Inwardly by yourself,
You have to live your life,
No one can live it for you,
Not even husband or wife,

For every coin that has a head,  
Turn it round it will have a tail,  
Every positive thought that exists,    
A negative will make it fail;  
For every attack you can devise,  
The enemy can plan a defence,  
And there will always be two sides,  
For each and every sentence;  
Just like nothing is forever black,    
Nothing is always white, no way,  
So let us think with moderation,  
So that we can appreciate the gray.

Knights with lances, swords and shields,
Doing battles in vast green fields,
Iron weapons and clanging sounds,
Blood and body parts on the grounds,
Always its good-versus-bad at play,
Only strengths survive at end of day.

It is time. Right on the dot. The brushes are out,
and the artist is ready. The evening’s artwork will
begin in oil.

So the painting starts, with gentle wide strokes.
Simple shades for soft setting sun,
egg yolk red, carrot orange, cleverly done.

Then more forceful strokes as minutes pass.
Wide precise strokes. Lovely colours dash,
on unlimited canvas, the evening’s splash.

Lemon yellow like painted gold,
boldly morphed in crimson and blue,
and various shades of purple too.

Many minutes have passed. Half an hour all,
the final strokes are done for nature's call.

This awesome painting for earthly enjoyment,
all in total silence. No music. No fears,
for angels' harps are not for earthly ears.

The masterpiece is a short time's stay,
Then the brilliant colours fade away,
until next sundown.

Enjoy life to the fullest
Set some thoughts for tomorrow
Then live out the rest today

If you could fly,
You would live so high,
It would be a breeze,
And there would be
no limits in the sky.

You would need a jacket,
to keep you warm,
You would need goggles
to protect your eyes
from the storm.

If you enter the clouds,
It’s useless to shout,
No one can see you,
You need a compass,
To find your way out.

You have to be careful
Of birds or a plane
For if they hit you
On your head
It will cause much pain.

And in case you fall,
You just can’t cry,
For no one hears you
Not even your call,
And you would die.

So unless you can fly,
It’s better you don’t try!

You appeared in my dream last night,
And you were such a splendid sight -
The sad thing is the dream did fade,
Before the final act was played.

Just one thing at a time
Can cause less mistakes
And sometimes faster than
multi-tasking takes

When the mind is attuned
To one act on hand
We can sort out the grain
From a cup of sand

Cool replacing hot
Twilight colours fading fast
Night life waking up

The cold wind is here
Blowing strongly north to south
Hats pulled down tightly

In the ocean of the mind,
Must lie a sea of fantasy,
Imaginations of every kind,
Of love and pain and ecstasy.

When lightning strikes and thunder rolls,  
Across the vast and moody sky,  
We can reason with carefree minds,  
It’s Nature’s way to shout and cry!

These quiet guardians in the night,
Gently guide the lost and hopeless,
They renovate the hidden strength,
And disperse the silent sadness.

I’d love to fly up to the sky,  
Soaring through all the clouds on high,  
Scrambling the startled water drops,
And soothing snowflakes passing by.    

I’d love to perch on mountain tops,  
And jump and skip and maybe hop,  
From one to two to three or four,
Then flying back again for more.  

I’d love to sit on ocean bed,    
Patting a starfish on its head,  
Playing with pretty mermaids there,  
With their bodies so sweetly bare.  

Why, this would be a witching way,  
To help me through a dreadful day,  
But of course this can never be,  
It’s just another fantasy.

A poem is never perfect,
Just like everything,
The poet has to check,
Check and counter- check,
It needs constant editing.

At four-thirty this afternoon,
In the sky I saw a bright full moon,
There were no stars around,
no clouds,
no sun -
Day moon was the only one.

I’m sure she came out this early,
To see what the world was really like,
she couldn’t see so well,
with stars
at night -
Despite shining all her light.

When anger flares up
Short-changing the mind,
Regret comes later
For remarks unkind.

Eating breakfast in the evening,
And having lunch around midnight,
Taking dinner in afternoon,
Somehow something is not quite right?

The star had shone all night with zest,
And now it’s time for it to rest,
For it is early morn,
Another day is born,
The tired star has done its best.

The night is moonless
The usual stars are on strike
Homes look much safer

Faith alone is not enough,
Some actions are needed too,
Hope is also just as tough,
Since it sticks to Faith like glue.

This is most distressing

That though they know the truths and lies,
The wrongs and rights and all the whys,
Still, many cannot change their lives.

That often heads nod in agreement,
For righteous acts but lack commitment,
To carry them through to fulfilment.

That kindness and generosity don’t stay,
Greed and selfishness always win the day,
Common sense and logic don’t lead the way.

This is most distressing.

More than enjoyment
Music invokes sentiments
Classics old and new

My thoughts did dwell for long on us,
I wondered how our lives would be,
If we lived our years together,
Instead of you with you and I with me.

We had said our last goodbye
A final kiss and a double sigh
Sadly I watched you board your plane
With trembling heart amidst clutching pain -

Transfixed was I until you were gone
Parting tears were never so forlorn.

If we can meet just once a year,
We can both share a single tear,
I’ll be happy if you are near,
Even if it’s just once a year.

I called out your name
when the wind came by
so it would catch it
and carry it away
across the oceans
to you

One day
when you feel the wind
listen to it until
you can hear your name
for that will be me
calling out to you

Unless I had reacted hastily
performed without thinking through
instead had used all my knowledge
considered everything before deciding
I should not regret what I had done
For what else could I do?

I saw you in a crystal ball
Watching me with a winsome smile
And I wondered if you my love
Were truly happy all this while

Snow-white and very elegant am I,
Whether on land or floating on a lake,
I attract a lot of curious tourists,
A second look of me they always take.

Though I resemble a huge question mark,
Like distant cousins the goose and the duck,
I am however much more beautiful,
And of course that is more than just good luck.

My diet consists of roots, algae and plants,
Insects and worms I do not like one bit,
And as you can see from my appearance,
What I consume do keep me super fit.

It was frightening
A thunderclap quite sudden
Cat's under the bed

He was very calm
He is always very calm
Nothing ruffles him

If you should see a dragon in the sky,
You had better take another look,
Because dragons do not exist,
Except in fairy tales or in a book.

Sitting by my window side,
Gazing at the starlit night,
I saw a tiny glow,
A little shimmering light.

It darted here and there
And its brilliance grew,
I watched entranced and felt
Such joy and then I knew

It was not a firefly,
It was no earthly light,
It drew so close to me
She came into my sight.

Just a fleeting moment,
I felt she could not stay,
A kiss she blew to me
Then my fairy flew away.

I couldn’t hear his soft footsteps,
Though I sensed that he was behind,
Since he seemed very close to me,
I wondered what he had in mind;
I waited till he was too close,
Then I suddenly spun around,
But to my chagrin and surprise,
It was my shadow that I found.

Not only am I beautiful,
I’m also an acrobat,
If you have the chance to see me,
You can see me do my act,
I can stand on one leg,
Balanced and steady like a rock,
I am a lovely pinkish colour,
So don’t mistake me for a stork.

I don’t sleep like anyone else,
Turned to one side or on my back,
I always like to hang myself,
Upside-down for I have the knack;

I do have an in-built radar,
So I can see without the light,
For I am really very blind,
In all my flights in day or night.

Many water drops
Falling all over just now
A puddle is born

Books with paper and printed pages,  
Even without the Web we can access,  
At home, at work, in travels, anywhere,  
Without  physical and mental stress,  
With no glaring screen the eyes to strain,  
No radiation to damage the brain.  

For though electronic books are here  
With ample topics of every kind,  
They have too many optical faults,    
And often a nuisance too I find,  
So for myself, I know exactly why,  
My books with paper will never die.

If I could have but just one wish,
What could I wish for?
Money, riches and health,
Happiness and all that are in store?

Really all these I don’t need,
Not that I’m very rich,
(No, not in the least indeed)
What comes readily to my mind,
Is to wish for the whole world,
To be wiser, friendlier and kind

For if everyone were to be this way,
We would all be happier every day.

Enjoy life to the fullest
Set some thoughts for tomorrow
Then live out the rest today

I am the prettiest of them all.

More colours than the rainbows have I,
With a myriad of designs on my wings,
Four of them for me to flit and fly,
From flowers to flowers and natured things.

I was not born beautiful at dawn,
A crawling caterpillar was my start,
But like ugly duckling and the swan,
I was transformed into a piece of art.

I am the prettiest of them all.

In silence I watched the lights below,  
In lonely houses in evening’s glow,  
Other lights were scattered all around,  
North, south, east and west, they could be found.  

A bike was passing and then a car,  
Tall buildings were standing not so far,
Silhouettes they formed against the sky,  
And somewhere uttered a lonesome cry.

The summer’s night was cool and serene,
With its portrait of a country scene,  
And I felt so peaceful, I felt fine,  
While slowly sipping my glass of wine.  

Quiet beauty there will always be,  
For each of us who will really see.