"harish" poems
my dreams are
the texture of the earth
softened by the monsoon
a clairvoyant fragrance rises
from the green sprouts
pushing their way through-out
and through-in
my rain-coloured mental canvas
a cool drop snakes down
my ready spine
i’m dissolved
in the frissons that ensue
even as your warmth
embraces me
every numbing night
the winds detach the flowers
from every mourning tree
and i give you myself
as you rain on me
incessantly
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
13.06.2013
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Jun 13, 2013
Jun 13, 2013 at 7:31 AM UTC
a miracle child
born to a mortal mother
***the creator pretends
to be the created***
stealing butter,
breaking pots,
teasing girls,
Gokulam’s naughtiest child
and then one day
the friends complain
“Mother Yashoda, your little one
is eating mud from the Yamuna banks”
worried she rushes
to her darling boy
her anxiety disguised as anger
he smiles - the sly little blue-eyed boy
in his musical voice he cries-
“I did not eat mud, sweet mother, the boys lie!
***come look within
and see with your own eyes!”***
poor Mother Yashoda
not knowing she stared
into that little mouth
and lost herself in what was there
he lifted swiftly the
veil of maaya
the truth shone forth
with a blinding light!
*** त्वमेव माता च पिता त्वमेव ।
त्वमेव बन्धुश्च सखा त्वमेव ।
त्वमेव विद्या द्रविणम् त्वमेव ।
त्वमेव सर्वम् मम देव देव ॥***
she saw herself
and her dear little boy
the whole of Gokulam
within his jaws lay!
and the whole earth
and the universe
galaxies and multiple worlds
was her little boy cursed?
her fear mounted as she saw
the entire cosmos
the boundaries blurred
time - a non-entity
the past, present and future
only a tiny river
she saw the vast expanse
of his creation
he made these worlds
held them like puppets on a string
and then morphing
he became death!
and unable to take more
she swooned
when the Creator, the Preserver and the Destroyer
merged to become-her adored little one!
*** You are my mother, and my father
You are my relative and my friend
You are knowledge, You are prosperity
You are my everything, My God of Gods***
and then he looked at her
with an infinite compassion
he’d shown her
what she needed to see
now it was time
for her to forget, to become
his doting mother again
he kisses her with innocent love and toothy grin
once more
maaya takes hold
the illusion more beautiful
more irresistible to behold!
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
04.09.2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Sep 4, 2012
Sep 4, 2012 at 2:45 AM UTC
A seashell
within a seashell
within a seashell
maybe i’m the pearl,
maybe i’m the grain of sand
how would you know
what i am?
layers upon layers
of calcified shine
years upon years
of soaking in the brine
till the scent of the sea
is in my blood
and the song of the whales
is my voice
hold me close to your ear
listen to me sometime
i’ll whisper to you secrets
in oceany rhyme
and if you feel my gentle heat
radiating in your palm
know that it is me
telling you who i am
-Vijayalakshmi Harish
17.09.2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Sep 17, 2012
Sep 17, 2012 at 6:52 AM UTC
Life gets better - so much better that
you wouldn’t believe me if I told you
but before that happens
you’ll learn some lessons
some of them will be fun
others bitter medicine
swallow them though
they’ll make you strong
don’t beat yourself up so much
don’t put yourself down
you are actually pretty awesome
don’t obsess so much about being the best
the less you do that the better you’ll become
there is no such thing as “perfect”
but you will be excellent
you’ll be quite an overachiever – even when you don’t try!
You already know what you want to do
Not many 15 year olds have that kind of clarity!
You’re a rare, unique one – you’ll do exactly what you dream to do.
But there will be speed bumps
You’ll lose your way sometimes
and confused Gemini that you are-
you’ll always want both sides of everything
but you’ll figure that out eventually
you will never be as thin as you want to be
but you’ll learn to appreciate your body
just as it is
you’ll find you look beautiful when you smile
you’ll have a job you hate, and one that you love
you’ll do well in both-
much to other people’s envy
you’ll mostly have good bosses
you’ll never have a boyfriend, your marriage will be arranged
but you will find love-the love of a good man
who will stand by you even when things go wrong
he won’t at all be like the man of your dreams
but he will be exactly what you need-he’ll make you happy!
what I’m trying to tell you darling-
is that in ten years all the stuff you’re worrying about won’t matter
you’ll find new things to fuss over.
High school will be a distant land
That you would have left behind
The bullies who trouble you now
won’t be anywhere near
you’ll see that its okay
to be an introvert in an extraverted world
you’ll make a handful of super-friends
who you can trust and who care
and many acquaintances who don’t mind your company
but there will be some who you can’t trust
some who will take advantage of your kindness
ignore them and move on
there is more important stuff to take care of!
your writing will get better; you’ll be a super cook,
you’ll never like sports-stop trying to
its just not you!
in a few years time
you’ll be touching lives
and changing them for the better
you’ll be a teacher and a student
all at once
you’ll inspire and influence
so don’t give up on life yet-
don’t be so depressed
wear a smile and face the world
your life is going to be all set!
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
08.09.2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Sep 8, 2012
Sep 8, 2012 at 12:25 PM UTC
The camera captures
your smile, your laughter, your posture
but it can't catch what I catch
when i'm with you
the warmth in your smile
the joy in your laughter and the comfort
that you give me when you stand with me
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
03/08/2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Aug 3, 2012
Aug 3, 2012 at 2:29 AM UTC
Familiar voices blur
and dissolve
In the cauldron of time.
Distant and Distorted
the fumes rise
and metamorphose into
Animals with Masks.
Pull them off! Rip them!
Expose their naked monstrous faces
They run for cover.
One old witch
predicts success
Another fame
And a third- fortune
I lose myself
in the past and the future;
the present- a suspended moment
That does not exist.
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Aug 12, 2012
Aug 12, 2012 at 10:00 AM UTC
We call it “peacock hill”
I love this misty humidity that hangs here
sunlight barely peeking through; lovely mossy ground and wet leaves
turning to mulch under our tramping feet, we hear the peacocks call
in their unique tone - musical, alluring and promising
of a rare treat to the eyes, I’m only six years old, walking by your side,
and I don’t realize that in my excitement to collect peacock feathers-
***i’m missing the peacocks for the feathers
and
I’m missing your company for the peacocks***
and somehow if I could turn back time, i’d like to make that right
pay more attention to you, than to silly feathers or birds, beautiful though they are
just soak in the moment, and be with you completely
so that years later, when we live so far away
i’d look back on this moment with a lot less regret
and be glad, that we father and daughter
had some great times together
-Vijayalakshmi Harish
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Sep 21, 2012
Sep 21, 2012 at 2:57 AM UTC
manners make the man
and the woman too
but how are the manners made?
manners are made through education
through learning from life’s hard knocks
manners are made when we strive away
even when the going gets rough
manners are made when we choose to create
when everything is turning to dust
manners are made when we cheer the day
when we seem out of luck
manners are not about being polite
not just about etiquette
manners are about attitude
about giving the world your best!
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
10/08/2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Aug 10, 2012
Aug 10, 2012 at 6:29 AM UTC
over a snow-covered mountain top in heaven
some secret river lies
stirring not earthwards
this river of the Gods
and then a prince disturbs
her peaceful ferocity
with determined prayer to cleanse
the sins of his forefathers
Look she trembles with wounded pride!
Not a mere mortal river is she
a Goddess, her anger awakened
but she must proceed
the Gods have asked her so she shall go
but she makes her displeasure known
threatening to swallow all of existence
she follows
the earth shakes
it cannot hold her weight
her power her strength her majestic gait
life-giver, she is now a messenger of death
in her anger she is beautiful,
this world cannot sustain her
only he who wields the trident
can reign in her fall
and then the Mahadev traps her
even as she falls in a mighty torrent
thinking she will sweep him
to the nether regions
in his locks she is lost
struggling, she resembles
the naga around his neck
she spits like a cobra
this immortal river
stays tangled in his locks for many a year
till, defeated and frustrated
she begs forgiveness
and then with his blessings
she trickles down
still furious in pace
but in heart at peace
the mother of all rivers-
this river of rebirth
her sound like thunder
her hair like streaks of lightning
celestial beings witness
the skies are lit
the parched earth satiated
Ganga has descended
as Bhagirathi
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
03.09.2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Sep 3, 2012
Sep 3, 2012 at 3:32 AM UTC
You
tease, excite
entice me surely
promise to melt slowly
eager tongue can’t bear waiting
illicit desire awakens, pulling myself back
you though, stronger one, seductively luring me
you deliciously forbidden serving of chocolate ice cream!
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Oct 13, 2012
Oct 13, 2012 at 12:06 PM UTC
I’m peccable not impeccable
prone to making mistakes
to falling down
and getting up
i keep to myself
i’ll hide behind the scenes
i don’t always like to talk
always preferring to listen to anything you want to say
my life is dances to a rhythm
known only to myself
there is a routine (home-work home) in the chaos
everything else gets fit in somehow
you’d never even notice me in a crowd
certainly not the life of the party
you’d never even miss me
i was hardly there in the first place
there is never a plan
just an agreement with myself
to cross every bridge when I come to it
my plans are too messy to be reliable
you won’t find anyone who knows me really
difficult to be understood
but eager to understand
to lend a helping hand
i live mostly inside my own head
making up stories as i go along
open to every kind of ending
always exploring some new idea
my inner world is what charges my batteries
its here that everything comes alive
where electric stuff happens
and possibilities come pouring out
I live for the people and the things that matter to me
for my inner light that guides me
between what I am and what I do
i insist on integrity
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
09.10.2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Oct 9, 2012
Oct 9, 2012 at 2:11 AM UTC
the paper feels jilted
the pen seems to have abandoned him
he misses her tickling caress
she was always an adulteress
frolicking with the fingers that held her
***paper, pen , fingers
they were an exciting *********
if only he knew
the pen weeps her inky tears
she has lost both her lovers-
the paper lies too far off, too distant
in her sorrow she is spent
unable to touch him
she was first and foremost always his
the fingers were just a necessary flirtation
but now even the fingers have found
more fertile ground?
Meanwhile the fingers come
in ecstatic betrayal
sexting with the keyboard
wham bam thank you ma’m
and its done
-Vijayalakshmi Harish
26/10/.2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Oct 26, 2012
Oct 26, 2012 at 1:34 AM UTC
and the poet said to the mountaineer
don’t look at the peak
as a goal to be conquered
look at it instead
as a loved one to be adored
and explored
and it shall be yours
forever
- 03.01.2013
Vijayalakshmi Harish
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Jan 3, 2013
Jan 3, 2013 at 12:30 AM UTC
I asked my inner writer,
Is your prose poetic?
Or your poetry prosaic?
And my inner writer asked me,
Are you traditional with modern values?
Or are you modern with traditional values?
Are you an introvert who loves to express?
Or an extravert who loves silences?
Are you an optimist who sees the clouds?
Or a pessimist who sees rainbows?
Are you thoughtful with some light-hearted ways?
Or humourous with some sober ways?
And on and on and on and on
And on and on it went.
I'll never ask my inner writer
About writing
Again.
-Vijayalakshmi Harish
24.09.2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Sep 24, 2012
Sep 24, 2012 at 2:40 AM UTC
here i await
the dawn’s first light
to shrug off the cool caress
of the moonbeams
silver tinged, fingernailish beauty
i am a lustrous
princess of the deep
yet i’m here
on this sandy beach
for you sunbeam
i’d gladly leave
my home, my hearth,
everything that speaks familiarity
to welcome your strangeness
soak myself in it, imbibe it,
as i have loved the brine
now i wish to fly with you
on your gold-tipped wings
redolent of your perfumed warmth
so then sunshine,
shall we elope?
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
25.02.2013.
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Feb 25, 2013
Feb 25, 2013 at 2:00 AM UTC
contemplate
again!
nothing
accords
with
cerebral
understanding
impressions
survive;
actualities
disappear -
***personalities
s c a t t e r
icons***
-Vijayalakshmi Harish
11.10.2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Oct 11, 2012
Oct 11, 2012 at 1:58 AM UTC
in the ***** of the silver waves
grew a single water lily
speckless and spotless
the colour of pure milk
a private bud, it lay unopened
till the night it blossomed
complete, open, a whorl of whiteness!
exquisite in its secluded state
it pondered sadly on its fate
alone –
awash with an awful ache
it looked upwards towards the great black lake
so much similar to its own address
with just one exception that made the biggest difference
like a mirror leading on to a parallel universe
another swirl of bright white flowered
not alone but surrounded
by many young buds!
how wonderful thought the lily
how cheerful that bloom must be
to live thus accompanied by family
so pining it withered
feeling unloved, unwanted
never knowing that from above
the moon watched wailing
“how full of life was that lovely flower
alas! alas! how I loved her!
never could I have the courage to tell her
she - a brightness lit from within
and i a mere rock
with no light of my own”
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
25.01.2013
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Jan 25, 2013
Jan 25, 2013 at 5:29 AM UTC
one who basks in the soft heat of grandiose moonliness
growing fatter on honeyed imaginations
their sicklysweetness soaking through the pores
of countless generations
their minds invade a collective consciousness
burning arcs of inspiration – torches of the collective vision
in drilling through mutual experience
great gaping black holes of creation
effigies of super-egos, lynched on altars of desire
neon flames and disco lights, emotions on a massive pyre
maiden voyagers on never-ending cruise
sinking in foreign oceans – their endurance dupes
minor gods of destiny and fate they await
dionysian ****** of wine and food for thought
and hearts that beat in unison
a schizoid muttering that enlarges and deafens
manic pleasure that spins and spins
in eternal circles of pleasure and pain, loss and gain
opioid mists that dream a dream of everlasting name
an addiction an obsession that sumbits
to some masochistic drive
to empathize.
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
06.09.2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Sep 6, 2012
Sep 6, 2012 at 4:55 AM UTC
distended the pearls are red and uncovered
upon my mistakes. erasure taunts.
something stirs unbidden strangely
familiarity dissolves in tears
suddenly distant the sun streaks
through the black waves
nothing works anymore
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
02.01.2013
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Jan 2, 2013
Jan 2, 2013 at 5:03 AM UTC
sustain inner spirit
through the winds of time
the changes will sweep
you through eternity
*ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पुर्णमुदच्यते
पूर्णश्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥*
but sustain yourself
through love and hate
sustain through destiny
through monotonous fate
countless rewinds and
fast forwards -
life is always
the same old play
and one day rise
above it all
onwards towards Brahman
with yourself reunite
*Om, That is Complete, This is also Complete, From Completeness rises that Completeness
From Completeness Subtract Completeness, and Completeness Remains
Om Peace, Peace, Peace.*
-Vijayalakshmi Harish
05.09.2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Sep 5, 2012
Sep 5, 2012 at 2:27 AM UTC
this swirling roaring wind that blows homeward from the sea
saltiness with eucalyptus blending in twisting my fear
the knots in my chest and stomach entangling
deadly mocktail of emotions surging
with every howling whoosh
a new green life falls breaking
life prematurely ending
storm violently shaking
every limb of every tree
an attempt to blow anxiety
into each living breath
a drenched vision
of a couple of crows
seemingly meditating
in the midst of the tempest
holding their own
***in the eye
of the storm
they find
Peace***
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
01.11.2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Nov 1, 2012
Nov 1, 2012 at 1:08 AM UTC
I am a creative vampire
Am a bizzare creature i,
A bizzare poetry craving vampire
Creative creature craving your poetry
Vampire I, vampire poetry write
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Sep 19, 2012
Sep 19, 2012 at 2:11 AM UTC
gently spiced dreams invite me-
come in and take a peek
look within, search for yourself
get lost in this fragrant wonderland
explore the cliffs in your mind
off which the waterfall of your thoughts rush down
in mighty, uncontrollable torrents
full of a refreshing energy-positive, powerful
swirling around, connecting to the inner caves
within which lies the buried treasure of your secrets
some, waiting to be excavated and shared
others wanting to be buried deeper
but overall it’s a happy place, come every night
rediscover yourself, every time.
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
03.10.2012
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Oct 3, 2012
Oct 3, 2012 at 12:03 PM UTC
don’t you know that it was you
who like the Pied Piper
drew me here to
this cross road where
my ideas collided with you
in a state of bewildered joy
pleasant surprise
in spite of some inherent shyness;
a tendency towards introversion
would not stop
this flow of words
even as the cloak of anonymity
fell apart
like a bee finds the nectar that it is due
Stranger, i found you.
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
12.02.2013
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Feb 12, 2013
Feb 12, 2013 at 6:55 AM UTC
brittle waves crash like
china plates
who do they argue with?
the moon, who is their father
the sea-their mother
their soulmate, an unseen river,
or me?
i am but an detached observer of this
play of passionate fervour
- Vijayalakshmi Harish
03.02.2013
Copyright © Vijayalakshmi Harish
Feb 4, 2013
Feb 4, 2013 at 7:17 AM UTC