The prattle* and clamour* of the day
is deafening my ears and jarring my heart and mind
I have to walk away into my aloneness
be courageous enough to leave the world behind

lest I turn into a shrinking man
someone faceless in the long and tedious queue
day in and day out--the same mindless engagements
in inane conversations and senseless pursuits--have but few

moments of real living and savouring
of beauty---I wither as I am, nay, dying
a little as time passes me by, life is fleeting
and I am in limbo--just dangling

hanging to a cloud of nothing
in a moral wilderness--bleeding
( I make sure no one is watching)
hoping for my self-redeeming.

Space-- silent, serene, mysterious and majestic- covers all
and there is infinite peace in its emptiness
we should learn to be empty
for that which is full could receive no more--we should address

ourselves:  what is this fullness and surfeit
doing to us?
once emptied of all our desires and vanities-
all that follows  serves only to bless.

The heart is the beginning
and the end
the world would forget us
but the heart never ceases to be a friend.

Where else in a troubled and sad life
could I bend
but only towards this sanctuary
whose comfort in my every sorrow ever does lend?

Existing is that state
that links
the present temporality
to the infinity of time

man dangles
between two polarities
he strives and struggles
to understand and too often

he is frustrated and disillusioned
for the larger part of his life
seems shrouded in incomprehensibility --
the monotony, vexation, ennui--even inanity

and there seems no escape
from the meaningless round
of just existing-while time mocks and derides
without a single whit of sympathy.

Easy? hardly-
even taking a step
at a time forward
calls for unusual courage

for
old habits die hard

as
the self has been concretised
for too long--immobility
holds the reins--change
hangs over like an unwelcome
stale, wet and prickly blanket

doubt* and fear
makes the limbs tremble
( adults are no better than kids
  when they sense uncertainty
imaging dangers that aren't there)

' It's better to stay put
on safe and sure ground'

He who doesn't have the courage
to put his foot forward
will be nailed to the spot
where he's rooted
ending as less than a man
while time and fair chances
bid him good-bye
with an unsympathetic look
and downright scorn

he has to turn
his face away
to hide himself
from the light of day.

Slogans of exhortation---ubiquitous-
they baffle and frighten me
many are far-flung and iniquitous
from such I steer away to keep myself free.

I am no prophet, no seer
no leader nor teacher
a common man here
in a far-away corner

trying to make some sense
of my weary life--even managing
myself is such an immense
task--- slogans-throwing?-

that would be the greatest folly
when I was a lad, my parents said to me
'  Learn to be independent, love yourself properly'
how wise those words--I've kept them and avoided so many a misery.

MOON FLOWER
In my sleep last night
I found myself on the moon ,holding
a flower in my hand, and this it said me
'This flower is real--you are not dreaming'.

Lo , my love gave me the flower
before I went to bed
he left too soon
and tears I sadly shed