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1.1k · Aug 2017
An Old man's Prayer
Valsa George Aug 2017
I am a paling star to be washed out
In the dazzling brightness of the arriving dawn
A calendar that ran out of time
A broken guitar with strings loose

I will soon exit out of life
Like a man hardly anyone knew existed
And only very few would miss

As I look back to the prime days
I feel years have flown away in a flurry
Like scraps of paper whirling in the gale
A dense fog crawls up into my eyes
The verdant vistas and smiling faces
Have discoloured like weather worn paintings
The violet shadows of red rocks
Form a dark cave within me
Nothing subsists in the dells n’ hollows
Of my memory
I wilt under Age’s burning breath
And wither under its deadly blight
Now I drift... a rudderless vessel
Through unknown waters

Waiting at the Departure Lounge
I now have only one prayer;

Don’t let me scorn and disdain the young
Whose sky is wider and dreams endless
Who walk with nimble feet and sure steps
To conquer the world that has left me a scrap!
1.1k · May 2016
An Ode to Music
Valsa George May 2016
Music, Oh mysterious sprite!
Lift us to the seamless realms of delight
Your ubiquitous presence we feel;
In the hum of crickets
In the silence of the stars
In the falling cataracts
In the running streams
You are there in the lone sea breakers
And under the swift wings of the wind

Come as subtle vibes to saturate our being,
Winding your way through every sinew
Enfold us in your rapturous hold,
Raising our souls to the magic of rhapsody
      Paint intangible pictures in silence,
Creating a sensation beyond the reach of words
Let our souls savor the taste of ecstasy,
Daubing myriad hues on all ugly stains
      Land us in the sequestered pools of oases,
As the blistering sands leave burns on our souls

Oh Music! Come and fill me
Soak me from foot to crown
Like a falling drizzle
Like a caressing soft wind
Like a marauding sensation
Drown me
In the subaqueous quietude of the sea
Levitating me through ether
And lifting me up onto the borders of heaven!
1.1k · Apr 2017
A Sudden Downpour
Valsa George Apr 2017
Rain beats down on the window pane
As the flood gates of Heaven suddenly open
It is pouring out in torrential flow
Like a Reservoir, all at once, broken

It has come down as a welcome respite
To fan away the humid sweltering heat
It falls in drops and flows in rivulets
Washing the dust of summer drought

With a sudden burst from the weight laden clouds
It lashes down in steam and fury
Plummeting to form ripples in puddles
And filling pools and ponds in hurry

In slanting sheets, it almost pounds
Flooding roads and making puddle
Gushing through pipes and rushing down drains
Water floods, causing men to waddle

Rain has its abode in heavens so high
And hides behind clouds of mournful gloom
In silver strings, it spans the Earth
And cleanses the plants in resplendent gleam

Sudden is the wind, coming to shoo away the clouds
And the sky is once more cerulean blue
As the music stops and the humdrum stills
The water seeps, giving no evident clue.

After an angry couple’s furious fight,
As the house goes back to an uncanny calm,
The rain has vanished, leaving little trace
Cooling the Earth and causing no harm
Sorry friends....... there is a problem with my site ! My computer goes so slow when it comes to Hello poetry. So I am not in a position to post comments or respond to comments. I shall do it when my computer becomes better. Thanks for reading and commenting! After a long gap, only today I got the option... 'Add' a poem!
1.1k · Jun 2017
A Crass Felony
Valsa George Jun 2017
A nest of intricate design
A piece of art unmatched in decor
Amid the dark verdure
Of needle like leaves
The gay habitat of a swallow and her brood.

How suddenly it erupts into a clatter of sounds,
As the mother bird comes diving in
With a wee bit of a wriggling worm
Discreetly borne in her tiny beak.

Thrusting it into the gaping mouths
She departs and comes again
And again comes with something
A whirring insect or a twisting thing.
Nothing can appease her ravenous horde
And on she goes ferreting about.

At night fall she alights abrupt
From what infinite heights, God alone knows
Darting into her nest as she hovers,
The din subsides............
First into a fizzle, then into sharp silence

Bundled in her warmth, the little ones
Sleep till the first flutter of dawn
From my window, I enjoy this diurnal scene
Repeating itself in methodical precision
Until someday, into heaven’s insurmountable heights
The young ones take off on tiny wings!

A sight so accustomed, cheery and gleeful
My eyes would soon be deprived of
And the thought makes me ill at ease
A wonder it is, the young ones
Inexperienced though, thrives so well
On catapulted suddenly into an eerie world!

What husbandry in nature!
What Godly solicitude!

The next morn, my heart missed a beat
At what I espied through my open window.
On the ground lay the swallow’s nest
Ripped, broken and blown to pieces
Like a heap of rubble after a tremor.
By its side lay a few downy feathers
The sad reminder of a stark felony!

In an instant flashed past
The grim image of the black Tom cat
That prowls my courtyard in the dark
With glowing eyes and bristly whiskers

Damning that accursed thing
I picked up that wreckage
My mind violently mutinying over
The ‘insolent might’!!
This was written sometime back when a bird had built a nest on a bushy tree in my garden… I waited counting down days to see the eggs hatched . But what happened in the end was heart breaking….. !
Valsa George Dec 2017
The poor boy knew Christmas beckoning at the door
He saw every house bright with many a lamp
And streets illumined with colorful lights and stars
But his tiny hut looked dismal n’ dark like a prison camp

With a suppressed sigh, he inhaled the festive air
His little heart grew weary and dim
There has never been a merry Christmas in his life
As the days advanced, he grew moody and glum

He, born into a cheerless, crammed shack
With parents so poor having very little means
To bring up their children and foster a family of seven
At a tender age, saw shattered all his budding dreams

Year after year, he had seen the city in dazzling lights
But never once on Christmas he could feel any glee
While the rest of the world partook of umpteen delights
Never his heart, from sorrowful thoughts, was free

When children of his age feasted on roasted turkey and ham
And their mothers baked Christmas cookies and cakes
He and his siblings had to be content with a meager fare
That left their cheeks wet with saline drops pooled in their eyes

Their house in winter was too damp and cold
No blankets had they to keep themselves warm and snug
They lay huddled together in biting chill
On the wooden floor on a worn out woolen rug

One evening, on a leisurely walk from school
The boy saw a man selling colorful balloons
With the little penny tucked safely in his trouser pocket
He bought a balloon and headed straight to the lagoons

There as he sat on the sprawling silver sands
A strange idea had come upon his little head
To send a letter to Heaven asking for some urgent help
Hoping Jesus would help, he too being born a poor kid

On a white paper he carefully scribbled these lines:
“Merciful God, look upon us, this miserable seven
Here in our humble hovel, we die of hunger and cold
On this Christmas, send us a little cheer up from heaven”

He folded the paper and fastened it to the balloon
Nevertheless he didn’t forget to put his full address
When the wind was strong, he let it go off his hands
And watched it soar high with his earnest plea for redress

Days went by and the awaited Christmas Eve arrived
While the world splurged in all gaiety and merriment
The poor hut remained dull and cheerless as before
The helpless parents were lost in grim bafflement

Abruptly, there halted a Mercedes before the hut
A man, old and graying with a graceful smile
Alighted with his hands loaded with Christmas gifts
Looking for the boy, he had travelled many a mile

It was during one of his daily strolls around the lagoon
That the gentleman saw a balloon suspended on a willow tree
The white paper tied to it made him curious
He took it up and saw an innocent’s earnest plea

The man so rich and kind was moved at heart,
He from his wealth decided to donate a large sum
To support that family of seven in dire straits
And give them the merriest Christmas with no trace of gloom

The little boy believed Jesus had answered his prayer
He came in the guise of a man, he had never before seen
With rising delight, he saw a star in the graying sky
It shone right over his head with a brighter sheen
Wish all my Hello Poetry friends the peace and joy of Christmas!
1.1k · Aug 2017
Thoughts
Valsa George Aug 2017
Winged messengers
of the brain
ever in motion
never in chain
bombarding marauders
of the night
sneaking invaders
of the quiet
1.1k · May 2018
A Word of Gratitude
Valsa George May 2018
Every parting in life is sad....so was the demise of my dear sister! Yet the knowledge that there are others also to share my grief is the greatest consolation for me at this moment of loss. My sister's death was sudden and unexpected though she had some senile ailments. Through your kindness and comforting words, you expressed your kinship with me. I am so happy to be part of this community consisting of members who are able to feel for one another. This is my grateful reply to all my friends who found a little time to say a kind word! It means so much to me! May God bless you all !
1.1k · Apr 2016
Sole Witness
Valsa George Apr 2016
A week back, in my garden bloomed, a tiny flower
Neither colorful nor flashy to grab anyone’s attention
The next day one more bud opened of golden hue
Making it more visible, adding an iota to its attraction

Each day to the delicate stalk was added more
Until finally it grew into a large globular cluster
I now stand nonplussed before its splendor
So lovely, it can steal any one’s glance by its luster

 When the wind ruffles the leaves of trees
The mother plant in luxuriant foliage stands proud
Bobbing her golden crown in gentle breeze
Safely screened from the gaze of passing crowd

A dandy butterfly has come flitting down
To kiss those regal beauties like a besotted lover
Embarrassed by such a public show of love
The bashful maidens bend their heads so demure

I am the sole witness to this passionate romance
To the love struck dandy’s out right advance!
I have a small garden in my house of which I am rather proud ! Besides poetry, gardening is my passion. An eye catching shot from my garden
1.0k · Sep 2017
Sleeping Fury
Valsa George Sep 2017
As I walk through the graveled paths
When the stinging stones speak to me
Of the pain ****** on trampling feet
I see you in the unlit alleys of my memory

As the wind blows from a covert hide out
Twisting and shaking the branches of trees
Causing them to break and fly off the trunk
I see you in the torn pages of my life’s tome

As I listen to the song of lone birds
And their doleful notes fall in my ears
I am jolted out of my bohemian ways
And feel a plaintive tone floating to me

Wandering along the sprawling beach
As I hear the roar of waves
And when a humdrum of voices fills me
I hear your voice distinct like the beat of my heart

Like the pain at a needle point that shall always be
Like an intruder nudging to steal the inner space
Like the small tremors after a fateful seismic quake
I now know that in me you stay like sleeping fury

Even when I walked away from you
You stubbornly stuck to me
Like a leech tenaciously clinging to the skin
Oh! How hard I struggle to get you off!
1.0k · Jun 2016
Suspicion
Valsa George Jun 2016
A centipede,
surreptitiously crawling
with a hundred legs,
listlessly crawling….crawling
until from a covert hide out,
it suddenly stings!
1.0k · Mar 2017
I Still Wonder
Valsa George Mar 2017
Realizing a fresh life growing inside,
What thoughts coursed through my mother’s mind?
Did she gleefully welcome the news?
Or respond to it with a violent shock?

So sure, right away after her fourth baby
With four little kids still needing care
Like chicks in a coop, carrying once again
Might not have been in her scheme of things

Thus at a time when she expected it the least,
Could she beckon the new life growing inside,
With a pleasant nod of head in assent
Or with a suppressed moan of fright, I wonder!

When from nausea she started to suffer
And threw up each time when she ate
Did she curse her man in silence?
Or grow mad with her children and her fate?

Slogging through those weary days
With no respite from her routine chores
Did she get enough rest or care?
Or did she languish without a hand to assist?

Seeing her with an extended waist line
Did some nosy neighbors behind her back
Teasingly utter in hushed whispers
‘Oh, she has done it again!’

Once when I started kicking inside
Was she tickled or greatly annoyed?
When she heard the first ‘lub- dub’ of my heart
Did she feel as two hearts singing in harmony?

As her tummy grew bigger everyday
And sleepless in bed as she tossed
Was she haunted by nightmares bleak?
Or was she visited by dreams of delight?

Travelling closer and closer to those final days
Did she curse herself seeing her in the mirror
Woefully bloated and ripened into a bulge
Or did she wait my arrival in blissful expectation?

Then suddenly one day when the earthquake began
In mild tremors first, then gaining in force
Did she scream mad or cry aloud?
Or did she endure the pain in austere silence?

Then abruptly when I showed myself up
Did she feel any remorse over my ***?
And see me as another liability
Added up to the girls already in line

No, I am sure she must have cuddled me close
And locked me in the warmth of her *****
For she was such a rare gift sent from heaven
A mother nonpareil in self effacing love
This poem, I thought would be interesting to many of you to have an idea of the cultural difference from country to country and to show how life was in the fifties and sixties for an average woman living in an Indian village

Being wife and mother, life was hardly easy for any woman in a patriarchal set up during those days. Child bearing was a routine affair and taking care of the children with none to help was her lot. Men who were the sole bread winners would be away at their place of work…! Even if at home, they hardly lend a helping hand. Girls were always marginalized and looked upon as a liability as they could be sent away in marriage only by giving huge amounts as dowry! Now things have changed and most of the women are employed and earning members!

  March 8th- when we celebrate the International Woman’s Day, I dedicate this poem to my dear mother whom I regard as a great woman and a paragon of love and care.
1.0k · Apr 2016
Hey, Forest Nymphs!
Valsa George Apr 2016
I watch the feathered beauties
of ravishing plumes
flying from tree to tree
making shrill calls

How I wish
I could catch these birds,
the lovely deities of the woody groves
to cage their loveliness and melody
to own for myself
I  am a lover of birds ! Even as a child I used to follow bird calls!
994 · May 2016
My Wanderlust
Valsa George May 2016
At times I wander far….
Far away from all human habitats
Away from all prying eyes
Following the bent
Of my vagrant inclination;
Into Nature’s sylvan pockets
To places studded with trees
To the tranquil ***** of the woods
Or
Onto the heights of bald looking hills
Where shrubs struggle to strike root
From the cleft of rocks and ledges
Where in hollows, wild bushes grow in clusters

To watch the shreds of hovering mist
To gaze upon piles of sailing clouds
To shout loud and whistle long
And to listen to the hills
Mimicking my own sound

There I will hop and jump,
Like a sprightly forest fawn,
As I don’t fear
Either the silently gliding streams,
Or the clump of swaying trees,
The host of wild flowers,
Or the monstrous mossy rocks,
Either the birds or the beasts

Never will they watch my cranky pranks
And call me a loony
As here my own men might do!
975 · Jan 2021
An Evening by the Riverside
Valsa George Jan 2021
The blue sky, dotted with white clouds
The sun, in its last lap of race
The slanting rays gleam in crystal glow
Their beauty to the earth they bestow

As I stand and watch this lovely evening
I experience an inner glow of a deific kind
Elegant colors flow and fade
As the sun paints a paradise before me

The river lies arched like a lunar crescent
In my ears falls the sound of lapping waves
As she winds her course through verdant banks,
She speaks a language I can hardly understand

Without pause, she moves on relentless
Eager to join the ocean’s devouring embrace
Scripting the songs of her arduous journey
And chiming her anklets in soundless rhythm

There is a divine sweetness in the air
My exhalation blends with the cool wind
That whirs softly humming a mild tune
Birds get ready for their evening symphony

The twilight smiles and sends the sun away,
Obscuring manifold vistas near and far
Night quickly spreads its dark wings
It's time to make a move, homeward....!
A real experience ...... !
972 · May 2016
My Woody House
Valsa George May 2016
We have a snug retreat far in the woods
Not bigger than a robin’s nest
But cozy and comfy for just two souls
A hide out from the fuss n’ fever of life

It has a small garden hemmed with a hedge
Neatly laid out in décor and taste
And gleaming with refreshing verdure
The haunt of butterflies and honey bees

An ideal place to sneak away, now and then
From life’s pressing cares and concerns
Here the air is pristine sans soot and fumes
A confluence where peace and beauty unite

Here we break loose the tethers
From the rigid civilities of urban living
Throw away the habits of reserve
And become joyous and freehearted

Sometimes we make an impromptu trip
Sometimes we plan it well in advance
Whatever it be, being here is fun
And enjoy our stay like a weekend picnic

On some evenings we go gathering
Succulent fruits and wild berries
And roam to the wide stretch of open fields
Lying furrowed waiting for seasonal crops

More than ever we now seek solitude
It is in the quiet and not in the noise
That we are able to plumb life’s depths
That we listen to our hearts’ songs

It is here our souls acquire dove’s wings
Though time has taken its toll from our bodies
Though youth and beauty have gone for ever
Still we walk in the woods with hands clasped!
970 · Dec 2018
My New Year Prayer to Thee
Valsa George Dec 2018
Make me a flower delicate and sweet,
spewing fragrance into the blowing breeze .
Make me a violin from whose strings
melody flows to soothe the ailing nerves .
Make me a rain cloud, sailing over
the breadth and length of skies
showering cooling droplets on to the thirsting Earth.
Make me a lamp shedding beams of light
dissipating darkness from the mazy depths of gloom .
Make me a vessel full with love to pour out
into all empty pitchers.

Let every atom of my being throb with Thy filling love
Let it spring forth in jets to form the gushing stream
Let the Earth wear a celestial charm
Let the plants celebrate the carnival of colors

In my basket, I shall gather many a fragrant bloom
to be offered at your feet with love
and remain squatted in Thy presence ,
not losing in the pageant of this transient life.

I wait for

The PEACE to dawn upon in a world where violence rules
where hate like worms eat into the core
and the air rent with fears – illusory and real

I wait for

The LIGHT to break into me to see myself bare!
to hear the music of your heart, over the cacophony around
and to sing songs of spontaneous praise!

Give me Light, Oh Lord! Clear brilliant Light,
not to enjoy the wayside scenes
but that I shall not stumble and fall.
...........................................................­.....................................
With a severe constraint of time, I have to take a break from HP, may not be posting fresh poems for sometime. Thanks to all my friends from the bottom of my heart for all the love and encouragement you generously gave me and for your guidance and support in my poetic journey!
In the cusp between the current year and the dawning year, may I wish all my dear friends a New Year of Peace, Joy and all of God's Blessings!
964 · May 2016
The Magic of May
Valsa George May 2016
May is now here, the season of sunshine and rain
Bringing the magic of bright tints in its train
All around are fresh and fair flowers
Peeking out from the foliage and peeping from bowers

In the tranquil ***** of this now beauteous land
An array of varied and glorious sights abound
And how my sauntering gaze labors to trace
The shifting scenes in all their loveliness and grace

Look at the hare bounding away to its covert burrows
And the pheasant suddenly bursting upon its wings
How the swans playfully glide over the still waters
And the birds in resonating melody charm the woods

There is love in the quickening breath of May
Drowning all Nature in song and mirth’s sway
The whole atmosphere is made electric and gay
The air is so jovial and children are at play

My heart quakes in a rush of exuberant delight
At the memory of something I am unable to relate
My sky is aflame in colours splendid and bright
And I have spun the web of a dream, delicate and sweet

My blood runs in tumultuous flow, warm and fervent
And each heart beat sounds sonorous and vibrant
My lips though silent, longs to tell a tale
Of a moment that still leaves me joyously hale

Drunk in the loveliness of this season of delight
And choked by an inexplicable ache, that is sweet
Here I stand so dazed and distraught
Festering and panting for some coherent utterance!
941 · May 2016
Lunar Influence
Valsa George May 2016
In moody silence, nursing my shallow bruises
I sat outside in the graying hours of the night
Staring into the cloudy night sky
With nothing to cheer my sullen spirit

My hair left in shabby mess,
By the mischievous passing breeze
My thoughts slipping out of focus,
Like tiny specks of leaping fleas

A circular face full of sheen,
From behind the nebulous veil,
Showed up all too sudden
Looking at me with a beaming smile

I thought of a thousand smiles
Which kindle and illumine the universe
The love hidden in all things
That eclipses all bitterness and curse

Like ripples in a still pool
Caused by pebbles hurled
By the naughty kids’ wanton hands
A strange sensation unfurled

Tearing down the pall of gloom
Wavelets of cheer grew
Coming off in wider circles
Changing my mindscape into brighter hue

A new moment was born
And in the ceaseless beat of my heart
I sensed a new rhythm,
And knew all my dullness depart!
930 · May 2016
Silent Sleep the Dead
Valsa George May 2016
Though the sun had begun bleeding in the West
With an explorer’s gait, I walked jumping over gutters
My track, flanked with knee high grass and nettles
Also wild bushes of all kinds that grew in clusters

I saw dragon flies whirring around in circles
Their wings catching glints of the evening light
As they buzzed from one blade of grass to the other
Giving a solitary soul benign company and sure delight

Strange enough, my track ended in an open space
Enclosed by cracked walls, now a forlorn territory
There are raised mounds, overgrown with weeds
I can easily make out, it is an ancient cemetery

Hush… hush is the place, here no bird sings
There is a mournful silence that deepens
Through the **** grown path, no traveler walks
The place, some morbid warning portends

Vacancy alone greets my pensive eyes
Here the wind sighs in silent pain
There is a muffled horror all around the place
Even the leaves chant a sad refrain

In these ancient graves sleep the silent dead
Their toil and trouble ended with life
They must have been perhaps heroes of the land
No more are they part of world’s victory or strife

Nor its sad commemorations or triumphant jubilees
Though released from the shackles of oppression
Each dear presence has now become an absence
Here they lie anonymous, without a single possession

Some graves are marked by crosses and head stones
But most of them are nameless, worn out by time
We do not know how or when came their end
Did they die in old age or die in their prime

Or perish in a battle or struck by some pestilence
However their names are blotted out from life’s tome
They have become inseparably one with the elements
And they lie here motionless exuding a strange calm

Generations pass and their progeny comes
Unmindful of who lived before them
Neither thankful of the legacy left behind
Nor thinking, all the comforts, from their toil stem

I stand with a heavy heart by these moss grown wrecks
Thinking I too shall lie here once, devoid of all opulence
Leaving all my hard earned possessions behind
Without a name, thoroughly forgotten by the populace

Oh Death! You are the mighty leveler of lives
With your indiscriminate hands when you strike
All differences are ironed out, all distinctions erased
Devoid of any rank, here sleep the king and the slave alike
926 · Apr 2016
When I Died
Valsa George Apr 2016
I lived poor and died poor.
no obituary written
nowhere a black flag fluttered
no one grieved
no bells tolled
no prayers recited,
to still my departed soul!

My body was wheeled in a hearse
with a few following
with hesitant steps
more as a custom than a gesture true
the open gates of the walled cemetery
allowed a glimpse of the newly dug grave
in a remote corner it stood
close to an overgrown hedge
among many a mound
that bore no name on it

Oh, the indigent and the lonely
are destined to huddle together
in death under the sod
with their identities merged
into a single clan!

My body when swiftly lowered to the pit
and as everyone left to join the rage of life,
I pondered, how on this Earth
the distinctions of rank
extend down unto dust
and follow one like a faithful mongrel
919 · May 2016
Posted With no Address
Valsa George May 2016
Bitten by love bug,
My heart swells with edema
My love, like a gnawing anxiety,
Burdens me
Like a knotty noose,
Stifles me
Like a watch dog,
Follows me


Like an inalienable shadow,
Always with me!
When I turn around,
It is right behind!
It lingers in me
Like a lovely metaphor
Like the intoxicating smell  
Of  the first summer rain

In my world there are only two of us;
You and I
Where ever I go,
The world wears your face.
A face I have never seen!

      I don’t know where you are
In which alien shore you dwell

Yet I write this message,
In secret code
Pouring out my longings,
      My unuttered love,
My invisible desires,
Into this scroll of paper
In cursive, indelible ink
I seal it in a bottle
With no address on
And let it drift over the currents

It is meant for the one
Who finds it
And thinks it is for him

If you feel, it is not for you,
Please don’t throw it as garbage;
Kindly put it back,
And let my love vessel float,
Over eddies and currents
Because my soul is encased within!

Just know this much;
It is from a lovely lass!
916 · Jul 2016
Whither Vanished My Dream?
Valsa George Jul 2016
In the wee hours of a silent night
In my sleep I dreamt a dream
A lovely delightful dream
That took me to the land of love

In my dream, I saw my prince
His contours aflame with sparks of fire
His eyes dewy with love
His lips quivering for a passionate kiss

But the cruel dawn came down
Sounding bugles across the hazy sky
Spreading thick veils of separation
And tore his face from mine

Come, Oh Night! Come once again
Driven in the chariot of darkness
      And bring him to the shelter of my arms
To wrap him in the warmth of my caresses
To enfold him in the tangles of my tresses
When the whole world in deep sleep lies

Let me once more be blessed
With the dream of my heart’s delight
And be lost in that magic spell
Of his enchanting, electric presence
Which in the height of my passion
Was sullied by the light of dawn!
Whimsical........
916 · Apr 2021
I Don't Want...... !
Valsa George Apr 2021
Why the thought of an impending death
Stubbornly clings to me from time to time
As icicles hanging from the trees
Sending chills up through every neuron
I hear their empty rattle in my head
As rabid dogs barking at nothing
Though Shelley was full of praise
And hailed Death and Sleep as brothers
To me it is not so and will never be

Not that I am afraid to die
Nor my absence will shake the Earth out of its orbit
But it makes my thoughts break into fragments
And I find it hard to piece them together

Even if I die, my children will live as before
My husband might seek another partner
Or might pass to a new celibate state
They will never be benighted or tempest tossed
And eventually my memory shall fade
Fade away without a trace from all hearts

As I walk through the winding road
And the closer I come to the terminal
From where there is no more treading
And as time pulls the blind on my life
When the curtain falls finally and my play ends
I don’t want to leave this stage
Nor want to lose my hold
Of those hands I love and care
There are gifts still to be opened
And newer avenues to be explored

Oh, I am in love with this world
To be more true, with narcissistic ardor
I am in love with myself
I know how dangerous it is to be addicted to love

So Death, carry me in my sleep, if you must
Or sweep me away by an inundating tide
Unawares into the ocean of Eternity
Like a feather blown away by the winds!
(Inspired by the Poem- Do Not Go into that Goodnight by Dylan Thomas)
912 · Nov 2018
A Boat Ride
Valsa George Nov 2018
Through a narrow tributary flowing down
Flanked by rustling reeds on either side
The small boat made its lonesome way
Carrying two souls from all distractions

The current was dotted here and there  
With floating masses of water hyacinths
With lavender blossoms peeping through the green
That drifted to and fro as the boat made its way

Pleating gentle curls in the water’s swell
The boat moved, carrying him and her
Gliding away unhurried and unrushed
Over the heaving crest of pure delight

As it entered the river’s wider mouth
Waves began lapping on the boat
And jets of water splashing neck high
With their cool embrace, raising the spirits

Bobbing over waves, they quietly watched
The cobalt sky hugging the mountains far
Hills looming large, with clumps of trees
And their foliage swaying in summer breeze

Before them, the river gallantly stretched along
As a flood of fluid crystal, a current of liquid light
Expressing in turn, the silent meditation of a sage
And the noisy ebullience of a naughty kid

Leaving all cares behind, on the sullen shores
Hearing the lovely chanting of songbirds
Enjoying the river’s shifting loveliness
The two entered into the river’s inner heart

As the magic moments mesmerized their senses
They knew they had found a new love
A flower suddenly blooming in the wild
Drifting them to a world sans any fences !
887 · May 2016
Marriage in Three Stages
Valsa George May 2016
First stage

Man and wife are equally blind
Not a single blemish comes to their sight
Like Cyclopes they are one eyed,
Each feels a love like theirs is hard to find
Every now and then they chant the litany of love
They are on an exciting expedition
Explorers rather than fellow travelers
And thrilled at every new discovery,
They stick together as two magnets,
Moving in a high powered circuit

Second Stage

They begin to taste life’s bitter juice
Between them grows a stale familiarity
Which on their face they carry like an ugly wart
Now they become Argus eyed
Nothing escapes their notice
Distance creeps into them
Tastes differ, arguments prop up
Sometimes they holler at each other
Even minor differences of opinion
Can end up as a high voltage drama

Third Stage

Both grow equally frail and infirm
Differences are ironed out
Their talk always verge on their ailments
Constipation and insomnia often surface up
In looks, they grow more and more alike
As though the long years
Have made their features blend and bleed
Even they smell similar
A mixed odor of dried cuticle
And the smell of some balm or ointment
That they liberally apply
On their aching back and stiff joints
While walking, they support each other
Careful not to slip and fall

Has the lost love come back?
Or is it all just a survival mechanism!
884 · Aug 2021
The Finishing Touch
Valsa George Aug 2021
With a stroke of the brush,
A dab of paint,
A portrait, I drew.
Blew into it the breath of life,
Lo! There it stays my Masterpiece!
875 · Nov 2017
Thank you Lord!
Valsa George Nov 2017
Thank you Lord for each dawn that breaks
For every happy hour it brings
Thank you for granting one more year
To see your glory and kneel in prayer

Thank you for the breeze that blows
For every lovely flower that blooms
For each silvery star that twinkles
Proclaiming your love that never dwindles

Thank you for friends who always stand by
And through love n’ kindness add to our joy
Thank you for silent words of solace uttered
When in pain, words of disgust muttered

Thank you for all those we chance to meet
Who with smiles and kindness gladly greet
And add to our sense of self worth
Making our lives lovelier on this Earth

Thank you for your hovering care
During trying times of wear and tear
Thank you for your silent voice
That always makes our hearts rejoice

Thank you for all the trials you send
That makes our weak shoulders bend
For it is then we look up to Heaven
And all our binding chains loosen!!
Thursday- 23rd November was Thanksgiving Day! Sadly I couldn’t  post it yesterday. When I think of thanksgiving, I remember the One who deserves all thanks!
I wish all my friends on HP happy Thanksgiving!
869 · Apr 2016
Waltz
Valsa George Apr 2016
We are the chosen pair
of an eternal waltz
to sing and dance
in timeless rhythm
blend in
indivisible togetherness!

Though our feet are not laid
on carpeted floor
and no cheering crowd
to applaud the show,
we keep waltzing
in fervent zeal !
842 · Apr 2016
Summer Heat
Valsa George Apr 2016
The waterlogged lands have long gone dry
The soil is lying cracked and parched
The frogs that crocked in shallow pools,
Nowhere on land or water to be seen
The once full river has thinned and narrowed
Into a greasy smudge of faded stain
On the long yard of brown earth
The road is a burning stretch of black
Sure it can make the water steam and sizzle
Quicker than in an electric ***
The sun is seen a flaming ball in the sky
Darting down spears of smarting beams


Heat like a spiteful scorpion’s sting
Burns the flesh and the bared scalp
Watermelons or chilled buttermilk
Cannot douse the midday heat
The fiery tongue of humid summer
Licks up the last residue of green
The woods dread the fall of a spark
That can ignite an inferno, anytime

The cattle stay still with frothy foam
Dripping down from their drooping tongues
A thirsty crow beside a dried up pond
Looks around for a drop of water
(But alas, not as lucky as the parable crow
That finds a jar of half filled elixir)
A line of black ants carry a carcass
Clambering up the cracked stump of a tree

The brown grass sings
And the Etna seethes!
834 · May 2016
Limerick-1- Pristine Wisdom
Valsa George May 2016
A well meaning father advised his son
“Be ahead always like the rising sun”
The child heeded
And he inquired
“Did God make the snail and hare only to run”?
790 · Apr 2016
Twin Triplets
Valsa George Apr 2016
SWEET MEMORIES

Dazzling rainbows in mind’s cerulean sky
The elusive spectrum of varying wavelengths
Often appearing after a sunny drizzle of happy episodes


SOUR MEMORIES

Fossilized cadavers
Unable to be cremated or buried
Refusing to disintegrate into oblivion
747 · Aug 2017
In Vain
Valsa George Aug 2017
With no cover ups, let me be frank
At times my mind goes utterly blank
When I sit down to write a poem
From topic to topic, my mind does roam
But nothing comes to spark off a rhyme
Often I feel the words do not chime
Today as I sat down to write something
I ended up conjuring nothing

No thoughts came to stir up my brain
And no topic I found save my strain
But I wasn’t ready to willfully give up
And waited impatient for my mind to clear up
I thought I shall settle with ‘Compassion’
But alas, it was charged with no passion

The urge to write had grown into a fad
And I felt I was growing altogether mad
Plagued by a fiery fancy to express
And a tormenting desire unable to suppress
With a mental state somewhat fierce
I climbed up and down the stairs

I stood upside down and raked my head
So that a little poem, into it would be fed
Feeling dizzy, I stood suddenly upright
But on my head hung a heavy weight
I poured some water over my head
But knew my fever hadn’t fled

Madly pacing across the room
I tripped and fell down on a broom
Rising, I screamed with all my might
Making the household ring in fright
‘What the hell is it?’ I did shout
And wriggled in pain as from gout

In mad frenzy, I ran round the house
No one knew the reason for my fuss
Soon it dawned on me that I needed some rest
For I was far more than stressed
So I sat down and closed my eyes
Thinking, attempting to squeeze out a poem is unwise

I don’t know how long I sat in meditation
On waking up I got a fresh direction
From the grip of an entangling rigor
I restored my sanity and vigor

The sun had gone out of sight
And the moon was beautiful and bright
It was already growing late
And I put off my futile fight
A fun write, partially true and partially facetious... ! But if you show the patience to read, I assure.... you will surely enjoy and will feel it is your experience too!
743 · May 2016
Black Hole
Valsa George May 2016
In the unlit space
of every human heart
      is an ominous black hole
      growing bigger
by the dust and dirt of the present
      lain with the sediments
of the burnt past
      drawing to its gravitational force
our future
743 · Aug 2017
At Times
Valsa George Aug 2017
At times the soul gets clenched
in an unspeakable grief
In a demoniac grip, it chokes and wriggles
The pain of being stung by a dozen scorpions
or hacked piece by piece by an axe

Tremulous grows the heart, over love that is spent
Seeks in vain to revive the joy that is gone
Strains to lift up the veil that darkens the soul
Wrestles to come out from the desolate cave of black solitude
The more it struggles to wade through the mess
the deeper it plunges into the morass of despair
Clung on talons of excruciating pain,
wailing a long wail of never being understood
the mind goes berserk
whirling and churning.

Anytime the volcano might erupt
emitting fumes of sulphurous smoke  
with asphalt lava, spilling out,
blowing life with its violent breath.
There are dark moments in everybody's life! Life is one of light and shade..... !
729 · May 2016
Whimsical Desires
Valsa George May 2016
Between the departing day and the descending night
If it suddenly rains as a bolt from the blue
With no umbrella to shield our heads
How I wish to walk with you
My hands twined around your waist
And no one around but only you and me

As the sun hides behind the Western gats
Bleeding red and waxing pale
How I wish to ramble hand in hand
      Along the sea shore under the canopy of the sky
Sharing silent thoughts and counting the waves
Lost in our private world, just you and me

On a bright clear day when the Southern Bay
Like a voluptuous maid lies draped in blue
And its placid surface dotted with sailing boats
How I wish to get into one
And drift afar to some unknown destination
With no one else but you and me

On a silent morn, standing on a rocky precipice
How I wish to proclaim aloud to a waking world,
Slowly emerging from the haze of mist
That you are mine and mine only
And to its rebounding echo, a spectral form from far
Responding- ‘We are one, you and me’

Somewhere in a sheltered nook,
Screened from the buzzing crowd with a river winding by
And the clear waters snoozing on the white sand
In a small sequestered cottage,
Where nightly winds flute on the window panes
How I wish to build a life with only you and me

As we stand in a tight warm embrace
When my hot breath falls on the nape of your neck
And as you pant with passion like a frightened deer
How I wish to get enrobed in your mystery
And sail down to the abyss of an unknown experience
When nobody else matters, but only you and me!
…………………………………………………………

When life takes an obliterating course,
When suddenly the night closes over
And dangers prowl around us like carnivores beasts,
How I wish we could still remain one in spirit and soul
And the vagrant fate or the wanton death
Could never separate us, you and me!
728 · Jul 2021
You
Valsa George Jul 2021
You
as a soft breeze,
a hushed whisper,
a cool mist,
you came quietly
and slipped
into my thoughts

I skimmed through the sunlit
alley of a dream world
and whirled in an uneasy sensuality.

now
the embryo of love
in me
has matured into a full grown fetus
kicking at the crust of my womb
giving
the tremor
of a
forbidden
E
     C
S
      T
A
       S
Y
722 · Dec 2020
A Rain Washed Red Rose
Valsa George Dec 2020
One red rose stays blushing in my garden
I caught a glimpse of it in the early dawn
On the carpet of green, as a lovely dame it does sway
Flashing hues of contrast on a dull monsoon day

A flower with petals of such delicate contours
Yet sheltered by sharp stinging thorns that pierce
Rain drops dripping off its soft ruddy face
As blood rushing from a wound’s open surface

Fairer far than anything, one can envision
Its petals, woven and spun by angels of heaven
Oh symbol of grace, you rock me in delight,
And in me a thousand poetic fancies ignite!
Hi friends, Happy to be back to Hello poetry after a gap of two years!
719 · Feb 2021
Swings
Valsa George Feb 2021
Some days blend well
with smiles and songs
and the passion of love
leaving swishing whirlpools inside

Some days settle down
as dregs in a teacup
the bitter dross
sticking to the froth around the edge
and the residue coming to the surface
as if constantly stirred

Some days, the mind’s slits open
and fancies sluice down
like a dam with shutters removed
or like birds fleeing away from a cage

then hands quiver and ink spills

Some days, I feel so alone
stretching me on the rack of pain
then I shut myself from the outside world
like a periwinkle withdrawn to its shell
hoping nothing,
sinking under dead weight
unable to feel if dead or alive!
717 · May 2016
Forking Paths
Valsa George May 2016
Walking down the country lane
I saw trees in flower all the way
Gleaming gems among emerald leaves
A medley of colors on fabulous display

The path was carpeted with grass
Thick bushes grew on either side
The sun was mild and the air, pleasantly cool
A quiet place where peace did abide

I felt so thrilled sauntering alone,
Enjoying the serenity of the scene
I hoped it would extend long,
Taking me to terrains unseen

But to my perplexity the path ended abrupt
Forcing me to take a different track
It seemed as if travelled by none
But I was determined not to turn my back

No living soul could be spotted anywhere around
The trees were wild and dull
The path, strewn with pricking thorns and stones
The place looked savage and morbidly still

With every step my feet winced in pain
But giving up half way was not my choice
Determined to reach the farther end
I dragged forward obeying my inner voice
703 · Jun 2016
Eternal Wait
Valsa George Jun 2016
Into the horrid heat of my summer
You fall as drops of rain
The broken bangles I treasure
Fall down and crack into still smaller bits

In this Ravenous night
As I sit outside, all alone
Looking into the night sky
I see blinking stars here and there
And my memories swim
Around a starry eyed girl

My mind speeds like a steed to those days
That had the beauty and brilliance
Of the arching rainbows of the blue
And the glowing hues of peacock feathers
You were then the rhyme and rhythm of my life
The song and melody of my spirit
The symphony in my violin
The alluring dream of my nights

Once you got into my garden unbidden
Like a flitting butterfly
A leaping grasshopper
A honey ******* bee
A winging robin
When the breeze was hissing
When the flowers were nodding
And perched on my shoulder

I plucked for you a red, red rose
And you savored its fragrance
That very day you became my friend
You spread a pervading aroma
That wafted into me with every gushing wind
      You became the throb of my life
My singular passion
A rising flame
My heart’s silent language
The sole focus of my life

But without even a parting word
You left me to my fate
Now I am pushed into a desolate isle
Where loneliness comes to strangle me
And I feel so defenseless!

Here I struggle to elbow out
The train of wistful memories
And at my feet lies the withered rose
The sad reminder of a passion we once shared

Now I know love hurts, it hurts terribly
Leaving one so utterly vanquished

Won’t you come once again?
As my friend, nay as my soul mate
To be together for ever
And sit looking at each other from eye to eye!
In anticipation, I wait here
For the falling echo
Of your jingling footsteps!

Yes, I am in eternal wait!
697 · Jul 2021
A Misty Dawn
Valsa George Jul 2021
Against the hazy sky
Mountains, seen grotesque
Frightening monsters, poking out
Here, there and all around
In the glinting darkness
The ravine, like a mythical snake
Gapes its mouth
Mist hovers,
Spider webs hang
As dew spangled veils
The leaves are tears stained
By the Night’s frozen grief

In stealthy steps,
With the jingle of anklets,
The wind comes to shake off the drops
And down they drip one by one
As the grass below shiver
At the sudden shock.
The leaves, rid of the load, flutter-
Faint stir of life!

From a distant habitation
The rooster in sharp notes
Sounds the siren
The East bleeds
As shafts of gold cuts through her breast
Darkness recedes,
Birds begin to chirp.

Slowly,
Slowly, parting curtains
The day emerges
Like a lazy boy
Disinclined to be roused from sleep
685 · Apr 2016
The Beaten Track
Valsa George Apr 2016
Lying in a trance on a rocking chair,
In the living room of my quiet home,
The buzzing sound of a fretful bee,
Woke me up from my pleasant reverie.

Again and again the droning hiss,
Fell faintly in my vacant ear.
It came so close from the window sill,
Fastened tight with glass shutters.

On looking up, I chanced to glance,
A little fly that reeled around,
Trying in vain to find its way,
Through the narrow slit, into the open sky.

For the poor insect trapped inside,
It was a matter of live or die,
Again and again it beat so hard,
Against the glass window that lay ajar.

I watched lazily its poignant tussle,
To get away or to stay asunder.
Desperate between life and death,
It mustered all its remaining strength.

Try hard and try again,
Was all that what it dared to do,
And every feat converged on –
Getting out through the window pane.

Alas! Across the room, quite close,
Lay open the door it never did see,
With hurdles none to block its way,
Or hinder it in its forward flight.

Had it taken a different course,
It could dart out into the world it sought,
And spared the strength it burnt in vain,
In the frenzied move to set it free.

By treading through the beaten track,
We might perish like the trapped fly.
For reaching out into wider skies,
We may take as well a different route.
680 · Jun 2021
Birth of a Poem
Valsa George Jun 2021
when feelings throttle
my heart
when memories **** past
like flash bulbs
I sit drowsy
in yawning dawns
trapping
all drunken thoughts
bustling
to be winged

then a poem is born
676 · Jul 2021
A Free Gift After the Rain
Valsa George Jul 2021
Lo!
A spectrum of colours
in the misty cerulean sky
God’s benevolent gift
graciously bestowed
after a light drizzle

A rainbow-
nature’s lovely poem
written on the widest canvas

An arch spanning
the Earth and the heavens

A painting
with colours overlapping

An art created
by the crystalline prisms

Life expands and pulsates
eyes are raised
to a vision grand
mind takes flight
to Heaven’s glory

a transient reminder
of the beauty promised for man
warm in glow,
radiant in splendour,
emanating light,
triggering joy,
staying amid drifting clouds,
waving at us in cheer

Oh eyes,
feast on this celestial sight
this scintillating spectral aura
and get drowned
in its magical spell!

Hey, why not ride upon the wind
to loot the *** of gold hidden at its tip!
675 · May 2016
On That Dusky Eve
Valsa George May 2016
When rain had gone and dusk had fallen,
When birds had roosted and their chirping stilled,
When sky had cleared and the lone clouds trailed,
You held me close and whispered in my ear.

Your voice, like a tremulous rivulet gurgled,
With passion sweet, you did chant,
“In your eyes I see, the blue of the sky,
In your soul, you hold the depth of the seas,
Love swells, like tides on rise,
My life, I vow, by Jove, never to part,
On this dimpled cheek, a kiss I plant,
A gesture warm with abiding love.
Crisscross lain as warp and weft,
We together shall weave the garb of life”.

Words that served as balm to the soul!
Still they echo, gushing a flurry of thoughts,
But alas! To a far unknown land you fled,
‘From whose bourn, no traveller returns’,
To be wooed by a thousand glimmering dames,
Who peep down from Heaven’s insurmountable heights.


My life has mouldered and mildew grown,
Where my Love! Whither have you gone?
Who bid you slink into deaths secret hide?
Why left me to languish in Love’s solitary bower?

Seasons roll and years glide,
‘At my back I always hear,
Time’s winged chariot hurrying near’.
Youth has withered and memory fails,
But in my mind is etched deep,
That beautiful dusk, we rambled free,
When the rain had gone and dusk had fallen,
When the sky had cleared and lone clouds trailed.

Along the winding paths we roamed,
Two hearts musing a single lay.
Down the alleys, betwixt moss grown walls,
With hopes galore and dreams anew,
On we walked to the edge of the world,
A pair of dots merging in infinite space.

When rain is gone and sky gets clear,
When night turns deeper and silence creeps,
I transverse back to that dusky eve,
To retrieve those moments, I sadly cherish!
668 · Jun 2016
Senryu-Concert
Valsa George Jun 2016
I hear from so near
War’s thundering symphony
Heart chords strum in fear !
640 · May 2016
Summer in the East !
Valsa George May 2016
Summer has swooped down
in violent fury
The razor blades of heat
cut through the skin
I turn and toss in bed,
like a fish on an angler’s hook

After the tryst when I wake up,
my top sheet is twisted like a rope
And the bottom sheet resembles
a plate of scrambled eggs
637 · Mar 2018
A Healing Kiss
Valsa George Mar 2018
bearing a crown of thorns
someone planted a kiss
the spikes  pricked deep,
scarring my face, letting
a stream of blood run down

but,

like a gush of summer rain
it cooled my smoldering spirits
slumbered my frayed nerves
and loosened my taut muscles!
My Good Friday experience..... !
635 · Jan 2021
A Bird that Cannot Fly
Valsa George Jan 2021
Confined within rusty iron bars
Grounded eternally to hop and trip
Wishing to fly into Heaven’s starry bower
A bird beats her wings in vain
Voicing her anguish in tremulous trills

There is hunger at every tip of her feather
To fly and flutter through the pathless air,
Piping melodious tunes to drown the earth,
Seeing lands never eyed by anyone before

Nursing her dreams, she beats her wings again
To reach a place where the soul sings
Alas! The clamor of her beating resounds
And she falls asleep exhausted!

In her sleep, her desires limp back
She dreams of shooting into higher altitudes
Becoming a speck among fleecy clouds

As these scenes crowd her vision,
Sculpting sweet images,
She beats her wings again
To feel tired and feeling tired to fall asleep
And in sleep to dream again.....!
623 · Jun 2021
Flight
Valsa George Jun 2021
It was past midnight
The moon, a sphere of luminosity!
But she saw the frozen grimace of death
And the nocturnal bats in gyrating motion
Meteors of shame and repugnance
Flashed past her darkened sky,
Cockroaches scurried in her brain,
All the nerves taut and about to break
Her heart bleeding in silence
And her body burning, burning

Agony once subsided, surged back
Stronger than ever before

Unable to bear the burden anymore
Finding no water to wash away her guilt,
With no contrition enough to ease
The twinge of her conscience,

She drew out a piece of paper
From her locked up cupboard
That she would never open again

Hastily scribbled something

Without qualms
Without frills

Never waiting for another day
Of impotent remorse,
She set out to a destination unknown
Where Past, Present and Future
Merge and coalesce
Into
The muted whispers of stillness !
This is a sad story..... ! She was beautiful and belonged to a well to do family. But her husband was a drunkard. He used to bring his friends to the house, sit very late and have their drinking spree.
She started an affair with one of them. In a drunken bout, when her husband slept away to glory, she and her friend had a physical relationship with her consent. Somehow later she felt sorry for her action. But under threat, she had to yield again.This began to tell upon her psyche and she fell into self reproach and depression.
One day she left her home and ended her life.

This happened ina place not far from my place.
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