The sea is still today
It's cerulean blue and gold
I think of the thoughts it carries
Within its hidden folds.
Its touch is soft and gentle
It soothes the ache of years
But I wonder how many waves
Are made from fallen tears.

Nishu Mathur

And gently falls the bakula
Upon the grass I tread
Fragrant flowers
Like fallen stars from the sky
A hundred poems to be read.

As I drink my tea
Through the window I see -
The lantanas growing tall
Besides the creepers on the wall.
Orange orbs on stalks of green
A butterfly  - all tangerine -
Suckling blooms, fluttering by
Beneath a cloudless, placid sky.
Flowering trees - no longer ****
Full of colour and ripening fruits.
The world it seems is blossoming
With summer and her offerings.

Some days are good
Or I think they really are
I soak up the sun
And reach for the stars
Some days are bad
I suppose they really are
The sun seems too hot
And the stars — too far.

Set the clock behind a little
Allow the hands to move slow
Kiss the deep burgundy skies
And the sunrise's golden glow
Smile at the little ones
And those who come my way
Listen to the world around
What it has to say
Pluck away worried thoughts
Instead - hum forgotten songs
Doze a little, dance a little
Before the day is gone

I coloured my world today
my hands smeared in pastels
canary yellows
ripe peaches and cardinal ochres
pink from a flamingo sunrise
a passionate cerise
Splashed
an array of feisty blues
a flamboyant turquoise
a topaz tango
a twinkling periwinkle
Streaked it with
gold
contoured lilac smudges
lavender tipped edges
in custard pineapple floats
splattered emeralds, toned pistachio
fern greens with swift finger strokes
Tempered it with
muddy crusty earthy browns
rock coloured sandy mounds
reined in royal purple
the sensual blaze of a flaming sunset
the dark indigo of a gloaming sky
agate drops a few
a silver sliver of a crescent new

I coloured my world
with my eyes
my fingers, hands
my hues
just the way I wanted to

A calf is revered
A bird is cared for
The homeless have a bed
The wounded are nursed
The desperate given hope
A hungry child is fed

It is happiness
When a tear is wiped
And hands join in love
To erase slivers of
Sorrow and sadness
To hold each other up

That is to be human
Who we are
That indeed is to be
Forever, I bow to
And forever salute
The spirit of humanity

And what do I serve with tea?

Of a cake layered with words - a slice
A croissant with stirring smilies
Quiche with quaint archaic spice -
Fresh from a poet's repository.

In the clink and chime of quills and ***
And spoons that stir the brew of tea
Dark or creamed, winter or spring
Here's to a cup of poetry.

The bakula and the madhumalti
Sway in the warm wind
Watching children play
In stained shirts
With mud-filled nails
Bare feet and beady drops of laughter
Unmindful of the heat
While a dog playfully rolls over
Trying to hold the sunlight
That falls through the trees
A bird flies low resting on the firangipani
Butterflies dance around the hibiscus
And bees swarm happily
Hedges have blossomed with flowers
Creepers tap against the window pane
To wake the forgotten child in older hearts
And tell them that summer reigns

It's a carousel. It's a giant wheel
It goes up and down and all around
It takes me within and it takes me out
I ride. I fly. I soar. I dive
I delve and live deep inside
Into the past. And tomorrow
I am old and I am new
It takes me here. It takes me there
It takes me to your world
It takes me to you.

Loosen your collar,
Untie your tie.
Remove the worrying furrow,
From between your eyes.

Roll up your sleeves,
Kick off your shoes,
A pair of flip flops -
Those old ones'll do.

No thought, no man..
No treasure, no dime,
That brings you down,
Is worth any time.

There, that's better.
Now that you've found you,
Sing your heart out,
And dance away the blues

Listen more often
To the earth, rocks and grass
The roots of trees that go deep inside
And whisper of the past

Listen to the clouds rumble
Thunder and heave a sigh
As they speak to birds of creation
That pirouette in the sky

Listen to the whispers of seashells
The verses of waves in rhyme
That carry the songs of sailors
And hum the melodies of time

Listen more often
To the roses and the wind
Listen to the rain and rainbow
Listen to the soul of things

She's wrapped herself on the wall
With her fragrant pink flowers
In bunches of disheveled disarray

And when the summer wind blows
It sends a gentle floral shower
Of blossoms and scents my way

At night, under the moon and stars
I inhale her. With her I love to be
And though I dally and play with words
There can never be a poem as she.

The sea is still today
It's cerulean blue and gold
I think of the thoughts it carries
Within its hidden folds.
Its touch is soft and gentle
It soothes the ache of years
But I wonder how many waves
Are made from fallen tears.

The red hibiscus bloom and beside them I see
The growing bark of the amaltas tree
That's slowly inching towards the sky
Eager to branch as time goes by.
Soon, it'll shadow the hibiscus and the grass
With its arms on the morrow, and roots in the past
And birds will gather on its golden boughs
To nest and sing their songs of now.

The breeze in the air is redolent
And the heart gambols with glee
To the tintinnabulation of wind chimes
Ah, what sweet felicity.
The whispering of trees is mellifluous
As is the susurrous of floral woods
How salubrious is the efflorescence
Beside the ebullient babbling brook.
Old man winter is but fugacious
For I've stumbled upon my inglenook
I wake to the breath of spring
Oh, it's summer eternal in my book.
My cup now holds ethereal elixir
It's manna from the heavens above
I found you - ah, serendipity
If this isn't, then what is love?

It's endless
The stress, the strain
The ache
Something or the other.
How many times
Do I  put myself together
Before I completely break.

There we are
Bundles of thoughts and nerves
We plan and script
Burn the midnight oil
Chartering paths and mapping
Defining destinations
But then, life happens

And it will

I suppose I could brood
And close tired eyes
Or I could lasso a cloud
And hitch a ride to paradise

The fragrance of love lingers in the air
like the scent of white jasmine
like the fragrance of rain soaked earth
whisked by a summer wind.

It stays day and night in the mind
like incense,
in thoughts,  it spreads
forever the scent of roses
forever a scent in red

It fills the senses like heady ittar
though but a dab on the skin
in what is felt and touched -
makes the senses spin

It lingers forever in the heart
a fragrant melody, one so true
forever it sings and plays
a song of love
and you

On golden shores on white sands,
Stands a blue catamaran.
With toil, love, skillfully made.
Though paint chips off, colors fade.
It's built from logs of hardy wood,
A fisherman... his livelihood.
He sails each day, with hopes new,
His life, his love on a rippling blue.

On calm waters when sun shine beams,
When the shimmering bay glistening gleams,
When waves dance, in tandem sway
Where sun rays wink, hide and play.

On vengeful days when waters mock,
When menacing gales toss and rock,
When dark clouds engulf the bay,
When the world anchored safely stays.

But the sun kissed fisherman,
Sails each day his catamaran..
Never tethered on safe shores he,
For thats not where he's meant to be.

As he sails the coastal bay,
I see him fade.. far away
Singing songs, in the distance he,
His love, his life, his hope..the sea.

You make me smile
Till the lips curve
Into crescents
And eyes become slits.

You make me smile
Till the nose goes up
And the spectacles come down
And the cheeks rise like tides
With laughter lines.

You make me smile
Till the pearly whites show -
A toothy flash
Though sometimes, no.

You make me smile
From ear to ear
From here to there
Like a rainbow in the sky.

You make me smile
From my face to my toes
And toes to my knees
You make me smile
And long after
Somewhere,
The smile
Stays within me.

I welcome the sun with open arms
Touched by its warmth and soothing light
Disarmed by it's limpid molten charm
After a gusty and stormy night.
A breeze still blows but the gales have eased
And blue is the sky over sun washed fields
Clouds that gently drift with joy
Float like angels of love and peace.
And though the world darkens at times
Shadowed seem joy and bliss
May the heart never forget
The beauty that was and the beauty that is.

Sometimes - the universe comes to the rescue
On a down and out day.
Even when the world seems upside down
The sun shines from somewhere brightening the skies of the mind
The sun rays beam through the radio in much loved songs that play one after the other
Or a little surprise that draws a smile
A considerate gesture that gives wings
Signs they seem to be -
Coaxing us to look up
Lifelines of hope
And one holds on to them
With utmost gratitude.

As dark clouds thunder on a grey day,
Resounding across the arid plains,
I hear the loud cries of a bird,
It cuts across the rhythmic drumming of the clouds,
He's quiet for a moment, then I hear him again.

Through the trees I see him,
Royal, an electrifying metallic  blue,
A peacock, stunning, strutting,
Fanning his train of feathers,
Eyespots of majesty, stroked with mossy hues.

He dances in a flamboyant display,
In spot light, as lightening flames the sky above,
Nonchalant, a blue crested head turns with pride,
His ornate train, shimmering, beckoning, to and fro,
His moves, a courtship ritual of love.

His iridescent trail woos in style,
A life of its own in its opaline shades
Golden, blue, brown and green,
Colors of the earth, gloriously resplendent,
A gathered spectacle in  his plumage.

As drops of rain touch the earth,
He is still high on the wings of romance,
His feet in motion,
His feathers spread for his mate,
Quivering, glimmering a love dance.