exacting in love
possessive by nature
volatile in temperament
and raging like flames
you are wild and untamed

nothing like docile padma!

the strategic placement
of each kiss on
your voluptuous body
you so unashamedly demand
is provocatively seductive

drawing out
from deep within the soul
of this simple flute-playing cowherd
a brazen but besotted lover


© 2019

while the whole world
takes my name
for eternal salvation,
i softly chant
under each breath
the magical words
radha...radha...radha...
my eternal love

without whom
i'm merely
the burnt ashes
which remain
after that fragrant incense
called radha
has been lit

© 2019

seductive yellow rose
waltzing
beside the green lake
in this city of sin,
are you tempted
by things forbidden?

steadfast
steel cut
spellbinding
you indulge in nothing
except
this dark chocolate croissant
which seemingly melts in your mouth

© 2021

as the shimmering stars
in the scorpio skies
samba in syzygy,
here on scorched earth
the sparkling eyes of this silk rose
become stress’s antidote to soothe body and soul.

feeling sanguine,
even a tad sangfroid,
i smile,
scribbling sultry muses
sauced with sass and sibilance


© 2021

atop
that golden haystack
mounted on an unwieldy bullock cart
you wished we had......

a regret of a million lifetimes!

every time
your plucky smile flashes
in the sacred space between brows,
i see a wish fulfilling acacia tree
nymphalid butterflies flutter in my gut
and rapid clips of lifetimes past
neatly edited,
projected as movie trailers

your deathlike silence
has quietly become my universe,
as i pen in moon-like solitude
memoirs of an unrequited love

© 2019

under the slanting rays
of the December sun,
silhouettes of this sin city
eke loneliness,
eating the timid
and spitting out carcasses.

its skies, ash gray
the refrigerated air moody
reminding wayfarers
that here is no place
to come seeking solace.

as apathy rains
sirens howl
and crime soars
the need to look over the shoulder
more pronounced than ever before.

the bottom line is
everyone’s looking to make money,
fast, furious and frenzied
in this,
my hometown- New York.

picking fall couture ~~
when did she start putting
herself in his shoes?


© 2021

strewn atop
her neatly made bed
decorated with satin sheets and silk pillows,
some dainty rose petals.....
a green bottle of bubbly by the bed side
the highlight of the night....
that slinky ‘coco de mer’ lingerie
her secret weapon.....
as she tucks away her pleasure toy
a smile of relief descends.....

her lover is back in town!


© 2021

looking down
to spot my shadow,
i glimpse
your slender silhouette instead.

my orange tip butterfly!
this ain’t a sleight of light,
as dreams merge
our souls unite,
leaving our tanned bodies tangled
in a titillating state of tantric union


© 2021

let’s elope
you and i
to the snow capped alps
where amidst a soft white blanket
we make love
in all one hundred and eight poses
making the tantric texts of yore proud

© 2022

lurking behind
that nervous but sensual laugh
hides an exotic goddess
pretending to be
a die-hard feminist

was it the regimen of a demanding mother?
was is it the separation from your misunderstood motherland?
is it the distance from your chosen lover?
or simply sadness from an unrequited love?

toss away the jin guo
and let the river flow.....
for this world to see
the true guan yin
rising within you

© 2021

is it me or did i not see
naughty cupid shamelessly flash
his flowery bow and love-dipped arrow
straight at me?

smitten,
i see her falling eyelash,
  only witness
to that seductive gaze
which freezes amaranthine ‘time’
down to absolute zero.

seldom bound
by conventions or clocks,
i, the sage smile....
knowing her playful side
and the true nature of whimsical cupid.


© 2021

truth be told
i’m leaving my heart right here
below the glass chandelier on 63rd St.
for you to play with,
any time you walk past.

the morbid dance of incoming storms
will douse the flames of my dreams,
yet, you will always be my incomplete thirst.

after i’m gone,
come, without remorse
and immerse in my colors
under this delicate murano glass.
to see for yourself
how the heavy fragrance
of black orchids could’ve played,
cheek to cheek
with the wild scent of green vetiver

© 2022

did you feel that lil tug inside you?

that’s no murmur
my darling radha
just a melancholic tune
floating from my magical flute
sent your way
packed with all my love


© 2020

the astrologer within
has made a prediction....
this heart has about
a billion beats left

so dance Kali
dance
fully dressed
or naked

not in the amphitheaters of Rome
but over my corpse
in the ghats of Manikarnika
where my cremated ashes
will be dissolved
in that same river
you so heartlessly condemned me to

as you cut a rug in ecstasy
with bloodied eyes,
forget not that
this body of mine was your theater
my eyes, the showcase lights
my in and outgoing breath
the music of the orchestra,
my heartbeat
the tintinnabulation of your anklets

the candle of love
that i lit and housed
within me
kept your id and ego
in perfect balance

this candle is fast melting
but it’s my tears
which now run like a river
that will remain forever

this show is closer to its end....

the sound that you now hear
which fill the moribund skies
emanate from the cosmic drum
which beats louder and louder

©2019

delicate yellow jasmine
why are those succulent lips sealed?
or is it just that
blossoming flowers seldom speak?

as the shy half moon
steals a glimpse of our union,
your sparkler eyes gloss just a bit

don’t you know that
you and only you
get to rest your head
on my aging shoulders?

as you fly away
to that adopted land,
remember that
i live for now
by dying for you


© 2021

white lotus
now stung thrice
by a self centered bee,
could you ever forgive me?

don’t say a prayer
for me now,
as three roller coaster trips
down unknown uteruses
await

more skulls
for that crescent bearer
adorning a blue throat
to wear as a garland
as he waltzes
his way through
the raging funeral pyres
of the cremation grounds
in soul filled Varanasi

© 2021

riding his cosmic bull
the cosmic dancer
rattles his cosmic drum.....

wearing
only a serpent around his neck
as his cosmic garland,
he silently ponders.....

is it time yet for cosmic dissolution?

cosmic dust from that annihilation
to be worn as a cosmic emblem on his forehead,
sending a stark reminder
that the cosmos and all the games played within,
are his and his alone


© 2021

for this trip
you’ve chosen to take
far away from me,
let the world be your oyster.

pick any place to hide
and wipe clean
all of my finger prints.
with it, the hate too
from the pain of knowing
the various ways,
you love me.

when the dust settles,
most trails you’ll take
with or without
that autumnal moon,
will surely bring you back to my heart.

i stand
palms folded
in mute surrender
to the crescent bearing goddess,
whose fish shaped eyes
bear sole witness
to the final cosmic dance
into which
all beings
animate and inanimate
dissolve into

between
her sensuous orbs,
atoms and stars
music and cacophony
love and hate
consciousness and matter
all become one

© 2019

you’ve turned me
a nomad
running helter-skelter
in all cardinal directions....
cos when it’s all said and done,
it’s your smile
that i keep looking for on every street


© 2021

here,
by the bustling west side
a vintage Rothko in the making!
as the setting red sun
smooches a shy, dark-tanzanite sky.

her succulent strawberry lips,
seemingly
nowhere in sight.
there’s gotta be a portrait of this rose
somewhere......

the search now
ever since this bird has flown,
is for the missing piece of me,
which i keep scrupulously looking for
on every street


© 2021

to the crescent bearing jewel
who’s pure as jasmine,
easily placated
with heartfelt devotion,
eradicator of the
lingering fear of annihilation,
i offer my toxic ego
for a deserved crucifixion


© 2019

nestled within
this ocean of tranquility
with its zen-like decor
they sit for hours
in total silence

a smiling Buddha
sole witness
to the arrow-like exchange
of amorous glances

each glance
an implicit confirmation
of intimate liaisons
from lives past and present

the odd tap
of wooden chopsticks
picking up sushi
the only music

time
dare not enter
this oasis of love....
as eyes keep
rapidly exchanging words
while lips stay silent

© 2019

from
ultraviolet to infrared
and all that’s in between,
only you.....
my crescent bearing jewel
who’s pure
as white jasmine


© 2021