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Look no further than yourself,
be your own lamp
your own refuge.

The rain washed sky found a mirror in his eyes.

Yet for some time as the end neared
he was hearing an echo
from the deep well of nirvana
urging his weary feet toward a home
his aeons ago.

The frail bones feeling the pull
drove his weary feet through rains
to be on that land one last time.

Look no further
for howsoever long is the journey
must come to an end at home.

That night as he lay under the śāl tree
they strained to hear him whisper

All composite things decay,
strive diligently.
Gautama Buddha
Came the first one
A spell of brief rain
In the summer heat
But wasn’t seen again!

The one that followed
Veiled in mystery
Seemed an elusive
Piece of artistry!

There was another
Would rather do without
Like a rough weather
Soon blew out!

Thought it end of story
And I had enough
Came one in reigning glory

*She had the last laugh!
Have you ever counted hour by the seconds
feeling intensely hungry for life?


If for once the sun forgets to rise
this night fails to usher in dawn
what my memories tell me are lies
it's today only I was born.

If this day is filled to the brim
in a blissful child's innocence
yesterday is a bad dream
tomorrow makes no sense.

If only this night is a ceaseless flow
never short of word for a rhyme
on her axis the earth spins slow
and the morn is away longtime.

If only I'm allowed to choose
to relive the life whole night
a fantasy is the hangman's noose
calling me by first light.
I’m nothing more
Than a bore
As all my stuff
Are shitfully sad
Can’t make you laugh.

I’m just a plain bore
For almost always
I knock your door
With a mourning face
Not finding laughter’s address.

I wish I could write stuff
To make you rollingly laugh
Belly ripping laughs
Choked in coughs
Yet never enough.

I’m a bore
A failure
Time and again
Only sketching sadness
Pity
Deformity
Never giving you a laughing recess.
As the day is bled into the river
I watch the coming and going.

Place me in them
each one has a name like me
a home and a family
where their mind work laden
would have a heart to anchor
children to love and care for
a night to stir the fire
to burn all the bitterness
and be reborn the next morn
to shuttle one bank to the other
of the wide river.

I marvel at the chance
of meeting them once
suffering the absurd pain
of never crossing their path again.
By the river, July 9, 6pm
He wore himself out in her dream.

Saw her from a distance
That made her alluring
Hid what were not,

He crooned to draw her closer.

She remained no more aloof.

Proximity revealed the intricacies
When they started living under same roof.
In a desolate corner of the Ross Island graveyard
I found a 19th century memorial stone.

Inscribed "Lawrence,4 hours,
Opened his eyes to the squalor around,
Shed a drop of tears at the misery,
And closed his eyes".

Waited not for the love to blossom,
Cared not for the bud
Blooming in his mother's eyes!
It stands out amid nameless graves in that Bay Island (Andamans) cemetery.
I learned in school but what a pity
Forgot raindrops fall with constant velocity
It's not by chance but a matter of balance
Betwixt the weight of the falling drop
And sum of the buyoant force and friction of air.

But to be very fair I really don't bother
And when there's smell of rain in the air
Without thinking about laws of motion
I take a brolly or any other precaution
Yet I feel it a joyous achievement
When I lay my head bare to the firmament
So they pour and drench me every bit
Dollops of raindrops cool and sweet
Can't be defined in words the wellness I feel
When over me from the tree the drops spill.
Two brothers lazy bones were known far and wide
Devoted devils they stuck together on each other’s side
As you can guess on those idle souls life wasn’t kind
Without work they didn’t earn though they didn’t mind.

Still they managed to survive God played here his hand
The duo had a roof over head and some ancestral land
They were happy to just laze out with barely minimal meal
Spend their times at fireside with two staunch idlers’ zeal.

In fact even such rituals as bathing and nature’s call
Found them badly wanting they detested moving at all
They disliked going out of house hardly ever took a ride
Enamored of their laziness in it they preferred to hide.

The two brothers were often coaxed to go for a movie show
Couldn’t dress up never made it their limbs moved so slow
Yet they weren’t bothered for life’s joys remaining undone
Thoroughly enjoyed their laziness it held for them all the fun.

Not one good deed they ever did not once a noble act
Enslaved as they were in idleness tied to its devilish pact
None ever came to the aid of them none they ever did help
In notorious no work they stuck together keeping only to themselves.

Till one day came an ugly turn a fire broke out in their house
When all else left except them even the cellar’s mouse
In their sleep as they sensed the heat the one asked the other

My back is burning what to do please tell me kindly brother.

Though surrounded them the fire the two brothers didn’t budge a bit
Undeterred by the looming peril they kept lying in the searing heat
How do I know the other answered with eyes still not opened wide

*Go back to your sleep if it’s too hot move your back to the other side.
Leave a life
that one can take
a leaf out of it.
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!
The rain
All on a sudden
Poured in glee,
It kissed the windowpane
Drenched the lonely lane
But lo not a drop touched me!
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.
Turn left and then take the first right
Go straight till find on left a lane
Walk a few paces till comes to your sight
A left turn and one more again!

Take the second one till the eyes meet
The path being broken into two
One goes right and the other to left
Which one to take you got no clue!

Take the left one the right one is blind
Walk for a few minutes more
Count the lampposts six you would find
On the way you cross many a door!

Walk till you reach a broken windowpane
Peeping from there a knowing face
He is the one who can tell the right lane
To be taken to find your address!
My mouth waters taste buds tickle
When I see a jar of lemon pickle!

On the sunny roof the lemon pickle
It starts a child’s saliva’s trickle!

It still gives his conscience a *****
He played on the old man a trick!

For the old one was sunned on the roof
Jar of lemon pickle what a goof!

The glass jar stayed there all day
But the child just couldn’t stay away!

At midday when they all were asleep
Little feet climbed the stairs steep!

Made sure not an eye was watching
What joy did the sight of pickle bring!

The child such small was his need
He only had to open the jar’s lid!

Pick up one for nothing he could miss
One juicy sweet sour lemon piece!

In his mischief he did go that far
Each ****** piece he put back in the jar!

So that they would never find a trace
Not one piece of lemon would be less!

The poor old man he never knew
The child’s blended saliva in the brew!

The child ****** pickle had his fill
What the old man relished with his meal!

I know this story isn’t worth a nickel
Still I find irresistible the lemon pickle!
Who else but only the miser knows
Preciousness of attachment!*

He would not easily give up, not easily part
Loss of what he values easily breaks his heart!

He demeans not one object, knows to love not discard
Treasures each possession, each zealously guards!

Nothing for him grows old, with each he’s intimate
His ownership is blind, associations passionate!

Never demean the miser, rather adore his commitment
None else but only he knows true meanings of attachment!
countless love poems devoured

why am I hungry for more!
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.
On a bed of flowers love is born.

Let it not die

*on a bed of thorns!
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!
Even where there is no darkness
we will create one.
would have been unbearable
but for
our beliefs and assumptions!
pause a little don't **** in haste
curb the killer in yourself
trample them not as garden's pest
they need your kindness' help.

stop your feet see how they beg
lying on your garden's leaf
call out to you all the tiny egg
don't turn your ears deaf.

when they hatch may not look sweet
still they need you to be fair
not **** them but wait little bit
not be repulsed by stinging hair.

now they must eat more and more food
to grow in pace and quick
if you are patient and act like good
their life can get more week.

once you allow them to grow in strength
give their life the needed lease
they reach their goal of the needed length
turn themselves into chrysalis.

thanks to you it reaches the stage
on flowers as butterfly dance
become airborne beauty on human gaze
for you gave them a little chance!
Life is so wonderful
Wonders never cease
Waking hours they rule
Sleeps the dreams tease.
Falling in love is a wonder
Breaking away is too
Finding a life partner
A relation deep and true.
Bonding for years together
Walking in sunshine and rain
Being one in all weather
Sharing joy and pain.
When it ends this journey
Leaving a void one is gone
The wondrous treasure of memory
Moves the other along.
So nicely says Louise Mckay
in life's few years' span
she would love if someone may
give her one life's plan.

(in her words)

So what are the rules and guidelines?
This I really need to learn
There should be a detailed manual
to guide us through twists and turns

How do we really prepare?
Can't we just follow certain steps?
We do it all the time
but I haven't seen the manual yet!

I know this may sound so strange
but I like to get things right
I want to always be prepared
for those things, not yet in sight


Strangely Louise there's no one plan
that can give us guidance
so diverse is the human clan
traveling the same distance.

Sadly no guide from where we learn
know our acts lead us which way
how to sail through twist and turn
find us a brighter next day.

The morrow lying hidden darkly there
may be rosy or with thorny spike
it can be green or aridly bare
a morrow we may like dislike.

Life would have been so horribly dull
if what lies at next bend was known
Time had not made a blocking wall
let all our futures be shown!
Thank you poet Louise Mckay for the inspiration and the input.
Please read this poem at http://hellopoetry.com/poem/686984/life-manual/
The cloth I gave it as cover for chill
is lying still.

Christmas eve was its last night.

Not that I knew
when picked it up
and gave it back
to the cold night.

I'm still holding it
heavy and invisible
on my heart
as my eyes repeat the scene
of crows pecking out its eyes
the head rolling on the earth
eyes closed.

I close my eyes
scared life could be so thin a thread
barely holding
and incredibly uncertain.
I am sad beyond words, my kitten Laloo died mysteriously sometime last night. I'm sorry if it spoils your joy of Christmas.
p.s. thanks friends, you really helped me to bear, grateful to you all.
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!
On my selling on a day in the blazing May
I was looking for a small place for a light bite
when I noticed through my heat dazed eyes
the signboard "Snack Bite".

Inside was the peaceful coolness of a suburb bylane
and I would have pretty soon dozed off
but for the strong smoke of spice, garlic and onion
that shut out every senses except hunger.

No menu card, sir, the waiter cut the silence,
on our menu at this hour is only fish fingers,
all else sold out.


No problem I said, I have been here for a light bite.
How many pieces come with a plate?

Ten, sir, superbly fried.

By ten minutes the steaming thing was before me
ten red crispy slices of fish fingers
and I immediately got into business
remembering what my ma used to say,
To a hungry mouth every food tastes fine
and so neat and fine the pieces looked
so artfully arranged on the plate like human fingers
I reflected on the pause having finished the fifth.

Human fingers? I froze in terror,
why didn't I notice
leftovers of crunched bones and nails
on my plate?

The only other man at the table, I heard
was ordering for another plate.
The one umbrella I give her
and get drenched in the rain.

My eyes are not dry
as rain bathes my eyelashes
makes me cry in joy.

I'm happy she's not wet
as it pours on pitter patter
pitter patter.

In the rain I find the might of love
and in the music of the pour
I hear my heart burning
in the light of sound.
With her in the rain, morning Aug 2 2024 on way to school.
Indebted to Nat Lipstadt for his inspiration against my comments on his poem "What is a soundless Sound".
a suffocating pain crawls up his throat
as he watches from the observation deck
a home once his now pathetically remote
in the cosmic vastness an agonizing speck!

brave wanderer was his dusty restless boot
his mind a yearning traveler on endless roam
love flew like sparks without growing root
never was one place could he call his home!

now before him stands an infinite rocky terrain
inviting him to unveil her unexplored asset
replicate a habitat of a different light and rain
build there a refuge retrieve a broken nest!

his lips seek a prayer as if to shake off fears
as creeps up his spine cold night's stardust
whispering the void of four ninety light years
the story of lost empire and all the broken trust!
let's not make earth so uninhabitable as to force humanity one day to seek and escape to another planet that could never become home the way our earth is.
Kepler-186f is 490 l.y. away from earth, discovered in the habitable zone of another star.
raising wall
closing door
earth won't keep us
longer more

sun will burn
out one day
turn ashes' urn
our earthly way

but much before
what could happen
we burn her more
than earth can gain

drip by drip
we bleed her dry
go on trip
for a home in sky

if pause to think
how come this need
we're on brink
for endless greed

distrust and fight
waning smiles
can things be bright
out billion miles?
Wipe your tears
I wasn't meant to be here forever.

Did I say I love you
or was it unuttered
too feeble to be heard!

Maybe you knew it in the small moments
our eyes met
you could read my emotions
in the chance glance
I cast into that ocean
and you caught its fleeting shadow.

Do your tears betray that love
of two souls on a voyage
in turbulence and calmness
in light and in darkness
building nests on the way
where you showed the child the sky
to fly away one day.

You too  never made
I love you audible
but I heard them in your lips' quiver
like a prayer.
back from work when he rings the bell
his face tells me not all is well.

there's a dog out there,
seriously wounded, can't even get up

saying this he picks up a plastic bowl
pours some water in it
and to show him he isn't alone
I follow him with a bowl of milk
with breads soaked in it,

must be some insolent car tyre
crushed his hind legs
a black emaciated one
with a patch of white

and upon that grass
beneath the sinking night
we two mourn.
frozen a lion stands
tamed by the modeller's hands
eyes unblinking
he has no inkling
why he can't move an ounce
roar and pounce
can't jump from his place
to bite a chunk of flesh
but bugged by the creator's flaws
can't move a bit his paws
stand there in dazed surprise
in helpless awe before thousand eyes
mouth agape in a tragic roar

the truth dawning on him
he's a king no more

just a clayed clone
of a lion
please see the cover photo.
Make choice
To listen
From the din of all noise!
the red girl turning blue
means she's falling for you
displays her love's basic
your charm has done the trick.

the blue girl turning red
means your chance is bleak
displays no love is bred
your sight makes her acidic.

the red girl remaining red
the blue girl remaining blue
in this worst case I'm afraid
she's neutrally looking at you.
A matchstick can melt darkness
A breathe can break silence
Just a word can greatly impress
Saying nothing can make sense.
A tear can move a mountain
A touch can heal pain
A fleeting glimpse can for long remain
A little love can be a big gain.
A ray of light can show the way
A bubble can hold a rainbow
A whiff of fragrance can forever stay
A smile can make a face aglow.
By now you know
Things don’t go
As you like them to,
The plans you make
Do easily break
Little you can do.
Your morn’s hopes
With the day elopes
Aspirations sink,
Your rosiest thought
Turns to naught
Loses the pink.
The patch of blue
Without a clue
Is painted gray,
The spot of sunlight
Goes out of sight
Before you make hay.
Sudden are the slips
Words from your lips
You don’t mean to,
You pick up a row
Turn a friend foe
Little you can do.
The passing feet
That stops before him
He greets.

Come sir stand here in peace
Get them shining at five rupees
Five minutes’ please
For just five rupees
Then, sir, go on your way
Have a nice day.


While they stand
Deftly moves his hand
Dabbing white cream
On pairs of five rupee dream
An intent drive
Rusted leather must come alive.

Then he let go free
Grabs the five rupee
Gets back his eyes on the street

*He needs many more feet to greet.
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!
She sits from where
the rainbow arches into the river.

As I eye her fishing net
she reads the question in my mind.

I'm waiting for three thirty
when tides begin to fall
but the shrimps can't go back.


When the bank begins to bare
she glides into the waves
till the water cools her *******.

I walk away knowing
she would bob up to the hour
the moon is upon her face
and she has made another morrow
from the river.
One of these days
I’ll keep aside a day for mourning
Nay remembering.

I’ll journey through memory
To dig up buried faces
My priceless treasures
Passing guests of life
Touching me for minutes
A few hours
But carving in my heart
Impressions imperishable
And who I outlive
With a sense of guilt
Pangs of conscience
That in those minutes
By those hours
They did miraculously more
Than I have ever thought of doing
Across far longer time
Living for what they gave me
But not living for what they taught me
In those small hours
Miniscule minutes
When their eyes only gave
Their hearts only parted
The noblest thing for me
That I failed then
To understand

Reciprocate!
Hare Krishna he greets all passing familiar face
the two invigorating words his strength and happiness
his own life in doggy mess he never misses to greet
Hare Krishna to each one his dimming visions meet!

Hare Krishna I greeted him as I passed him on my way
Hare Krishna could you stop a while I had a horrible day
the mother she came to me with her appeal in distress
save my children from death be on you god's grace.

When I reached there I found one child was already dead
an inevitable fate they suffer the children in winter bred
I heard the groan of the other one but it I couldn't reach
if only you heard the howl the doleful wail of the *****.

Hare Krishna I tried my best so badly I now feel
Hare Krishna trying is yours the rest is God's will
you tried what's not done and I salute the Man in you
who unwaveringly takes the call minds not the pain to rescue.

As he left me the ageing man passed into the evening's shadow
I saw there not just a man but a living god with glorious halo
It's men like him walk the earth that keeps it a place to dream
Hare Krishna I whispered if only I could be like Him.
Krishna - Hindu God, avatar of Vishnu
Hare Krishna - mantra chanted in praise of Him by the Vaishnavas
this work is based on real characters and incidents.
Oh I find love such an easy thing to do
Easier still to say that I love you
But living up to it I find manifold tough
Tiding over hurdles riding oceans rough!

Love comes such easy wear it like my name
It’s there just for taking a mere child’s game
But living up to it I find quite a hard deal
With voids to fill up and wounds to heal!

On the face it seems love is an easy game
Knocking on her door laying your claim
But living up to it demands lot of commitment
Whose tip is only touched with I love you statement!

But I do find love an easy thing to do
That took me half the life to make it ring true
For living up to it I have tried my best
I avow my efforts are not all gone waste!
He throws me an angry glance
his countenance says he is cross
I've given you enough chance
no more I should growls the boss!

Everyday you come to work late
and you haven't dearth of excuse
traffic no buses long wait
always you think up some ruse!

The last one to report for works
the first one to leave the office floor
if you can't come on time he barks
for you is wide open my door!

Make good the time that's lost
beyond office hours late stay
must recover your pay's full cost
and not feel I am cheated each day!

I play on him the last trick
can't do it sir at any rate
being guided by one logic

*shouldn't ever be twice late!
Think of the lonely hearts at the zoo
Kept captive for reasons they haven’t a clue
Souls kept unpaired on the ground
Not a mate for them could be found!

Should have thought of it when trapped from the forest
Or acquired them from another zoo
Showcased them those unwilling guests
Forgetting they need mates too!

Mightiest animal decides these creatures’ fate
Dictates how they should live and be grown
The right time to love and have a mate
Or spend life in their enclosures alone!

In the name of care you make their lives messy
Consign them to the doom of loneliness
You ruin their home invade their privacy
No wonder the zoo doesn’t have a happy face!
It was in the news recently that a zoo is unable to acquire mates for its red kangaroo, chimpanzee and jaguar.
she broke the mist
peered from the east
in mesmerizing pace
shrunk her obsidian face
haloed in pearly ornament
the readily yielding firmament
climbed the cotton spire
set meridian afire

and then

to put her beauty at rest
declined to west
leaving her robe silken white
on the delirious night

I remembered

dawn is not far
and she's in my memory

a lingering scar.
With length
a poem
loses strength?
I just want the light a little longer
I want to hold your face in my hands
So I could allow my desires to grow stronger
And be ready when the moon in your eyes lands!
‘A little longer’ I always wish it to be
To see through before I read it all
From that point I would never ever be free
From the steepest plunge to the endless fall!
But it’s never greed that consumes me
Rather a craving to slow the pace
To remain frozen longer than eternity
Holding in my hands your face!
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