Marionette spread
On her bread
Some cheese,
The evening sun was red
When flew above her head
A few wild geese!
As she looked up the sky
To see them prettily fly
Buzzed around her head,
Black honeybees!
She held her ground
Moved her hands around
But they do as they please,
These stubborn honeybees!
The smell struck their head
Fine cheese on bread
So luscious was the sight -
It whetted their appetite!
Marionette felt uneasy
The bees kept her busy
And obstructed her sight -
She was not allowed a bite!
It was getting late
The sun was about to set
It was coming to twilight,
But our poor Marionette
In her agitated state
Couldn’t enjoy the sight!
Cute little Marionette
She went down on her knees
But her evening was spoiled
By the uninvited bees!

A sedative of love
Round the clock care
An aura of tender warmth
You give it all,
My mind reader!
I’m scared,
By the delirium
That overpowers me
Enslaves all my senses
And makes me blindly yield
To you, my mind reader!
I doubt
If I deserve
This God’s bounty,
Your hawkish eyes
That shadow me
Shade me
From getting burnt.
But what if
You’re gone mind reader,
The only one to make me smile,
Wipe my tears,
Reach beyond skin to my mind
And able to read every page!

The teddy pair lies in the sun,
They scooped the dirt out
And abandoned them here.
Once hugged in the sweetest *****
Fondled by the cutest little hands
Taken to bed for happy dreams,
They seemed inseparables
And not just stuffed toys.
Made as inanimate,
By the magic touch of love,
They turned humans,
Yearning for love, company,
growing hearts in them.
Then as happens to all,
Their fluffs wore out
Colors faded
They were no more attractive.
Stale outdated outcast
To be thrown away out of sight.
As I passed by the garbage vat
For a moment it seemed
Their eyes were moist
With the pain of betrayal.
I prayed,
‘before they turn to cinder,
let them be picked up
by shabby little hands
of some child of lesser god
and given back the love they lost’.
I hope it will be answered.

The air smelt of doom
Mystery hung in the room
No one was allowed to leave
Right on the job was Mr. Steve.
One by one they were called
He had them mauled
With questions often uncouth
But he had to get to the truth.
The smart as well as the shy
Had something for alibi
The tall and lean Mr. Brown
Said he was out of town
Ms. Percival said she wasn’t there
Had gone out to see a theater
Mr. Hubbard was stubbornly quiet
His face pale and ashen white
Ms. Christie who leant on a crutch
Was talking irrelevant too much.
Each one of them denied having heard
Any sound that could take them off guard
Tim the butler slept through the night
Janice heard nothing after putting out the light.
Mr. Steve fumed as his vexation grew
Knowing for sure not all said was true
The ****** has been committed by one of them
Who could it be in this hide-and-seek game?
Was the offence committed for material gain?
Who could benefit from these men and women?
Or could it be, more ghastly and strange,
The ****** was done as an act of revenge?
He couldn’t find flaws with any of alibi
There was no evidence to nail down the lie
He found it unsolvable, and that irked Mr. Steve
His reputation was at stake as a great detective.

Today this sun-filled morn
I’ll not mourn for you,
Though my heart is a desert
Your memories barren sands
And my eyes dried up eons ago!
Today this sun-filled morn
I’ll not mourn for you
Though my heart still smells you
Your face lies in my eyes
And my cries I stifled eons ago!
Today this sun-filled morn
Your hands in mine
We’ll walk back to when
Memories were not born!

Pay no heed
To your greed
Do it once
Just to give your greatness
A chance.
Once and then once more
As never before
Defy the greed
Pay it no heed.
Here and there
A small sacrifice
Would suffice
You’re learning to share.
You’re learning to defy greed
Learning the worth of a good deed
You’ve it to take the lead
To free the world from greed.

When the sun scorched the sand,
I went to Henry’s Island.
The winter came and left the shore
Spring was for a while and then no more
The rains beat the shingled beach
The soothing autumn was within reach.
Yet I spurned these tempting seasons
Couldn’t persuade myself with good reasons
To visit the island in fairer weather
And landed on it in the harshest summer!
The sands bit my feet like burning coal
The beach seemed alone without a soul
To the distant horizon my eyes could gaze
A fishermen’s boat hung in the haze.
The red ***** though found it a fun
To come out of hole to bathe in the sun
When I was close they were quickly gone
The beach was alive and I wasn’t alone.
The seagulls skimmed the waves for fish
The sea was all mine like in the dreamiest wish
Placing all her beauties at only my command
Gifting me a glorious summer at Henry’s Island.

Up my backyard tree
A family is my guest
In a happy living spree
Cozy in their nest!
I saw them build it strong
With whatever scraps they found
Laboring all along
To beak-pick them from ground!
Secure and steady
The nest was soon ready
To welcome in one morn
Cute little new born!
Rearing them is hard
Feeding the hungry brood
When mother stands on guard
The father goes for food!
Fast they grow sweet chicks
From fluffy to colored plumage
It’s a matter of weeks
Before they turn a new page!
I don’t want them to haste
But I know they would soon fly
Leaving a hole in my heart
For the expanse of the sky!

Go join the long and winding queue
At the space station WYXLC2
Where they take you to time left behind
To dig out the lost love from your mind!
You are transported to a recreated space
To regain moments of forsaken happiness
Of holding her close, sing, and dance
A night out with her, for a second chance!
A precious chance to show your passion
Under the sky of heavenly constellation
Unspoken gestures of love that never fail
Feelings that words can’t explicitly tell!
Words you uttered you never wanted to
Vain, hollow and rang so untrue
That poured only from the lip’s surface
To ***** out love and **** its progress!
This night with your ex-lover for chance 2
To make amends, it’s what you must do
Utter not, for love words can disguise
Hold her in embrace, look deep into her eyes!

Hidden in the dark foliage of a mango tree
It croons a ‘hammer on the metal’ lullaby
The night has yielded to a youthful morn
It’s a long call and the day is just born.
I look up and see its crimson head
Its plumage of blue, green, and red
It seems certain with no hint of doubt
It would ceaselessly call the whole day out.
It isn’t in hurry, doesn’t care being late
Knows only persistence in seeking its mate
For dipping in romance in her sun-tanned wings
And build a nest together for cute siblings.
The two together in their most joyful mood
Would peck a deep hole on some dead wood
And in no time, the babies would arrive
To make the dead tree vibrant and alive.
‘Tunk-tunk’ it goes on in the rising heat
That sounds like a strike on a copper sheet
I know it wouldn’t stop, today is the date
For its tunes to find its lover and mate.

They bear the brunt of the heat,
Yet in the scorching sun
Without the respite of a shed,
They don’t complain
But protect what lie below them,
The leaves far down,
The creatures on the ground,
Quietly waiting for the rain!
And when it pours,
They dance in joy
As they get the first drops,
Forgetting all sadness of life!
Can’t we be like them?
I mean the leaves atop the trees
With nothing on their head
Mutely bearing the sun’s wrath
Dancing through all pain
Protecting whatever is down below
Cheerily waiting for rain!

Rich wine served with good food
Set me just in the right mood
For a sojourn on the silvery lands
Where the pearly waves hug the sands!
I knew not where the path led me to
A moonstruck man could little do
Except knowing that he had to go
For an aimless walk with his own shadow!
I floated away in the phantom light
Holding in my eyes the fairy night
Above the sea to where the stars gleam
To a heavenly space in drunken dream!

A lonely mouse
In a lonely house
With a lonely piece of bread
A lonely philosopher
On his lonely bed
With the lonely thoughts in his head!
It was a queer coincidence
Though both of them aloof
They were in true essence
Were living under one roof!
The philosopher gave a laugh
Shaking his disheveled head
‘Mere thoughts are not enough,
I can’t live without bread’!
The mouse whined in regret
‘It’s really no good
Such is my fate
I only think of food’!
The philosopher without bread
Not a word he could carve
With no thoughts in its head
The mouse didn’t starve!
The philosopher thought the mouse
He really couldn’t befriend
Though they shared the same house
They couldn’t unite in the end!
If only they could share
With each other thoughts and bread
It could be a great affair
In the way fairytales are made!
But they never made a start
The philosopher and the mouse
And lived poles apart
In the lonely decrepit house!

I hold up your face in the moon
And see the price you have paid
For loving me!
Bathed in pain
Of years of holding me in your heart,
Your eyes are desires burned out in vain!
I hold up your face in the moon
And see the dried up rivers
Of years of holding me in your heart
Yet never being able to get a start!
I hold up your face in the moon
And see relics of a love
Wasted in a desert of despair!

I want to erase that ugly line.
It’s not seen but it’s there
Between you and me
Day and night
Deep down
Eating
Thru
Us!
You
And I
Created
And allowed
That line to grow
And build between us
A rift that makes us enemies
Drifting away as two islands!

Far away from the city
One bed for the four of us,
We ignored the nitty-gritty
The night was superbly precious.
5 acres of open darkness
We couldn’t for more bargain,
The new moon hid her face
To envelope the 4 lonely men!
We sank and deep-breathed the smell
Of a languor that only silence can bring
Drunk timeless without any wine’s spell
We flew with the nightjars on wing.
In the sky’s faintest dream light
One bed with no hint of nightmare
5 acres of softly passing night
Transfixed 4 souls out there!

I awoke in the morn and walked to the shore
But the sea was faraway, could be seen no more
The abandoned beach stretched far as the eyes
None else was there, it was lonely sunrise.
There was no wave crowning the beach
The sea seemed vanished by a vengeful witch
My disappointment I could barely hide
I was supposed to be on a lovely seaside.
The wind though swept my face
As if to soothe and calmly redress
My discontent at the barren shore
Seeking a sea that was there no more!
Though crestfallen I was not homebound
Rolled my trousers, climbed the sands’ mound
And then I heard the casuarinas whisper
‘We’re here as the waves’ murmur’!

In the moon’s shadow
I dine with the devil
His eyes a burning glow
And mine dark evil.
Everything he can find
What goes on in my mind,
Shown, acted, faked,
The devil bares me naked.
He says ‘what good will come
Of the world’s all goodness
When I can make reign
The ugliness beneath all face’!
The devil knows the world is his
And he has me in his leash
While I speak and feign wise
I sin for the smallest compromise.
As the devil pours me wine
He taunts ‘it can’t be divine,
Your world, that I rule supreme,
And your God, a wishful dream!’
It gets darker as the moon sinks low
Winds rising from hell fiercely blow
Inebriated to its utmost measure
I’m ready to burn for a moment’s pleasure!

A young man from Spain
Fell in a cold dark drain
When asked, “Are you Mad?”
Said, “No, I’m insane.”
This young man from Spain
From the fall in considerable pain
Attracted a large queue
But him none did rescue.
In his fall he saw no gain
This injured guy from Spain
He exclaimed “Oh, what surprise,
I’m showered with only advice!”
Many suspected his brain
Asked if he was or wasn’t in pain
It really was suspect which side was sane
The ones gathered or the man from Spain!
“How funny” said the men and women
“Surely your eyes were not open”
Some said, “It’s simple and plain,
The fellow is plain insane.”
They said, “You should have been more alert
More cautious and certainly more smart
They all agreed the men and women
He should not have been in the drain.
The unfortunate man from Spain
Wondered what’s the bargain?
Though pain made him blue
Why was nobody coming to his rescue?
They left the poor man to his fate
Expressing anguish and regret
We never knew which side was insane
The crowd that gathered or the man from Spain!

O lonely parrot
It’s such a pity
You’re perched on a wire
High above the city!
The forest was so green parrot
The forest was so neat
Why did you have to leave it
For the urban dust and heat!
O lonely parrot
It’s such a pity
You abandoned the forest
To dwell in the city!
So warm was your nest
With choicest foods galore
A wonderful hole for rest
And singing heart’s outpour!
O lonely parrot
It’s such a pity
Leaving the peace of forest
You prefer to be in the city!
The songs were so soulful there
The melodies so sweet
Your heart you could fully bare
To your throb you could tweet!
O lonely parrot
It’s such a pity
You can be caught and caged
In this heartless city!
So parrot make haste
To recover all you miss
Go back to the forest
Your own abode of peace!

I have the gun in my hand
If I shoot you on the head
You’re a dead duck.
If I miss
It’s your good luck.
I have the gun in my hand
If I shoot on your leg
You’re a lame duck.
If I miss
It’s your good luck.
I have the gun in my hand
If I shoot you in the eyes
You’re a blind duck.
If I miss
It’s your good luck.
I have the gun in my hand
But in this game
It’s your heart I aim.
And if I miss
I’ll run out of luck.

If you pause awhile and look into their eyes
You would find sadness tinged with surprise
These sentinels of trust, with themselves at peace,
Need your love a little, but you hardly notice.
None really knows what goes on in their head
As they forage in the dirt for a crumb of bread
If they chance upon a scrap in a dingy by-lane
They wag gratefully in the shadow of men.
Food is so scarce though so often they waste
The men are too miserly to share with the rest
Yet they bear no malice as they flock the dustbin
These loyal creatures never know how to be mean.
Today on the street if you see one of them
Don’t just pass by its emaciated frame
Ignore not and notice, it’s there on the street
Waiting for your love in the dust and heat!
Stop awhile and look deep into its eyes
Step out of the shadow and reach it sunrise
See how it returns the love you warmly lend
And rewards you with truly a lifelong friend!

The trees are dancing in red
And yellow and violet and pink,
Rebellious colors of all hue and shade
Though here will be gone in a wink.
Grab them these specters of dreams
Dip your heart deep and true
Surrender to the mad spectrum of whims
Before they fade and leave you to rue.
Let some of them smudge your face
Get inside and touch your mind
Bathe you in flamboyant happiness,
Once gone you may never again find.
Colors of Spring in all hue and shed
From the heavens on you they pour,
Dash of colors, that’s for you made,
Are calling you to open your door!

What’s shining can come to rust
Love is fragile and so is trust
Joy’s bubbles can quickly burst
Be ready if the worst comes to the worst.
The dearest pal can turn enemy
The inconspicuous can turn deadly
From dead wood can new flame burst
Be ready if the worst comes to the worst.
What seems close may not be near
It may not mean what you seem to hear
They all ain’t good for which you lust
Be ready if the worst comes to the worst.
Words may sound sweet and sugary
It can sting the little honey bee
Money is slowest when you need it fast
Be ready if the worst comes to the worst.
Happiness is elusive and so is peace
Won’t ever come the chances you miss
In the no air zone the wind can gust
Be ready if the worst comes to the worst.
The sharpest arms may turn out blunt
It’s not always the way you want
The biggest empire may turn to dust
Be ready if the worst comes to the worst.
Often so fallible what looks the best
Crumbles like ruins in life’s acid test
But you shouldn’t despair, hope you must,
Be ready if the worst comes to the worst.

My eyes are roving, clever and playful
In the tensest moments I don’t lose my cool
From my fingers the bullets fly
I dive deep and jump from the sky.
I do hide behind occasional beard
I want my martinis shaken not stirred
My mantra is only one word ‘win’
The only car I ride is Aston martin.
My name turns my enemies morose
They’re pinned down by my gizmos.
Women just madly fall for me
Clad skimpily in alluring bikini
Chiseled figures slim and tall
I choose the good but go for all.
I am pressed for time so much
I can’t do without my omega watch
Though I’m not stuck in a brand or two
Rolex and Seikos will also do.
I feel instead of lengthening the list
It’s time for me to clear up the mist
A suave smart and fearless guy
I also happen to be a timeless spy.
I play with the villains dangerous games
Love to be called Bond without James
With me the baddies can never get even
You know the world knows me by 007.