but it’s a lie,
a desperate lie,
just like everything else
they told you.

the truth?
the truth is,
no one’s coming to save you,
no one’s going to rewrite the rules,
no one’s going to put you back together
after you break.

you’ll just keep going,
because what else is there?
and the world will keep spinning,
chewing,
spitting,
until you’re nothing
but dust in its mouth.

With recent times I have learnt,
Happiness is momentary.
But does that make it temporary?
Is it just an exaggerated feeling,
That pulls you down and pushes you up
Over and over,
Jumping on and off the railing?

Or is it something divine?
What is happiness?
Can anyone define?
Only the smile on a face can make it revive—
Or could it be something else?
Why is it so hard to understand,
Storming my head to make a stand?
I just want to store happiness,
Like coke in a can.

the clock ticks louder here.
her pen scratches the paper,
like she’s carving me
into little notes.

she looks at me too long,
her eyes heavy,
like they’re waiting
for me to spill something
I can’t even hold.

I stare at the windows instead,
watch a bird flutter past,
and wish I could go with it.

„How does that make you feel?“
she asks.
I want to say,
„like I’m drowning in a room
with no doors.“
but I just shrug,
pick at my sleeve,
and let the silence win.

she says we’re making progress.
I nod.

but the only thing I leave behind
is the shape of my body
on the chair.

तन समर्पण,
मन समर्पण,
धन समर्पण,
सर्वस्व समर्पण,
वह भी  
अहंकार को
पालित पोषित करने के निमित्त
फिर कैसे रहेगा शांत चित्त ?
आप करेंगे क्या कभी
अंधाधुंध अंध श्रद्धा को
समर्पित होने का समर्थन ?
समर्पण
होना ‌चाहिए , वह भी
जीवन में गुणवत्ता बढ़ाने के निमित्त।
जिससे सधे
सभी के पुरुषार्थी बनने से
जुड़े सर्वस्व
समर्पण के हित।

अहम् को समर्पण
अहंकार बढ़ाता है ,
क्यों नहीं मानस अपने को
पूर्ण रूपेण जीवन की गरिमा के लिए
समर्पित कर पाता है ?
वह अपने को बिखराव की राह पर
क्यों ले जाना चाहता है ?
वह अपने स्व पर नियंत्रण
क्यों नहीं रख पाता है ?
आजकल  ऐसे यक्ष प्रश्नों से
आज का आदमी
क्यों  जूझना नहीं चाहता है ?
वह स्वार्थ से ऊपर उठकर
क्यों नहीं आत्मविकास के
पथ को अपनाता है ?
१४/१२/२०२४.

इन दिनों
चुप हूं।
जुबान अपना कर्म
भूल गई है।
उसको
नानाविध व्यंजन खाने ,
और खाकर चटखारे लगाने की
लग गई है लत!
फलत:
बद  से बद्तर
होती चली गई है हालत !!

इन दिनों
जुबान दिन रात
भूखी रहती है।
वह सोती है तो
भोजन के सपने देखती है ,
भजन को गई है भूल।

पता नहीं ,
कब चुभेगा उसे कोई शूल ?
कि वह लौटे, ढूंढ़ने अपना मूल।

इन दिनों
चुप हूं ।
चूंकि जुबान के हाथों
बिक चुका हूं ,
इसलिए
भीतर तक गूंगा हूं ।

०६/०३/२००८.

54

If I should die,
And you should live—
And time should gurgle on—
And morn should beam—
And noon should burn—
As it has usual done—
If Birds should build as early
And Bees as bustling go—
One might depart at option
From enterprise below!
’Tis sweet to know that stocks will stand
When we with Daisies lie—
That Commerce will continue—
And Trades as briskly fly—
It makes the parting tranquil
And keeps the soul serene—
That gentlemen so sprightly
Conduct the pleasing scene!