Eating ' Grass', achtung! was a serious business,
if you think I was a vegan gone mad, I wasn't
In one go I devoured his "Tin drum", oh! Oskar!
felt enchanted, loved Grass, looked for more,
finished "Cat and mouse" next, sought further,
then"Crab walk"ed through "Dog years", delighted!
with the wish list in front, I continued to
go for Grass, an eating spree unabated.
Now the hullabaloo over my love for Grass subdued.
who wouldn't see what
Guntar Grass in German,  was doing
to my voracious literary hunger.

Pale moon kept
hiding behind
the thicket of clouds,
being constantly
twisted and turned
by renegade winds

Silence fell
intermittently,
may be after
every defeat
or victory perhaps
depending
on the side,
one could only guess

There were booming
of guns, explosions
sounds of vehicles
rushing to all sides
creating panic.
Pain was the language
cried out aloud,
well understood
At all times
smell of death would spread
like a trail of smoke
from an extinguished wick.
It thickened the darkness
by desperately crying out for light.

"Are we winning or losing?"
a voice in the darkness
in agony whined,
not knowing which way
wind blows
or  when all would
mercifully  end;
that question has
already rendered meaningless
by the reign of dark forces.

Was there a whistle
signifying naught?
a whisper spread
all around like a mantra
"Nada..nada.."

Then came a long silence
nobody seemed to answer
or know what to tell.

I plant trees, then forget; never turn back.
I am not a rooted lover, plunderer or penitent,
just a wayfarer, dissolving cloud, call me a seeker,
still they blame me when the trees doesn't bear fruit!

Staring at his once green patch he stands,
abundantly verdant, made his heart dance
where he should have tilled happily, as he wished
and raised his crops, isn't the life he dreamed?

An abandoned page now, it could have filled
with poetic oozing from the inner spring
when caught between the cross fire unawares
one has to go down and hide under the thickets

His facund red earth  now has hardened like a rock
the rains have abandoned this land for long
still not down,he is  gathering what is left,
wish to infuse his passion in the beauty of words.

Deep down in his psyche a stirr, still he could feel
while waiting for the return of the muse who went
to fetch water to fill her magic pitcher to sustain his crops,
he waits for her to trek back before the winter sun slants

A circus ring this is, don't forget that just because,
the big top isn't there and you aren't in fancy clothes,
trained animals, all have taken human forms,clever disguises,
the ring master frequently changes,one often finds oneself at the
receiving end as someone or the other lashes out, immutable, it is!

Look at her killer smile, the flying trapeze is her favorite act.
The tiger that stands beside the girl is purring for now, but her roar
makes you sleepless day and night,one smells fear in the air.

The audience is silent,no smell of blood wafts, though impatiently
they sniff in the air, without any evil wish,think some animal,
will go berserk and a spectacle unexpected will unfold.
A circus ring is a place unpredictable, the tense moment
every one has predetermined, would be the best,
wait with bated breath,in this tent, life is a mystery , til the end.

Wake up golden light,over the hills,drown me in your
silver shower, an eager surge you are, soak the world in love,
Embrace me breeze, make the leaves chant your magical words,
that heal heart and soul, rejuvenate at such tranquil moments.

In this morning's expectations, I take the avatar of pure love,
waiting  to be expressed, in ways different,I am ready to invent.
Together she and I are a  universe,that knows no bounds of any kind.
This give and take,keeps a cauldron boiling,in the fervor of love,
love wafts as  a scented wind in the air, over the lands and oceans,
Deserts and oases lie scorched thirsting for love's precious footprint,
love that moves mountains, changes deserts in to profusion of flowers,
makes men and women hold hands and exchange hearts for ever.

Mermaid, the moon in my cloudy sky on dark nights,
I treated you like the most precious gift from the Ameer,
in my ****** life, though I  spent just one night with you and fell in love,
I adore you more then my sweetheart of long years,
I remained loyal to you, a dancing girl, more than to my dear wife,
in lonely nights my heart pined for just you, nobody else
I wept bitter tears hoping that you'd somehow hear my sobs,
most hardened stone, your heart was, you never reacted
I heaped praises on you, bought you expensive gifts
lavished perfumes from the most exclusive perfumeries
I waited in the most breathtaking oasis,days on with camels
to take you far and be with you ditching all other loves of my life
my heart on embers, I forgot how respected I was, what was my status,
I became a lowly beggar of your love, in your presence
my eyes lost their glow, got sunken in the cavities making
me look pitiable, my dress was shredded in many places,
my body became emaciated, I made a living only by singing
paeans to women of easy virtue, just to buy as much things
that pleases you,  make you jump up in joy, as soon as you see it.

You drink the best wine, would wear the rarest of lingeries
that peeped out of the muslin dress, I gifted you
still my love, you weren't pleased you looked daggers at me
without any regret, and asked to bring more gold and silver,
it's the life of a slave I happily lived, I know so well
I composed poems on voluptuous mistresses of men of royal linage,
and collected pieces of gold and silver for my labor
with that I made bejeweled  ornaments for your lovely body.
Mermaid, you are a wonder, you walk on two legs,
yet swim in deep waters with others, whom you don't even mention,
I only dream of you and wait endlessly here, all the same contented.

We stilled the ghosts of the past,
after a prolonged dog fight.
Targets obliterated
thanks to our fighter pilots,
with their swords of light
and skillful maneuvers.

Remember it like yesterday,
the phantoms danced
an ecstatic samba,"Let's eat poppy flowers"
the chant rang throughout the dance.
The river of fire, we reached at midnight,
inner light flowed and we wept,
that was a night of silver blasts,
sky lit in brilliant white,
deep silence of the stars froze in to diamonds.

Find me meditate in the thicket of clouds,
we heard winged angels of peace ringing
silver Christmas bells, aloud.
When  the stars winked at me my being came alive
with the boundless light of cosmic pyhrotachics.
*The big dolphin jumped up  braking
the frozen sea mind,
Come now, we'll walk the whole distance smiling.

As he walks blindly, the somnambulist
deep in his subconscious is awareness why it happens;
loveless nights prompts wanderings in darkness
he can't willfully stop this wild goose chase

Hey bright morning sun,
so earnest during monsoon;
on warmth runs the world !

you can
make me weep
with two words:"Love fails".

The whirlwind dance of your love drunk words,
soft whispers in my frenzied dreams,
a palpitating heart, blurred eye sight,
just a mirage, was it? a mere make believe?

I wandered on the beach, brooding and desolate,
waves didn't dance, in anguish crashed against the shore,
melancholy dusk, whimpered in languid wind's voice,
*I winged back, a lone bird, lost the way to its love...

Last drop of water
quivers 'sorry' at the faucet;
it's my turn to fret.

Last drop of water,
Quivers"Sorry"at the faucet,
It's my turn to fret.

Once pristine water bodies, polluted
look heartless in their murky darkness,
chemicals that could alter even genes
are abound in wells, ponds, lakes;
poison in our veins inch forward to hearts.
Don't forget to see what's written on the wall.
Now listen
                    Even fairy tales are twisted to suit
to our sadly warped times!
His mermaid, an underwater teaser,
he met at a coral reef and fell in love with,
has a story we relish much,
view Hollywood her dream destination,
if water world would allow her five winks,
she'd dream of becoming  Anjelina Jolie's body double

rain raged nightlong,
all watery riches splurged,
nature wakes panicked!

Rumbunctious
waves
                 rolling
one over the other
on the white sand bed,
reach for new heights
like insatiable lovers;
from her desolated corner
on the beach front,
a lone woman
watches their fervor
with an undiminishing
fire of desire, in her eyes
but none to stoke or share.

a lilac sends scent,
an orchid, elating winks;
love speaks through us all!

Will, makes the body a fiddle, every string vibrates with music,
life continues to be a bacchanalia, for long, from teens to midlife,
the weakening of pleasure seeking streak, brings spirit
to the center of thought, meditativeness brings connect
with the all pervading spirit, then poetry of the universe seep in
ecstatic moments of body, mind and soul, one is convinced,
are soaked in poetic cadence, oozing from the divine spring within.

Two busy birds
that takes to the sky at dawn
the nest was a space
we kept somewhere in our hearts,
for a time too long.
Who did what to make it
a reality concrete
when we built it at last,
neither I remember
nor she. At the end we find
we two are the nest;
from there everything begins,
we stand losing in
each other's eyes and realize.

she thinks herself
as my messenger
I am the mirror
she reflects
on which miraculously
the revelations
regularly appear

whenever we meet
we talk in the lingo
of wind and water
we walk hand in hand
along the bank of
our favorite river,
that none would find
in time and space

we love dancing around
the fire we create for ourselves
she turns a singer
only when the urge
fully overpowers her.
we know no anger,
we embrace
the winds of change
like it's a long lost brother

I am her song with
the words she perfects,
meaning I make sure
goes beyond and hit
the center
in our town there isn't
any pair like us,but we've
never thought that way
even once
we aspire, never despair
we are children of nature
cosmic love bug is our signature.

Did any flower bloom, in your garden today, check out now
Love alone is the flower with fragrance, don't water the rest.
An year reigned is dead, the overcast sky clearly proclaims
A dark shroud covers the sky, hiding the good cheer we need.

Alone, I climb up the winding road to the hilltop, to view
The sunset, it reminds the past year of painful events
The skyline looks blood smeared, from a corner fire erupts
Making hate the recurring motif, what's happening to the world?

Technologies to share information is no good, if we aren't sane.
If we use that to sow evil seeds of hatred, poison spreads.
Life turns a mess, all the wealth has no meaning without peace.
Are we not ashamed to be vengeful like barbarians, **** each other?
Didn't Gandhi prove, nonviolence is the weapon against brute force?

We found the fountainhead of the dark brimming night,
wasn't blue black as one would think, but white,
shimmering bright, flight of the pigeons, unexpected;
waves beating repeatedly against the shores, fluorescent blue poles,
seething in love and lust,bursting bright in overwhelming desire,
limitless yen to break every restraint, to merge and be only one.

put your logic aside and dive in to the phantom depths
where you reach without moving an inch in space,
blue receptacle, the cave concealing  silver sparkles
she and I were yin and yang, on an exploration of the self mountain
in the uniform of beasts, though in an incognito vacation in our forest,
it's all fantasy that creates various hues, black and white too

there were no butterflies with fragile wings under the starlit night,
when we wished the night sky was full of them, flying, alighting on our bodies entwined, in a frenzy; they tickled and caressed with tender wings,
like  dissipated pieces of rainbow, one following the other,
in a rare migratory path, across the horizon, in to the unknown.

the fountainhead of the night, we see it without even eyes,
interplanetary travelers we are, in our crafts, even if they look fragile,
the essence of being is beyond the realm of real,
                                                                ­           we had out of body awareness,
both imagination and dream are filled with
                                                                ­           undulating moon grace.

Swelled water made hell!
But it couldn’t **** the will;
We float, stay bonded.

A forest adventure-we didn't plan it that way at all,
the call of the wild prompted us, is all I can now guess
hand in hand in to the woods we ventured like two possessed,
magical, it felt, we soon disappeared, from the eyes of curious intruders.

erogenous scent of damp earth, after the first sprinkling of monsoon clouds,
pepped up our interest in hunting mushrooms
popping up everywhere, like fragments of white clouds descended,
we pulled out, egg shaped mushrooms that came in to our view
the frenzy we fell in to,  possessed us in total,
after all we we are also young and hot blooded,

We competed like hounds in hot pursuit,
ran, collided with each other, fell down,
with a gentle thud, upon each other.
She did lay flat, face down on my chest,
I smelt,musk on her neck a slow intoxicant
and mushrooms hidden in her both armpits,
which I pursued and found out,we were getting hot,
in pursuit of each other's secrets.
the world, we had forgotten completely for long!!

We didn't see evening light melt and
darkness spread stealthily over the woods
that engages the robust body of the night,
from the rendezvous, of these secret lovers,
we sneaked out and saw lighted torches,
approach us from all four directions.

they zeroed in on us,"Who goes there?"
a harsh voice asked,
"This, do you know, is the holy grove,
of mother goddess, strictly  watched
for not to be get desecrated
by people who seek some sort of adventure,
such an act never goes unpunished,
we'll search you and find what you did"

We held out mushrooms before them,
and I saw each face turning  a lotus!
"where did you get this,? Oh! so much!,
Those are so rare and any one is able to pluck it,
only if mother goddess is pleased"

And then we realized this,
in that forbidden sacred wood,
between us a miracle has happened!
that pleased the mother goddess
of the woods,  the blessed presence,
aren't we then  the chosen ones?







,

A jolt too, once in a while I like,
to **** me back to the center of my being,
she said, not always a flower I seek
though I appreciate a fragrant bloom
on a plant, no doubt about it.
Give me a pleasant surprise,
show me what I miss without fail,
let us be alert, to complete each other
push me out of complacency,
thus help me see more clearly.
Water my thirsty inner plants copiously
and see how happily they greet you
with flowers, buzz of bees and fragrance,
enjoy the dance with life even if
our steps falter a bit in the beginning
let the dogs bark, night be dark
winds blow heavy and strong,
let the change of weather never bother us,
moving forward is the order of nature.
Softly kiss my soul with  noble acts
it's not for here and now, but for
eternity to keep as a treasure incandescent.

Forgive my wallowing in words
my lapse is not light, words are fire,
creative use of them with more care
with out raising a curtain of smoke
and uncontrolled flames, if expected
it's only fair, not to scare you, gentle readers
unreasonably with all the  heat
it could generate.

A gentle fire, at night, a golden glow
where you would sit around
and partake my fare is what I dream.
Every word has deep roots, and laughing  flowers,
cryptic connecting codes, tunnels
that augment the flows channeled to hearts,
music that connects words, unexpected
fire works of meanings that explode,
metaphors that amble and gallop forward
with spectacular beauty, you watch
without batting an eyelid, that's what brings
clarity, and a gentle ecstasy mind licks up,
and goes to sleep purring in delight.
Signs pointing to the unknown, even unsaid
become evident, like in magic, how it unfolds
how can I say, what's the  well spring
of an oracle's revelations, amazing!

Imageries arise along the flow of creation,
evoking, love, pain, hope or remorse-
whatever feeling that invades human psyche,
that demands an immediate emotional response,
and from there leads to catharsis, mind's elation.

Taking you to the forest route of words,
- that blankets and blocks the view
of elegant trees, you love to look at
and to forget everything
for some moments, at least -
was my fault, I was carried away,
**yes, I should learn to control my excesses.

In that camouflage she was not
the daughter of a dark night,
even his doubtful eyes
were blinded, and there by
hangs a tale;
a caterpillar of many hues,
curious looking,
voracious apatite stamped
her presence and movement.

In his manicured garden she started,
leaf after green leaf first,
then flowers all,
petal by petal, scent too vanished,
a beauty eating beauty
had some queer poetic justice
though he failed to see that
there was something amiss
but her moves didn't stop
by creating nakedness
as a garden substitute
brown with green.

She proved insatiable,
when they made love.
first like flowered plants
bees pollinating flower
with the pollen smeared
all over her body,
then they copied
animals in heat,
rolled all over the place
like cats and caterwauled aloud.
He was totally lost
lowered all his guards
that's when tragedy struck.

When they merged like
poison and milk
in a deluge of
deceptive sweetness
he saw her turn in to
a vampire bat
and eat his heart.

This precisely is the secret hour, that brings to an end
of the long wait of patient bats, now let them ecstatically mate,
mind, wakes up from stupor,in creative instinct,becomes a ******,
though peering in to own hidden shadows, from a pantomime past.
Silence of many shades reign in the mansion of magic beyond space,
along the labyrinthine inner corridor, lighted seldom or even never.

The dark nimbus clouds above, purge, thunder roars,victorious,
outside the cave rain in torrents lashes, winds whistle like possessed,
heart fills with an urge urgent,words fumble to express with verve,
blind bats, hanging upside down, wake all at once, shaking wings,
they arise creating a cacophony,then the transformation is quick,
what results is a frenzied ****** fight for colored words to mate.

The pairs suited most, in the crowded cave , intuitively selected,
commandeered, brought together, merged perfectly, without effort,
blending with the rare beauty of light filtering in, striking images
of different hues appear on the screen, moving pictures of creation.

Everything is still here except,a fecund sense, awareness in fire,
thoughts are in a churn, turn towards the starlit firmament,
and fertile red earth doused in the scent new rain roused,
blue water expanses, rippling moves as waves after waves
all finally settle, mind's creative pool now, is a placid reservoir.

Astonished he is, by the immortality of words, that acquire
an escape velocity to project, shoot up through the clouds,
it's payload, is carried by a  fuel, alchemy created propellant,
that ensures poetic transcendence,the fused golden words live long.

The creative moments, are pure  wonder, when within the folds
of primordial sound,he waves silk blending it with golden threads,
The poet becomes the word first and the word speaks through  him,
poem is a canal perennial,for the flow of desire, hope and pain concealed deep,all projected by the  mind continuum that never sleeps.

Distressed she complained that the world goes dark,
he wasn't alarmed, gazing deep in to her eyes
dissolved fully in its silver light that preserved the echoes
of sunny meadow walks, wine red sunsets and starlit nights;
delighted he made it sound aloud in their world more,
created a lighted path for them to saunter, at its limits
darkness, a mere attendant, was kept strictly at arm's length.

No, rhyme or reason,
for this continued consternation,
all, the result of an illusion,
let go the sense of possession, gladly
unleash the  love put on hold,
and be mindful, in living a life
and the vision, you should-
align with, now and ever.
**freedom is a sharpened sword,
wield it with utmost precision.

A sudden flash,
lightning's cuneiform write,
on  the plack of pitch dark sky;
like a truth derived from lives

Sudden  insights,
in human nature strike unawares,
if you look around,
some times even casual look reveals.

Likes and dislikes drive human lives,
and civilizations thrives or bite dust,
on their merit,
they are like leaves sprouting on a plant
an act, result of the land it stands and nutrients
it receives,
what complex laws work behind it!
how would you capture the essence of this?
--meaning is elusive even if you peel
the onion, for long,
human nature defies all descernable patterns.

Pharova Khufu of Egypt,
wallowing in riches, all his life
(in the stories of past)
was in love with
his two boats, more than any other thing,
(one made of acecea and other from cider)
king, aimed  his longing's sharp point
at this two wooden objects,
(a guy who had no problem in focusing
bless him, he deserves credit for that one decisiveness)

And when he died,
they thought these boats were the things
he would miss more than his wives,
what else could be possible?
they carefully laid to rest with him,  these two beloveds-
Khufu with two lovely boats; his love objects,
his wish was honored
*
Imagine a man of immense wealth
which eventually reduced to  some wood,
the size of two boats,
(the symbol of futility
human life represents,)
trveling the great beyond,
with his legs, one each
on a boat.
                

So frail she is, aged too,
but what I see every time
is a frozen leaf resisting
falling snow and whistling gale.

The grace she exudes grips
every time she passes me
in the morning or evening
her smile electrifies me without fail

In my bones it echoes, I felt
each smile brings instant delight,
I feel like it spreads in to my being
unlike the hollow smiles thrown at you.

What remains after one is gone
is to be felt much later by others
but to make the hollow deeply felt
in absence, their gifts in mind should persist.

what makes that huge difference,
now I grasp, her heart that has seen
many seasons, of human predicaments
and beaten in resonance.instantaneously
strikes a chord, with all, it's music to ears.

And it's a moment none would easily forget
she reflects the timeless grace humans acquire
through a life lived fully in mindfulness
I am embraced by grace, when her smile is gifted.

What remains when she has gone
is a serene sense of fulfillment, for having met
a luminous being, who without even a word
or touch, could make others feel nice and be better.