She shone in radiant glee
When I brought her a budgie
She said ‘I would make it talk
Teach it words round the clock’.
Somewhere she had read
And it stuck in her head
That of all the birds
Budgie learns the most words.
Since then she didn’t spare a bit
Deemed it a marvellous feat
She would achieve if that bird
Learn at least one word.
She remained strongly steadfast
Teach it words she must
But the bird so rudely stubborn
Not a word in its mouth was born.
‘Say bird please good morning’
She mouthed day and evening
But other than its own tweet
The budgie didn’t learn a bit.

Hug the now and soak in it
It won’t last long.
Worth immeasurable,
Yet span cruelly finite,
Live the now fast
Before it leaves you!
Burn in the fires of now
Embrace the golden flame
Let your hands hold the sparks
It would die down real fast!
Ah, the warmth of now
Let it not melt between your fingers
Or finds you napping
While it comes!
Grab it you must
Between an irrelevant past
And an uncertain future
That precious you call “just now”
Make most of it,
It dies down fast!

My hopes burn out, desires rot
I’m never happy with what I got
A grumbling heart, undying pain
“It’s unfair, it’s wrong”, I always complain!
What I’ve got has no value for me
Easy gotten, they’re gotten free
What I haven’t is what matters most
Run as I do chasing its ghost!
When I stop the run, where the journey ends
I lament my follies but can’t make amends
They were always there, waiting in the wings
I never cared to find, life’s precious things!

Your eyes
Roaming the ceiling
Past midnight
In a fright!

Two dogs
On the street
Locked in mating heat.

On the street
Two dogs
Haven’t cover of sheet.

Two dogs
Messy
Need no privacy.

Know to seed
The need to breed
In ecstasy.

Back from work,
Each object within
I take out from my bag,
Once again putting them in
The next day to work.

Nothing unusual about it
Except that at times
When I empty my bag,
A fleeting thought comes,
Maybe tomorrow
My bag will be as empty
As the space I vacate.

The sun is soft and mellow
The noon a tinge of yellow
The winter reminds the short measure
Of life and all its pleasure!

Words are so weak
They leave me behind
When you don't speak
I can better read your mind.
They don't mean much
Words last so brief
Your faintest touch
Fills me with love's whiff.
Words so little convey
But it's our ill fate
So many words we say
Not knowing love is quiet.
Don't let the words pour
Your silence goes deep
In it is something more
To give my heart a joyous leap!

Their sacrifice a forgotten story
Their braveries are fables untold
In lives they hankered not for glory
In their graves they won't be old.
Lines of them lying under stone
No medal they won no star
In end they've found a silence zone
Where their memories the soils blur.
Someone was too young to die
Still dreaming a life of bloom
Yearning to reach the blue sky
Now sleeping in the casket room.
Youth so cruelly deceived them
Little was written on the white page
Blown away with the war game
Years cannot make them age.
Out of focus, out of lens
On unknown memorial just a name
Let's bow our head in silence
Lest we forget them.

Burning coal glows in the no-food zone
Are they too cold and dead and alone?
It's said they're loyal but they can't boast
Are they too hungry and shadows of ghost?
Ignore them people drunk in their fest
Are they so useless as vermin and pest?
Night's peace shatters as they whine and roar
Are they without sleep and closed is your door?
It all seems so cruel our heart is stained steel
Are they too trifle and don't deserve a feel?
The night is so unsparing so long and cold
Are they still hopeful of the emerging gold?
The sun gives reason to celebrate the morn
They're still asleep they were rather not born.

Potholed road full busload, rumble cloud rain,
Hole in sky angers fly, groan they all in pain,
Flooded way joy at bay, no relief respite,
Begged it rain summer’s pain, scorching day and night,
You prayed it god brought it, the monsoon’s delight,
Don’t grumble slip tumble, curse it as a plight.

Two words
‘I do’,
too small words
but hold the length of life
with her hands in mine
walk in rain sunshine
her heart in my care
she left in joyous trust
in all weather always there
on her side I remain must
have her forever in my sight
each passing day and night
love standing on two pillars true,
said years ago and still ‘I do’.

I could come up from the ocean bottom
Climb down from mountainous height
Though I delved yet could never fathom
Your heart's depth I never got it right.
I could come out of the darkest alley
Win the night to reach sunshine
Though I tried yet could never really
Understand your heart's design.
Of myriads mysteries you are made
I seek to find though can't unravel
I must not give up but go ahead
Knowing it isn't a futile travel.

Guard it must,
For can’t mend
Broken trust!

The white canvas
Is mute
Till I draw
Escape route!

I saw dread loom
When the kid yawned
In classroom!

Winter sun mellowing on him
Drowned in his newspaper
I caught him on film.
He never knew
I did never show him
The silken moment
That now shows like a dream.
Will I ever be caught,
Same way by my son
Frozen for him to see alone
With a happiness his own and no regret,
His father’s portrait from a silken moment!

Deep in the forest
Fed by the soil
Nourished by the sun and rain
It etched itself onto the sky.
As it receded from the ground
Its wings mourning the upward drift
Retained the earthbound bond
Passed the sky’s nectar into the soil,
Showering gratitude by casting its shadow
For all down below to soothe their weary frames,
Sheltering the potent ones from ravages up
So they like it one day grow into a behemoth.
Once clothed mankind’s nudeness
Now remorselessly denuded by the axe of progress
Twisted gnarled deformed at man’s pleasure,
Wizened mummy, in our room a showpiece furniture!

In the dark
A spark
It’s you.
After the night’s thorn
A sweet morn
It’s you.
Amidst all rust
A little moondust
It’s you.
Me a haggard
Turned a songbird
It’s you.
No fence no defense
It’s you.

Sometimes it pays to be hurt,
To suffer a broken heart
To be shut out of light
To cry through a long night.
Sometimes it pays to fail,
To suffer the ignominy of defeat
To be left with a broken sail
To make a glorious retreat.
Sometimes it pays to know,
From the endless race you ran,
Though suffering many a blow,
You emerged a stronger man.

On a dewy evening
As the day takes a silent bow,
Gazing at the distant pearls
Appearing on the ethereal wisp,
You feel an elemental oneness
To have your place in this design
Intrinsically woven in the cosmic fabric,
When gathers in your eyes a mist
That rolls down in grateful glory
To blend into the night!

In our dark moments
We drift to God -
The peacemaker, reconciler, pacifier,
The believer's ultimate remedy!
The belief in the shaken soul
That nothing he can miss,
He's ever there with his wand of justice.
In our luminescent moments
We thank god -
The harbinger of all that's fair,
The soul's ultimate soother!
God up there all alone
Has his reward -
He's always needed in good times and bad!

Tonight I've an invitation to be in hell
I know it would be a perfect setting
A zombies' party in a stinking dale
With guests carried on vampire wing!
Bloated corpses would be carried around
To feast on with blood in clinking goblet
The dead would rip open the ground
To welcome me their only living mate!
The party would begin as the night's chill
Slowly freezes d hearts of the lost souls
Their hunger goading them to go for a ****
Their hollow eyes glowing like burning coals!
They would dance the length of night
Singing couplets in praise of hell
Under pale moon and ghostly starlight
The living would appear infinitely stale!
Tonight I am invited to hell
There I'd find my new nest
To live forever in the night's spell
And be there as an eternal guest!

When you don’t leave it a choice
It hasn’t nowhere to go
Make for it a false rejoice
Paint for it a window.
Keep there a patch of sky
A space for a fancy flight
For its wings to soar dreamily high
And bathe in the golden light.
You have stolen its endless space
It hasn’t nowhere to go
Make for it a fake happiness
Paint for it a window.

From his glassed verandah
he stared in wonder at the motionless sky
with not a star twinkling,
he felt sadly amused,
the little stars don’t twinkle here
and he was so far away from the land
he had known all along as his home.
suddenly it dawned on him
that it wasn’t for no reason
that he felt rootless and homeless
in what was so long his abode
the same way he’s feeling now
in this glassed verandah
one fifty million miles away
from the place he calls home.
he shivered in this thought
looking at the vast frigid sky
where hurtled the ghost of phobos
whose pale orb he found too dimmed
to spin webs of dreams
he did with the silvery disc
in his once familiar sky.
at the sight of that desert terrain
exposed yet bereft of the wind’s ravage
where time stood timelessly frozen,
he felt lost in a massive alienness
listlessly searching for a way out
to come back to a tranquil equilibrium.

then his eyes fell on the ocean water blue
and he couldn’t hold back his tears.
like a man possessed
he started tapping the keys….

The first flower blossomed on that lifeless world.

Your exhalations tingle my cheek
Your lips faintly brush my lobe
Your eyelashes ***** my eyes,
I am led thru the funeral door of love.
The waves roll back
The winter frost sets in
And thru the smoked glass
You become an apparition.
I love it
More than the long gone one,
The electric blue tragedy not meant to last.
I love it
More than the fleeting fervor of lust
Made only to be burnt in a while.
I love it
Coz it's gonna stay with me till the end!

One layer after another follows
Silent colorless dark hollows
Can’t extricate from the scenes dimly lit
Am I in dream or out of it?
Miles traversed the road never ends
Deceivingly straight full of bends
Faces known but I love unknown
Am I in a crowd or just alone?
Skimming floating in an ethereal hue
It’s always grey not a shade of blue
Bleary eyed I wipe with my hands
Am I here or in distant lands?
Stupor ridden I walk in a daze
Though million suns on my head blaze
In my eyes the fires gleam
Am I awake or still in my dream?

There is no hint of end in the air
Nothing to suggest the impermanence
The alluring sky azure and brightly fair
Only a few dropped leaves making little sense!
The smooth silence in the yellowish dark morn
Lends the temptation to be here for good
What was nascent is now quietly born
A resigned desire to stand still in the wood!
In a reality more inviting than the dream
The eyes caress the sky and then the treetop
Seeing yet not seeing in a trance made of whim
They roll down to the ground where they stop!
The trees have shed the withered leaves
Remaining dispassionate and mindless
The grand design Nature ceaselessly weaves
To renew hope and welcome new face!

When I entered his chamber
The boss was shaking with anger
Red faced burning like fire
He thundered “is it for what I hire? ”
I felt inside me a creeping terror
Worried must have done a grave error
Some serious lapse or glaring mistake
That caused him a severe heartbreak.
"see here this ‘are’ where it should be ‘is’
How the hell it escapes your notice
The way you work with closed eyes
You surely don’t deserve a payrise".
Awhile I bore the brunt of his abuse
Not tried to hide behind an excuse
Then gathering composure and all my will
Blurted “not to err is the job of Devil! ”

Don't be disheartened if you miss the bus
There'll be misses, life is not all plus
Let not your heart despair in one bad weather
Know for sure for each missed bus there'll be another.
Don't be crestfallen if one chance goes past you
There'll be lost chances but you will get your due
Let not your resolves die in one chance gone
Know for sure many more for you will come along.
Don't be heart broken if you fail once and again
Life is not all tenderness without the thorn's pain
Let not your determination evaporate and die
Know for sure beyond failure chance of success is high.
Don't be fed up with life even if your days are dark
There'll be darkness but through it you make your mark
Let not your soul be stopped from seeking out the light
Know for sure the sun is waiting beyond the dark night.

Love if you know to endure pain
Love if you fall to rise again
Love if you don't mind the price
Love if you are ready for surprise.
Love if you know how to stick
Love if you believe in its magic
Love if you are ready for rough ride
Love if you can go against the tide.
Love if you wipe your tears dry
Love if you know to silently cry
Love if you know and you truly mean
In the end for sure love will win!

The girl with the blue umbrella
Caught my look,
For a moment I loved her
Then she was gone far.
I drank her eyes a sparkling wine
Forbidden she couldn’t be mine
In my heart she left a scar
In my eyes a remote star!

A bird has no reason to pray
It flies and sings all day
It doesn't need to brood
Just life and a little food!
I think its times are all fun
Rising and setting with the sun
Leisurely floating in the air
Building a nest for a warm pair!
Is it really absurd?
If I may live like a bird
With no jealousy, no hatred
Just love and a piece of bread!

Don’t put on sale outpour of your soul
Don’t move around with a begging bowl
Just add to this ocean your drops in silence
Without seeking opinions on their excellence.
Be sure they would on the surface rise
Pearls of your thoughts won’t be hidden from eyes
Wait with patience for heart’s joyous sound
When from the ocean your drops are found.
Leave in your mind no trace of doubt
The hunters of poems will surely find you out.

I lay on bed waiting for that moment,
The night guard passed on his last round
Mournfully whistling another night was spent,
Though the night was still lulled by weary crickets’ sound.
My windowpane like a ***** lover clung darkness tight
If that would let him hold onto the night
Unwilling to let go the stars out of sight
Fearful his secret would be cracked by daylight.
I waited in bated breath that inevitable moment
Eyeing the glass to catch the transition
A bulbul called to say another night was spent
Other hopeful voices broke out in unison.

I had my day
Time now to part our way,
I step from here to a mess
Where I won’t have your loveliness
Your soft hug warm caress
Your assuring presence in loneliness,
I have to seek the you now in flesh
Search for one with your likeness
Fail and grieve for the times that flew
Coming to know there can’t be another you,
This body would wizen and shrink with age
This youthful frame would turn to yellow page
But you ageless will just change hands
Plant in new eyes dreams of fairylands
Remaining forever cute in hands soft and small
Childhood’s buddy my playtime’s doll.

The moon that night
adorned you in silvery gem.
I was awe-struck.
I milked the moon
to quench my thirst!

I lost my way
The day I was taught to grab and not share
I was filled with knowledge
That brought no wisdom
But only pride devoid humility
I was given a religion by birth
I had a God Almighty and was told
It was the only true God!
I lost my way
The day I was sent to an institution
To cram a structured knowledge
Endless information was heaped on me
To make me clever and ready for life
A knowledge that taught me to mind my worth
Only in terms of material success
Drove me in pursuit of an elusive happiness!
I lost my way
The day I learnt alphabets
And poured on volumes of books
That shaped a mind of rigid dogmas
But no tolerance for others' thoughts
I was given an education
That taught me to be patriotic
And wall the world with boundaries!

I came to camp here
On the riverside
Overlooking the mountain
Where I would say **
And it would reverberate.
I had no companion
Till every morning
The birds woke me up
And made friends,
I had no lover
Till the moon's silver
Crowned the ripples
And made love.
I never knew
When quietly they came
And dug into me!
Now I don't want to
Leave the camp,
My dreams don't spin
Tales of other world anymore!
But I came to camp here,
Have to wind up and leave.

I don't need a drink.
I'm drunk with
Nature's light and sound
Drunk with the gift of
Each day of life
Drunk with the thought that
I'm here to stay
For another day!

The world I did roam
Sea bottom to mountaintop
But close to me near home
I didn't see on leaves the dewdrop!

Why couldn't we
ever
agree to disagree
and not war?

I spread my wares and wait.
From morn till night
Longing that you would turn up
Love what I show and get it.
The shadows lengthen
The moon rises with the nightjar
The shadows close on me
I sulk in despair.
I am back with the first light
With renewed submission
Longing that you would turn up
Love what I show and get it.
The day spreads wings and departs
Fly away heart's dead embers
I embrace the loneliness.
Once again I cry in pain.

Thus I wait eons for you
That one day you would turn up
Love and get what I have to offer
Never knowing that you were there everyday
Holding me through the night
coming back with sunray!

The sky
At night
Can’t see her beau,
Her sigh
At dawn’s light
Drops as dew!

When awake
Without break
Thoughts pour,
Each hammer
Each clamor
Open door.
Hue and shade
Play in head
Craft design,
Words galore
More and more
Grow the line.
Sigh cheers
Joy tears
All the kind,
Sweet sour
Sun shower
Way they find.
Hands ache
Force a break
Eyes tire,
Seek rest
In sleep’s nest
In dream’s attire.
There too come
In ears strum
Strange refrain,
Without recess
The thoughts chase
Joy and pain.

On the deserted riverbank
lay the painted boat
his youth glistening in the half baked noon,
the river wide beckoned him to taste her depth,
skim her stretch and see her other side.
The boat was raring to go
riding the wide river's tide
masts high up full steam
to wherever she would carry him.
At each call of the river
his oars rended a soulful cry,
the river echoed him back
holding into her his futile longing
her waves wreathing in agony on the shore
if that could fetch him to her embrace.

The half baked noon
dull empty unchanging
knew
there wasn't a way he could ever launch into her....
the painted boat on the painted river!

I never wanted to be a poet
I dreamed to be a trail of starlight
looking at which
you would lose yourself
to spin yarns of fairy words.
I yearned to fall from the sky
as the dew
surrounded by the liquid darkness
that begets for you a new day.
I loved to be that southern breeze
that while kissing you
takes you to thoughts unheard of.
A patch of sun through your window,
Moonbeam on your eyelids
to find you in deep dream
and all such things…….

I didn’t deserve all these glories…
I became a poet!

A God's child was born in the mud
Earth had no place; it was nipped in the bud.
There was no mourning, only the mother wailed
God quietly succumbed, he was once more impaled.

Ever heard
The faint flap of wings,
When planted
Saplings?

Enslaved in her dark waves
I ride the night.
In this journey in starlight
I pass by the witch flying on her broom,
Her eyes not vengeful but wear weary gloom,
For though she’s forever going away from earth
Pines for a home and hearth,
While I disintegrate into comets
Dreaming one day to find my way back to the sun.
Absurdly wondrous my night trek
In piercing moonlight towards stars.

As in the endless firmament I rush,
Sleeplessness seems no more a curse.