The day is action
the night, the contemplation -

in the light
thoughts are occupied

in the dark
emotions on their journey embark

another world surfaces
in the subconscious

silent is reason
awake is the wild imagination-

self enters the twilight zone
it feels no longer its own

images are strange
in colours and sizes they change-

voices drift in the air
they come from nowhere-

a rainbow at night?
dark is the moon with no light-

the night thickens
every hour threatens -

the dark has spoken
every sanity has been stolen

Advanced in age
but I don't languish
upon each day
me does the sun greet

the flowers
in the green field
are beckoning
joyful I feel

look at the kids
in their innocent laughter
as they walk to school
in such happiness they gather-

am I really old?
Often I can't tell
my robustness I still keep
I live so youthfully well

Be gentle and generous to everyone
don't offend or stay in the way of anyone

Myself I don't blame
coerce, coax, force
nor feel any shame:
life is doing and experimenting
that makes for meaning

how often I've failed
but have walked away never
my own rainbow I carve in the sky
I've never ceased in my endeavour-

the world is wild and self-centred
everyone has their own agenda
to my duty and task I quietly attend
from a remote unknown quarter-

I'm my haven and my sanctity
without any glamour or clamour
time passes by my life but I'm not even aware
my path I chart beyond which I don't bother

Because I've no need
       in my self-sufficiency
       nothing do I hanker after:
      I'm totally free-

     the plight of the billionaire
     comes immediately to my mind
     he's far from being satisfied
     no peace could he find-

    a tiny cottage by the river-side
    the cleanest air I breathe
    with Mother Nature I converse
   she has such valuable lessons to teach

   in time I patiently abide
   waiting for the harvesting of my field
   watching the smiles of my kids and my wife's
   the greatest joy does this abundantly yield

Let not ever yourself
         be that of someone's else
        this would calamitously be
        your total self-betrayal  

       you'd surely only be
      a bud-graft of another
      an unattractive carbon-copy
      and court the world's sinister laughter!

Remove your mask
    you can no longer hide
    the more yourself you shield
    the more grievous will be your plight-

   isn't nature at her greatest
   in her total nakedness?
  Does it need lipsticks
  of her beauty to convince us?

  What does your mirror say
  when it sees you with your mask?
  You can't hear what it whispers
  its words are:  You i don't ever trust!"

The song you'll sing tomorrow
   will be much better than that of today
   your feelings and technique have been refined
   nothing will obstruct you on the way-

   as love is,  it should stronger grow
   the heart has been made more pure
   all around is splendour and glow
   love has never been so effulgent and sure

Everyone uses the term
'madly in love'
I'm yet to hear someone say:
' sanely in love'

Life:
     words and sounds
     those of ours
     others'
     punctuated
     by silence
     (even awkwardness-
     in our uncertainty
    and doubts)

     weren't it be better
      if we speak less
      contemplate
      more---avoid
     the lacuna
     that sours
     our relationship
     with others

    words Wittgenstein
    disputed and never did trust
    they were riddles--he regarded
    as soon as they were uttered,

    how wise is Zen and Taoism
    which doesn't seek to acquire
    enquire, label or grasp
    in holding to emptiness
    and voicelessness
    the truth emerges
    as naturally as the grass.

Because we languish
  in time--we've hardly lived
bearing the weight of living
often in moaning and grief

for the right words we struggle
in vain our very angst to relieve
in vagueness we know other people
life is the perennial lacuna-- not a gift

If you should-
know me only superficially-
if you were to know me fully
you'd see the really ugly side of me!

Hold everything lightly
then the letting so
doesn't hurt at all
and is very easy

If only
if only you've said
or in any way
articulated
I'd have known
the truth:
the state
of your true feelings
and would have
rightly responded

up to now
I've not understood
why you held back
was it doubt
or your fear of love?

The years have spoken
so many springs have fled
so long I've waited
my every hope has faded
all has been lost
everything is too late!

Once upon a time
we were young
and together one

time has changed us
we no longer are as before
our innocence
has all been lost

our once radiant look
is now fraught with wrinkles
our laughter has lost its shine
our words are no longer spontaneous
we fabricate them all the while
our true feelings to hide

we're afraid so very afraid
of looking at each other in the eye
it's worse than the most remote strangers'
all that we exude is a bundle of lies

I've to go
the reason
you do well know
my lingering here
will only cause you
more sorrow

neither of us
will bend
we're too much
of our own
and have
to be each
left alone

our freedom
we'd not let of
there's a bridge
we can't together cross
even if we try
our utmost

what couldn't be
had been long cast
in the mould of fate
it's as though
our love
has come too late
in time
and shall never be
but the tragedy is
I've once loved you
as you've equally loved me

Live spontaneously
never obsessively

It's not a matter of will
the heart has the final say
ah!  love is the utmost mystery
it does insist on its way-

other things of life can be compromised
but not the obstinacy and fire of love
it has such passion and obsessive eyes
only its own interest does it singularly serve

Humility
is the greatest victory :
the self-conquered
has nothing to dread
steel can't pierce at all
its impregnable wall
grounded and steadfast
every glory it will surpass

Smart people
    there are too many
    not all achieved their goals-
    they lacked curiosity -

    how they did bask
   in their past each victory
   resting too long on their laurel
   they faded away in complacency

It's hard
      to let go
     the past
     it lingers
     and refuses
     to part-

     its say
    it has not completed
    it's at your heel
    you can't escape
    its tenacious grasp

    once long ago
    you thought
    with it you had done
    you couldn't succeed
   it was too obstinate
  and left you helpless

  the cure is to allow it
to coerce and shout
to it be indifferent
don't react or respond-
it will wear itself out

like the passing
of time
it will lose its sting
and you'll be free
at last!

I write
happily I write
never afraid
of being rejected
even if so
I'll still move forward-
to withdraw
is to be defeated

herein is my life
in words crystallised
within them
I live and die-
a million worlds
I explore and visit
and will never tire-

at this hour of light
there's so much
my creativity to inspire
all else I'll set aside
to love, to feel
to breathe freely
to embrace beauty
to passionately write!

I wish
I had known
it was then
brain-fog
just for a moment
the opportunity
was lost

the right words
I failed to speak
(she was waiting
in such great expectation
with her I lost eye-contact

then she said:
'The wind
is brewing strong
I must leave
in case it were
to break
into a storm'
( a quick glimpse
of her I took
in her eyes
there was a tiny teardrop)-

evening was setting in
into the fading light
she walked
I couldn't find
the words to say-
my heart grievously broke!

By then
the wonder
would have
come to an end

time has spoken

the rose
greeted you
you ignored
soon enough
it was dead

love wooed you
you turned away
giving the excuse
you weren't ready
(as though you heart
had been stitched)
it wept and visited
never again

by now
the sun has set
the daylight waited
but you were wrapped
within yourself
(in rumination)
sad, how really sad!

Alone
forlorn
you're left
to the darkness
and know
no rest

If you truly loved me
     those words you wouldn't have said
     now I've come to realise the truth --
     our relationship has been a mistake-

     no more need I respond
     we'll part for each other's sake
     against you I'll hold no acrimony
     in our new-found freedom we'll celebrate

It's necessary-
this my solitude:
weary is the world
in its repetition
monotony, cliches
its clamour and moan
the self-gratification-

no,  I don't ever aim
to change what is
only to retreat
to reconstruct
my inner self
to feel I'm no slave
to inane convention
and sterile tradition-

to be alone
not ever forlorn
only to recapture the essence
of being alive
true to myself
with the intention
to emerge
in transcendence
in truest freedom

not looking back
in this self-created renaissance

I write
   but no opinion
  do I force
  on the reader:
  I'm no authority
  only the author
  and no doubt
  many would consider
  me just a person
like every other-
( happily I accept
  this nomenclature)

in a better scenario
a few might each be
their own thinker
and regard me
as an experience--sharer -
they would not walk away
nor harsh word mutter
knowing we are each
a life-sojourner

I write and will continue
as a writer
fearless, undaunted
unencumbered
and live in
seamless joy and wonder

That there's no perfection
     is not an excuse for indolence:
     life is about applying one's  utmost talent
     to rise to the highest level of self -transcendence

Love knows no reason
it mysteriously happens
the why and how they don't matter
in the coming-together

Grasp life
     you'll lose it
     let it be
     nothing will you miss:
     that which is forced
     is against spontaneity
     and you can't be free

     the sage doesn't aim
     at acquiring or winning
     he looks inside himself
    for his equanimity
    he lets go every holding
    

     the loosening
     is happy edge-
     the understanding
    lies in non-chasing
    and the laying down
    of forced doing-

    words open themselves
    to disputing
    they are confusing-
    reasoning is the doubting
    the death of meaning

    the sage is still
    calm, unwavering
    in his self-forgetting
    he finds his true being

I choose humility
over victory

Life releases no one
there's no escape
the die is cast
you've to move on
as long as you last-

in its unforgiving whirlpool
struggle and swim your must
no one is around to rescue
only in your self you must trust-

night sets in--there's no light
in the sky---- hope you must grasp
an hour seems like a lifetime
how slowly does it pass-

to be born is to  endlessly struggle
too many aspirations are crushed
not an encouraging does life utter
even when all your dreams have turned to dust

Stop trying
    to understand others
    time you'll be wasting
    all this will only cause your distress-

    this is the course that's deemed best
    seeking to understand your own self
     such insight and clarity will bring you true rest
     and nothing else will you need to delve

We need an Age of Innocence
    civilisation is in moral collapse:
    men are against their fellowmen
    kindness and humanity are at their lowest ebb --

   we the ordinary folk have no say
   all we desire is happiness and peace
   all that's before us is the untold agony
   and tears-- our hopes fall away piece by piece-

   who will save us from the apocalypse ?
   How will mend the hearts in brokenness ?
   Will our prayers be heard and answered?
   When will we return to grace and blessedness?

   We need--urgently- an Age of Innocence
   how we weep over the tragedy before us!
   When will light appear in our direst hour
   of need, to dispel this unbearable darkness?

Those who know
how to be lazy
tend to be more happy:
the art of constructive idleness
is not known to many

He who's empty
  has no fear:
  there's nothing
  to be taken away
  he holds nothing dear-
  
life is illusive
like will-o'-the-wisp
to have dreams
is to be deceived-

he who's empty
doesn't seek to compete
win or achieve
in being nothing
he doesn't lose anything-
unseen, unknown and unnoticed
he retains his life's intrinsic

Self-forgetting is a great virtue
a new world it opens up
spontaneity spawns creativity
full is life's daily cup-

such is the essence of Zen
self-remembering tends to obstruct
innocence loses its purity
all endeavour will miss its mark

Time shall not control
or command me
I don't live for it
I'm independent and free-

my life I carve
patiently and diligently
at my clock I don't look
I stop only when I'm weary-

my own programme
I set meticulously
minutes and hours
that pass, they don't bother me

outside my window I look
the day's light is fading away gently
as evening follows in logical sequence
my work I've done-- tonight I'll sleep soundly.

He is to be measured--man-
   only at his very end
  the beginning and the in-between
  are mere interludes--Amen!

Emptiness knows no limit
        it stretches to the infinite
        it can't be calibrated
        while all that's material can be measured-

       formless and intangible
       its mystery is unfathomable
      mother of nothingness
      yet it holds the entire universe

What does the echo say?
     Why has it chosen you?
     Special you must be
     or it wouldn't have come your way!

    What story does it convey?
    Can you with others share?
    Is it about love and joy
   or loss and dismay?

   What will your future portend?
   Will beauty revisit you once again?
   Has love for you ripened
   and erased all your pain?

   The echo -no doubt then
  has become your close friend
  your confidant and will
  accompany you to the end

West:  Steel yourself

Zen:    Still yourself

Let me
be the last
I'll be  patient
in timeliness
I trust-

gentleness
my hand it grasps
and whispers:
'Why rush?
The dawn
is not yet
the rose
hasn't risen
from the dewy grass
in slumber
still is the thrush

silent is the river
calm is its water
no boatman seen
all nature is serene
time is hushed-

are you in love?
She will appear
you should wait
trust her, you must!'

( It's as though
  I've wakened
  from a dream
  so long past)

I know
and feel sure
  I'll be blessed
though being last-
in oneness with time
in feeling its every pulse
my life will be in joy
abundantly cast.

It's not possible
    to please everyone
    even if you try your utmost
    would it serve any purpose?

    To serve the will of others
    is not incumbent on us-
    I'll live independently
   and just mind my own business

Let me not pray for my welfare but for the benefit of all others.

Let me not ask for plenitude but only what I need.

Let me bear my joy lightly and my sorrow , gently.

Let me live in contentment and never in envy or jealousy.

In my strength, let me help the weak.

In my weakness, let me be humble to seek the
help of the strong.

Let every word from my mouth be said in truth.

Even in my poverty,  let me have the generosity to give.

Let me be silent in my success and grant me the humility to accept my failure.

Let me not seek knowledge for my sake but for the benefit of serving others.

Let me not bow to the behest of the rich or the mighty but to retain my dignity.

Let me be in the company of the poor, the starving, the bereft and neglected, the sad and hopeless, the sick, the lonely, the forgotten and marginalised, and the homeless --to offer whatever help  and comfort I can, to give my time freely and also to render the dignity they deserve.

Grant me grace in my darkest hour and strengthen me in my utmost desperation.

As I have been given the gift of life, I am grateful and blessed-
let me accept my death gracefully and in equanimity.

I do lie--
when it doesn't hurt and benefits the party/parties concerned

West: Think big!

Zen and Taoism: from overthinking-- retreat!

Love is not enough:
the table must always have food
or it will surely fade and starve
and be deprived of every amorous mood-

how deceptive are the romantic poets
who write: 'love will forever last!'
and immortalise fairy-tales-
such high-flown words we can't trust!

Where's the money to buy
a home?  The kids are growing fast
school-fees these days sky-rocket
daily living is grim and tough-

love for sure is not enough
let young couples beware
carefully plan your budget
or your marriage would go nowhere!

Lying is essential for survival

though seldom--I'm a liar!

The very idea
of being old
is comforting
time for renouncing-
nothing weighty
anymore to hold-

past stories
have been told
now is reminiscing

never mind
mistakes I made
every cause
I still have to celebrate

no stream is pure
some debris there is
in the water's flow

who dares say
old age is toothless?
That's awful *******!

jeans I don't wear
no Elvis's haircut
do I choose or prefer

didn't you see me
dancing on the stage?
Didn't you hear me
singing a serenade
to a pretty maid?

Youth might frown on
and make fun
of my baldness
but it's my pride
and I don't complain
of my slow gait
my brain is agile
and my thinking
is gloriously bright!

No mirror
do I look into
unlike youth's error

a little child
walks by and asks:
Sir,  how old are you?

This- my immediate answer:
I was young like you -before!