Her

Her annoyance was like pleats of her saree. 

Layered, symmetrical, tucked gently under a calm surface 

Yet on days it was a riot of asymmetry, the pleats would rebel 

Her exclamation was like the earrings on her ears. Arranged, organised , swinging occasionally.

Yet on days it was full of wild noises, the ears would buzz with entropy 

Her laughter was like the bangles on her wrist. 

full of calming joy, merely shining the rainbow colours. Yet on days they were

Striking against each other, singing songs and chiming loudly.

Her happiness was like the design on her blouse . Mild, seen but not seen and holding its own magic.

Yet on days it was unkempt, eye catching and causing a flutter 

Faith

The one I like this to read may never respond

Why then do I write?

The one I love this to be felt may never discern

Why then do I feel?

The one I want to wait may never arrive

Why then do I wait?

The one I talk to in my head may never reply

Why then do I talk?

The one I share everything I have may never partake

Why then do I share?

The one I keep looking for may never return a gaze

Why then do I stare?

The one I keep warming up to may leave me in the cold

Why then do I warm up to?

The one wish I always pray may never be answered

Why then do I keep faith?

One Image, Multitude of Possibilities

And there is a seed under the ground about to sprout

to come to life or remain latent?

And there is a feeling in my heart about to express

to unveil in my eyes or remain inside?

And there is a hesitation in my fingers about to disappear

to hold the air carefree or remain careful?

And there is a shilly-shally in my eyes about to survey intently

to gaze with wide eyes or remain at corners?

And there is a festival inside me about to celebrate

to invoke the goddess or remain waiting?

And there is a lightness in my hair about to settle

to flow with the breeze or remain stationed?

And there is a tradition in my attire about to find fashion

to bring back the old or remain in transition?

And there is ruddiness in my look about to blush

to surrender myself or remain blossomed?

The wall won't stand

This wall is ours. Built on our silence and Standing on our desertion

Stacked one over the other, the bulky rocks of rugged granite

Cemented by pain and touched over by blindness

Tall enough to comfort your back. Long as much as my sight

On your side, the Sea, the sand and the shore

The waves ever so dancing and the breeze ever so musical

On this side, the wet road snaking the wall and showing the way

The green tall trees ever so caring and ever so protective

The wall does its thing, separates our worlds

or, so we think. or, so we plan

who can stop the music of waves from regaling the leaves

who can stop my skin from feeling the sea

Come the shower from the clouds, the mist from the breeze

They all do their part hugging cajoling the wall

See that green mold, the brackish tint on our wall

Count your steps, I count my steps on our different ways

Behind your back and just in my sight, the wall is gone

Where is the wall? its the fallen leaves, the mold and the sand

Imposters in the sky

I stare into the sky from my window in this quiet night

Where are the stars I wonder

The depth of sky still visible without stars

Is it my eyes that can see so deep?

Is it the silence that knows no bounds?

Are the clouds in the sky that give me sense of vision?

Or the clouds in my heart that guide me into the depths?

Stars are absent but imposters yes, they mimic those twinkles

Do I rely on these imposters 

Nay, I see through them

Its the imposters that tell you the depth of sky

Should I make do with this tinsel ?

May be I should, without their help how can you see what’s real

I am still awake

The eclipse is gone, the night has dawned

And in a while, night will also go

but I am still here watching the optics play and rest

Who is heavenly? Who is unwavering?

clearly, its me!

The sun, the earth, the cosmos - you just play your games

It is dark. Who is consuming the darkness?

Its me!

Give me a moment, the darkness will be gone

Will it be gone because I consumed it?

Or may be you gifted me a moment, so it will go

will it be gone because it had to go?

Or may be I have to gift you light, so it will goi

is it the destiny of darkness to die

Or may be its your fate, you can’t hold darkness like I do, so it will go

It is vast, the vacant spaces and free thoughts

Its mine

In a moment, all of it will be occupied

Don’t take my moment or the spaces will be gone

Will it be gone because you occupy the vastness?

Or may be you snatched the moment, so it will go

Will it be gone because it had to go?

Or may be I have to lose my openness, so it will go

Is it the destiny for eyes to be occupied

Or may be its your fate, you can’t keep free spaces, so it will go

Hugging

I stand tall pretending to stand level with you
spreading my wings wishing to take you in my arms
and in one deep breath, i take it all
you, the greeny vast mounts
and your bluey sky tinted by the evening sun
the drizzle, your scent on my skin
and I feel your breath in this breeze
I take it all in one deep breath
and you clasp me all to your bosom
the rocks below my feet have melted
the worry of a lifetime on my head is vanished
my arms stretch cosmically
as you hold me in thrall and I lose myself in you.

What next?

There is no action left. The storm has passed.
There is a deafening silence and heedful ears all around
Soul is pregnant with sentences waiting to flow
The field with muddy brown is yearning for naked feet to kiss
The porous clouds stare wearily as they lose status to peeping Sun
The skin shall feel the elements yet again. Play; yet again
That can’t happen before tears of survival are shed
What is lost to the storm is lost in time but etched on heart
It shall remain heavy till the burden is shed in death
Pretentions are waiting in wings to play viability guides
The guile craft shall not die. The pretentions will again fly
Me too should pretend. How else can I hold on to life?
No, my heart shall stay tender
Land a blow one more yet again
But this heart shall stay tender.
For, what is this breath that fools the air
For, what is this blood spurious in its color.
Unfeigned, these eyes shall look. Unhindered these feet shall move.
For, what is this survival guided by the guiles of the nether world.

words - the magic is not mine

There is a glow on my face and it’s not my joy
I radiate these words, there is no sign of night
The trickery, I don’t glitter my words
These are yours. Own them before its late

There is a prick on my skin and it’s not skin-deep
I bleed these words, there is no sign of clotting
The magic; I don’t bleed my words
These are yours. Would you care to collect?

There is a feeling in my heart and it’s not my feeling
I ooze these words, there is no sign of halt
Witchcraft, I don’t ooze my words
These are yours. You will sense someday

There is a wound on my soul and it’s not healing
I breathe these words, there is no sign of death
Sorcery, these are not my words
These are yours. They will reach you anyway

The books are drowned and it’s not my cyclone
I salvage these words, will your storm pass?
The story, I don’t rescue my words
These are yours. You have to house them from rains

There is a spell on my mind and it’s not my doing
I think these words, the thoughts don’t cease
The intellect, I don’t mouth my words
These are yours. They will cast a spell on the world

A new ravine

A new ravine between where I want to be and where I am 

The more I peep into the ravine, the deeper it comes to be

The walls smooth slippery, basking in the setting sun or is it rising sun

Grass is greener under my feet and its rocky on the other side

Rainbow in the endearing sky behind my back showering me in all its colors

But I keep staring at the rocks on the other side

Birds chirp around me, singing perhaps only for me

And I have my ear to the ground listening to times gone by

The fine drizzle kisses my cheeks and the breeze tousles my hair

As if trying to lift me to the clouds

The fluttering flowers and jostling leaves near my ears

An orchestra perhaps, the setting is a feeling to behold

But I shout out. Nay, I cry to the other side of this ravine

The reply holds me in rapture – just my feelings from the other side

And I think, was it the echo talking back to me

The voice of my feelings or was it rocks mocking my cries

Stay I could on this comfy side of ravine

Pluck I could - the fruits and drink I could from the skies

But this is not where I want to be

This ravine between where I want to be and where I am

There is adrenaline rush in my body for the rocks I see

To leap and reach the other side of ravine

What about the uncaring rocks that I want?

It is the care that does not die. Affection that just grows

When the times were stormy, it is these boulders that held me

The enchanting eyes that melted my rock like heart

The boulders embraced me and saw my heart bare

The warmth of these cold rocks – magic in itself

The warmth is what I long for – I wanted to give back

And as I hugged my dearest rocks to show intensity of my attachment

I tottered; the boulders rolled away

And taunted me, “I deserve more than this”

Roll, I could not. Chase I could and I did

The more I chased, the faster the rocks rolled

Now I learnt the art of rolling to roll with the boulders

Freely falling and playfully dancing

But before I know, this ravine between me and my boulders

This new ravine between where I want to be and where I am.

Alas! my night, I depart to wait

I happen to hear my sky. Chirpy, cloudless happy sky at this late hour
With Sun out of sight, my night holds me in sway
I happen to feel the mildly chilly breeze on my cheeks
With multitude of stars showering twinkles on me
I elate in joy, that my night thought about me
With love overflowing, I wanted to hug my night

I deject in abyss, my night wavers to Sun again
With night snubbing my care and thrashing my love
I cry in bitterness, my night wishes to die a wimpy death
With Sun waiting to kill my love and love willing to die at his feet
I resolve in my pain, my night will never miss me
With heavy heavy heart, I depart to wait forever just in case.

My night, you accept or not. Here I am born for you.
My night, you love or not. Here I am, the lover you want to lose
My night, you think or not,  here I  am, Iost someone who doesn't care for me.

But my dear you are losing someone who truly loves you. The travesty is that your loss and murder by wily Sun worries me more than my own. I am condemned to suffer. either way.

No, my night. Please don't

My night, you are the succour to the tired

The bewitching goddess for the fatigued

Where the fake stars accept their sham at your altar

You, the calm witness to the struggles of the spirit

You, the bold company of the lonely souls

And you my night, why do you chase the Sun?

The lowly Sun that only bestows fake masks

The inhibitions of timidity are all what the Sun presents

Sun is a world different from yours

Curious you may be; but chasing the Sun for what?

What has the Sun got that completes the night?

The Sun is what devours your soul

Undoes every bit of peace you caressed

The breeze you tendered becomes a brickfielder

The shams you undressed again get decked up

Isn't it below your essence to chase such a fraudster?

The sinners of the day don’t deserve your love

The respect of your friends; does it count for nought

For, what is a night that surrenders to a day

Chase, if you must. Chase the depths of your soul

Where is your self-respect? My dear night.

My heart cries for you my night!

I Love You, my night

To the night I speak

What do you hide that I don't know?

I know your fears; I know your secrets

Your twinkling smile I ask

What do you conceal that I can't read?

I read your joys; I read your fun

In your silence I wonder

What sounds you suppress that I can't hear?

I hear your moods; hear your anger

In the thick of your presence

What is the darkness that I can't tame?

I tame your worries; channel your vices

In the depths of your stare

What do you want that I don't have?

I have the love; I have the eyes

Here I am, the cicada singing for you

That glow-worm is me tickling your gaze

I am also the wolf howl announcing your moods

Slithering snake for you protecting your honour

The mist is my sweat missing you as sun arrives

Moon, my dear Moon

I keep waiting for you to arrive 

Keep waiting through the day for the night to set in 

The clouds when in their playful mood blanket the Sun, I get excited you are about to appear 

I keep waiting for the Sun to depart


I keep waiting for you to arrive 

Keep waiting for the night to catch your gaze 

The stories in your absence; I keep framing how to tell you what events occurred 

I keep thinking of you, my dear Moon and what you will ask of me


When you do arrive; you come along with those twinkling stars 

And keep chatting with the stars; jesting, jostling with their tinsels 

I know, you are the heavenly moon; stars are your company in the sky 

Did you know, you are closer to me than to any of those fake twinklers


I get jealous of the stars and I did try for a while to twinkle like them 

But I am not a star, I am Earthy mortal with intense life 

And you are not a star either; shine you may but you are not a star 

And you know, I am closer to you than any of those fake twinklers can be

zaroorat nahi

mera dil mujhse kehta hai ki meri zaroorat nahi use

na mere fikr ki na mere khayal ki

hawa ka jhoka sa woh dhadakta hai 

mera fikr hawa ko chedta hai, mera khayal use baandhta hai

mera dil mujhse kehta hai meri zaroorat nahi use

na mere dakhal ki na mere byaan ki

sawaal-hajaar sa woh dhadakta hai

mera dakhal sawal ka nafrat, mere byan sawal ka ghontna

mera dil mujhse kehta hai meri zaroorat nahi use

na mere soorat ki na mere zubaan ki

parinde sa woh dhadakta hai

meri soorat zamin pe kheenche, meri zubaan pankh ko jakde

mera dil mujhse kehta hai meri zaroorat nahi use

na is zamane ki, na mere vajud ki

aazaad sa woh dhadakta hai

zamane yuhi takrata hai, meri vajud aise hi tok ta hai 

You can invite me!

When you feel like visiting a cafe. Sit there staring into a book while you sip your hot cuppa

When you feel like walking on the pavement into the woods of nothingness

When you feel like scaling a mount with the sheer love of your sight or the hard trek

When you feel like feeling the sea like you are one with it and stay salting your skin

When you feel like couching and watch lives in a movie and ooze songs and drama as you reflect

When you feel like staring into files and not read anything. Just smelling the mould

When you feel like lying down and let the window show what it feels through the day

When you feel like feeling the floor and staring the ceiling to see the vastness between floor and ceil

When you feel like gazing the clouds through the drizzle and speak the Sun as it lurks

When you feel like blank in the crowd of thoughts and dazzle of worries

When you feel like time for action
In the spring of budding art and deeds

You will love to know there is a friend who feels just the same. May be a call?

Why I Write

How much can a heart hold?

Is it boundless, limitless infinite?

Such emotions swell out of my being

Like the pot is full and can't hold anymore

Force me to hold it all

I may implode in the swelling emotions

Force me to express

I may whistle out; choke on my feelings

Let the thoughts, my pains, my joys

All escape me gracefully as the melting of snow

These my words pour out of my being - bit by bit

I flow out of these on to you, your world - drop by drop

Like the moonlight that wraps the night - you see or not

my words kiss your world – you read or not

So I think

I can't get enough of you!
You can't give much to me
Should make do with what I get
You will do what you will do
What is it inside me pushing me to get little more - crumb by crumb
What is it inside you pushing me away only nudge by nudge
Can devil be cloyed my dear?
Can angel be annoyed my dear?
Devil me is a stay put prick
Angel you is a forever moonlight
Can moonlight soften the prick?
Prick has it to hurt moonlight?
Prick is thirsty in its gory
Moonlight holy in its glory
What is a wound without balm?
What is balm without the wound?
There is joy in wound getting healed
There is a design in balm kissing wound
You see my dear - in the grand scheme of things
I should stay devil and you should stay angel
Deadly wound I shall be
Heavenly balm you shall be
Then, should I not seek more?
Then, should you not give more?
That's the resolve of the lord
And the comment of the prophet

Night View

the night walks through the stray shack
into the night, the night walks
onto the shore the night swims
then sails through the stranded ships
searching the missing day, lost sunshine

the night flies through the clouds
colours the sky in the colours of night
leaps to the stars and gazes at the moon
squeezes the hills in its embrace
searching the missing day, lost sunshine

the night sings to the silence of sleep
dances to the twinkles of the stars
rests on desert sands baked by the sun
kisses the jungles, tickles the grasses
searching the missing day, lost sunshine

the night is restless looking for the day
that dwells on the other side of the Earth
night has the moon, aping sunshine
Is moon the message for the night
searching the missing day, lost sunshine

night can never have the day
yet the sparks fly high when night sees the day
the dawn, the dusk and the eclipse
the night has to die for the day to arrive
searching the missing day, lost sunshine

delayed

There are things I should have said but did not say
unsaid and unheard they dwell in me as if jailed

There are sights you should have seen but did not see
unseen and unwelcome they dwell around you as if a shadow

There are moments we should have shared but did not share
unshared and discarded they are lost in such a way as if found

There are mountains I should have scaled but did not attempt
unscaled and untouched they stare at me as if aloof

There are depths you should have dragged me but did not
unfelt and untouched they pull you down as if quicksand

There are roads we should have taken but did not
untraveled and pending they invite us as if made for us

Yet, there are things I did say and you did hear
Yet, there are sights you have seen and I did point
Yet, there are moments we did share and we did enjoy

Yes, there are mountains unscaled. can't I attempt now? mountains still exist
Yes, there are depths untouched, can't you take me down? the depths unexplored
Yes, there are roads untraveled, can't we begin the journey now? roads still fresh

Day - Night

A day, a sunshine day whispered to the night, the silent night
That a day will come when you will feel the sun
And walked away wishing good bye

Night would say sleepily, hoveringly to the day, the vibrant day
That the Sun will go when you slide into the skyline
And gazed the departing rays, good bye

The day has company. Chirping birds and virile stags on prowl
The night glitters in the twinkle of stars and the song of cicadae

Only the dawn and only the dusk where day meets night

The day longs for night after a fatiguing tinselled show
The night looks to day when its secrets overflow
Its neither the day nor the night when their worlds meet

There lies the hope heralded by the rotund day
There go the whispers that spoke of regards
There stays the night. There stays the day

Sounds of the Sea

The sea sings chorus to the song of the shore
Breeze of the shore, maestro on the podium
The note of music balming all the wrinkles
That charming note is me, my breath of joy
In the kisses from the sea and the passion from the breeze
The breath is mine yet the note transcends me

again again

To turn a new page of a book well-known
To read a new line of a stanza much recited
To write a new word of a sentence by hearted
To utter a new sound of a phrase oft repeated
It's all too expected. Yet, it is told and yet it is done

To witness a new dawn of a shore so familiar
To scale a new peak of a mountain so intimate
To sail a new boat on a sea very close
To take a new step on a road so beaten
It's all too expected. Yet, it is told and yet it is done

For there is a joy that doesn't keep count
And there is a time which is new every time
For there is a view , deeper every sight
And there is a me, different every day
It's all not expected. It's not all expected

puppy love?

This the common slumber doesn't clinch me. I don't let it
Lest I may miss the chance of your banter

This the reasonable blink, my eyes can't have. I hold them
Lest these eyes may lose your wink just in case

These the news of the world don't reach me. I lock them out
Lest they dilute your thoughts that dwell inside

These the friendly talks of my pals. My ears are deprived. I restrain their power
Lest they fail to savour your giggles when they rain 

This air under my wings can never fly me. I suck it out
Lest I land on a branch away from you

This night approaching fast can't hide me. I create lightenings
Lest you may wish to stare at me just in case

These things that I do. I don't ever express. I shut my mouth
Lest you may not reciprocate and hold yourself back

Silence

My silence is my own.
To tell you things I don't speak
For, the speech may not reach you in a gift wrap

There is people staring at these my vocals
The sounds so touch-me-notesque may lose their wit while in transit

Silence is my means to convey sacred glory gems
Isn't it a sin to sing and sully thoughtful lyrics

What I say, secret it is not. Not a gossip fodder also
Such is my silence. Reaching you pure; Untouched pristine holy

This is for you. Only you can hear or let's say feel
This silence is not alone. It has my eyes, your eyes
Nor is it shallow to be overcome by any stray wave.
The depth of cosmos, the breath of time. All held in its grip

This is not a coward fearing every spoken word
Words don't last. The courage of silence does
Shall we think eternity or the momentary kick

Do you want to receive me sans a gift pack
And invite friends to partake in the voice shrill shy
I should keep quiet or you will hear things never meant for you.
My silence is my own. Your own

Court

I sit waiting for my turn to beg.
Yes, there is a queue. A process and and a way
The queue is long, the neighbors are restless
The process is arduous, the decor is all of pomp
The way is sloppy deadly and dark
As you pick my brain through this waiting
I give up on my wish to beg. Let me go, so time can heal
Give it to me, snatch it whatever I have
What else, do what you want to do
Is my mind tender enough for you to pick ?
No, almost dying for want of succour
Yet you will ask. You will poke. You will hold me in limbo.
So yes I admit. can't give up on my wish to beg.
Beggar I am. Beg you to put an end to this

Put pen to paper

To put pen to paper when mind not attentive
Is an art surreal when boredom babbles
As the sounds of speech loiter around
The far away thoughts arrive as guests

The long lost rest knocks at the eyes
Warm assuring breeze caresses the hands
And I take a ride through the cozy unknowns
Present in this absence and absent from the present

Your attention

So, what all to catch your attention
To catch your attention in such a way
That you respond with a smile
Or you react with a question
May be at least a receipt of "noted"

To what end is your attention
To seize your attention is such a thing
Smile is a joy healing my soul
Question is a massage healing my psyche
Notice is a hope endorsing my life

But what magic is your attention
Unknown to your senses, I still exist
In the drought of those smiles, soul still survives
In absence of your queries, mind still mends
But it is the loss of hope that bleeds the heart

As it turns out, it's my attention that's caught
Caught by you and yours that is free
So, is it an attempt - at - revenge to grab your care
Or a show of spirit to salvage a win
Rocks that refuse to flow. Sea that refuses to hold

Take my pen away

Take my pen away

I long to write what I feel about you

I may also write what I assume myself

And you may like what I write

Yet, you should not know it in ink on paper

I should not use paper to vent

Take my pen away

I have inhibitions. I don’t need to preserve

What about shyness that you flaunt on my paper

And you may like what I write

Yet, you should know it only in abstract

I should hold things close to my chest

Take my pen away

For I have reflections begging to leave my body

You hold mirror catching every ray

And you may like what I write

Yet, you should not see my heart naked

I should guard our shared castle

Take my pen away

I fancy the sea to dance in my waves

While the veil of clouds adorns your moon

And you may like what I write

Yet, you should let the night hold sway

I should have my sea respect the beach

Daily

Murder of crows, four in number dark stout and content
Perch patiently on the roof of an abandoned car
By the side of a busy road on the edge of a lane
Staring at slow moving traffic with glee
Tasting the salt of the sea in the air
Taunting the hurrying crowd with restful beaks

Pack of smoking cars  innumerable nudging and coughing
Slow,  moving halting on dry pimpled road
Passing the tall weary concrete brothers
Eyeing the crows,  the abandoned joys
Poking the fellow travelers with charge of haste
Teasing the leisure with revving engines

These moments

What do you seek from these moments
Which talk not about you but hold you in their bosom
What do you make of these moments
That keep you busy to show the hollow things around
How do you spend these moments
That cloy you in peace to slip away in battles
How do you entertain these moments
That draw you into the play but mark you audience 

How do you Reflect

How do you reflect is the thing
Do you scatter from a playful pond
Or shoot from a granite shiny
Flow along an evening breeze
And kiss a pack of fluttering leaves
Feel the cheek of a rosy face
Warm the palm of a shivering hand
Tease the night of its singing darkness
How do you reflect is the thing

Sea View

Does the Sea sleep?
Does Sea cuddle mangroves?
What about the rains?  Does Sea hug rains?
The hillocks standing sentinel.  Does Sea love them?
And the sands on the shores.  Does Sea kiss the sands
The skyscrapers rising above.  Does Sea envy them?
My eyes watching in wonder.  Does Sea respond?
How are these stalking clouds?  Does the Sea care?

Yes,  she does. How else does my heart beat and pulse throb

It has set in..

The leisure of an Indian summer belongs to me
On the warm humid coast
Amidst solitary Sun and vacant spaces
The cells in my body are on a look out
The life outside my body is willing to embrace
Not a hurry inside me or outside me
Just the comfort and the time and the moment
In this tick lies the world – relaxed and alive
Time to do a lot of things, will to do most of them
Have enough to do nothing, joy to stay standstill
The leisure of an Indian summer has set in

Where else do i go?

I came back to you! Where else do I go?

But to the lamp that you light with such care

To the grace that you bring to welcome the darkness

To the charm that you spread to enjoy the stillness

And the eyes bowing down - revering the flame

Draped in elegance, teaching what is poise

That you exist quiet on my wall in these magic colours

I can look at you for ever and lose in your Muse

I come back to you! Where else do I go?

To SL Haldankar - the artist

Attachments 

Mark!

This is my mark; I am planting it here

The itch to leave a mark on this canvas ready to feel me

The joy to see my mark resting as ink dried and clear on you

Knowledge that once it is read back will enliven the time that's passing as I write

Although my handiwork - its not entirely mine. Its as much yours when you read it

You own it when you read - but you will feel me, embrace my thoughts as you own it

While most mark their territory in space by placing their marks

I am marking a territory - or what is it be called - by passing this on to your minds and hearts - these my marks

Thereafter - its not just my territory, its all of us. our space

That's the joy, the itch - creating virtual geography and yet real, very real that can evolve or dissolve. Live and die like us - you, me, us

Where is the difference?

From sea shore to the shores of the sky
From sandy balmy breeze to misty chilly heights
From feeling the drizzle to raining over clouds
From being the crowd to being on top of world
It’s the same breath and the same smile
The skin no different, the belief old heady

Then why does it feel so new? So fresh?
Is it my eyes or yours? My song or your voice?

Where is the difference?

Shall I hold sway?

This magic is trivial. Let there be more
Water that flies, lands on my face
These hills that stand still for ever
And then both meet up as if any plan

Juices of the sky out of holy churn
Flavours of the airs right on my palm
And then the oneness of these senses
This magic is trivial. Let there be more

Shall I hold sway? Magic I shall add
These 24 hrs, whats so static about it
Take my cue, when I squeeze it or twist it
The days last you, not the other way round

Shall I add my thing, old will never happen
Either new or now. Old neither born nor dead
New everything. The sight or the plight
Sky not the limit, earth not the depth

This magic is trivial. Shall I hold sway?

All the same

Story in your eyes dear stranger is also in my eyes
Can you see what I see under our own sky
Air ours, yours and mine. The sense ours as well
How can the tale be unlike and the shared be vacant

Foothills

My feet at the foothills and eyes on hilltop
Arms wide, broad for a hug to embrace the elation
Breath deep to refresh soul and eyes new to witness heaven
Thoughts gone, worries away. Only you and me, my hill

Messages from heaven are songs from your birds
Passage to salvation those trekking routes
Grace in your strength gives spring in my walk
Calm in your gaze assures my place in present

Stream down the hill

Is it a roll or a dance
Song or a calling
Nectar from heavens
Spirit of my body

Sings when I close eyes
Dances in my gaze
Lifts my thoughts to skies
Drenches my joys in even more joy

Unwinds my busy day
Pulls me into a world of angels
Enlivens tiring moments
Delight my existence

Marine drive

Such love swells inside

The Sea so calm amidst crazy crowds. How do I hug you
The Sun going to sleep, pulling the dark blanket over. How do I kiss you
The leaves dried, fallen near my feet. How do I protect you

Such love swells inside

The clouds fluffy, making faces at me. How do I immerse in you
People bright, all gleefully busy. How do I find leisure with you
Breeze - cool, rumpling my hair. How do I breathe you full

Such love swells inside

Resolve

What have I done?

Committing my time to do things that I would not want to do
Parking my body in places that I would not want to visit
Stretching my lips to manufacture a smile that I would not otherwise
Consenting to be a screw but have no threads to be driven

I resolve to continue

Stalk the stars and trail the trivial
Nose the nothings and ignore the somethings
Warm the garden-bench, eye the morning ticks
See off the Sun to embrace the dark

Darjeeling train station

Leisure everywhere - yet the buzz to ripple my thoughts
Glimpse of this station is an a afternoon tea
Waiting here is visiting old fond secrets
People, crowd-less noise and hilly chimes holding things still
The track tunes is mild sun in breezy shade
To pass by this place - naked feet on dewy grass
The steam, the grease - the wheels. Beautiful bad in perfect hills

Can Concrete?

Can concrete comfort the abstract unsure
Building bridges over the certain pains
Poking towers strong into sky

Can concrete conquer the devils in mind 
Laying roads to the world of angels
Supporting ladder that lands on moon

Can concrete grow the new every-time 
Flowering the joys of existing
Adding life to air when its taken in

Can concrete sing when it rains
Aping the sparrow that chirps in memories
Falling like rain drops forming the puddles

Can concrete hold to its bosom
Listening to the secrets told to myself
Echoing the cries that I shout all alone

Can concrete sweat like my people
Challenging the heat and dark clouds
Forming a crowd to find own way

Talking back

Dust from that city, now in my home

Memory from that time envelops these times

Laughs from that context brings smiles to this moment

Songs from that event is a dance in today's heart

Sealed thought of that factory to open up present actions

Messages of that era solves current dilemmas

Question that puzzled then, finds its mate here

Conversations that demanded time. Now, time demands them

Time warp or things talking back

Come back

Can you please come back!
I can then react better to this banter
Now, indifference my name

Please come back
I can then smile at things
Now, I only stare just stare

Come back!
I can then feel my blood, breath, sweat
Now, I am a vegetable merely

Come back the times
I can then be fit to be here
Now, I just exist

Please take me with you
I can then see where good things go
Now, I am stuck in limbo

Madland

Land of surplus, I land my flight here
To add another drop to overflowing brew

Room of unknown, I find my place here
To facelift my pride to faceless freedom

Traffic turf, I bring my activity
To merge myself in unending commutes

Circus of prospects, I carry my hope
To heap my stone on towering domes

Chamber of insomnia, look to rest with you
To shut the slack and the junk

Park of high-rises, checking my depth
To leap from the skies

Kingdom of missing, here are my directions
To power my sense to miss the pointless

Strange - this place, I convey my freaks
To spy my bounds in boundless game

On my own. Yet...

Bring my own shade where I go and yet feel your shade

Rains, I own but it is yours that fertilize my thoughts

In my self-company I move but your company moves me

Seek my own help and now I go wrong so you can help

I got the dark to hide my quirks yet need you to cover my dark

The star that guides, shines For me. Your spark outshines it

Full of self

A song that sings herself
and a notice that announces itself
Joy that enjoys herself
and a muse that amuses itself
Time that spends on its own
and a journey that self-travels
A cloud that clouds herself
and an art that imagines itself
It's nothing. But nothing else
and Something and that's everything

My waves

I stand still like I am born to freeze
In every breath, my every pulse
Motionless me, yet restless me
You come to kiss every time
And vanish just in a blink

That you come every time, cant lose hope
And go every time, can't keep hope
You reply with a question, can't stay quiet
And question with an answer, forced to mute

Rooted to ground in your residue
Losing the anchor to your troughs
Yet standing firm in uncertain default

What's left of me is this show
Greetings ephemeral, farewells transient

You drift near my lifeline, born to Rove

Multitude

Make my way through tea acres, do I become tea
The road brews me, do I become liquor
Slide down the mountains, am I a river now
Scale the hills. kite, am I
Rub through the woods. wood, do I turn into
Freeze into elements, snow my ego?
Lose sense of time, timeless rock am I?
Strangers accept me, strange am I?
Float on the river, grass straw I look like?
Kiss the sea on the beach. coast, I should be
Meet the deity at his home, spiritual spirit mine?
Suspend in air as clouds, massless my pride
Wait for the Sun to shine that peak, hopeful me
A day before, I was just one
Today, I am all this and more

Sikkimsome

Sikkim surface, I come to feel 
As sky and earth meet on my skin
Stars below me, above me, all around
Powered by water pouring from heaven
Star myself in this prized company

A bit of cloud in my palm, as I grasp
And a pinch of snow as I kiss
Iciness sucks out my sense
Yet feel the expanse, unending
In my breath, in my consciousness

You mounty - tall, vast, endearing
We climb like creepers encircling
Feet by feet, step by step, roll by roll
And a new regard, every moment
To leap into the clouds from the clouds

Lord

With curiosity, I come to see you
And a prayer just in case
With some information to fall back
And a theory to confirm.
With fondness for your lore
And a duty passed on to me
Hiding my respect
And contempt for Lord of life
I seek you to vivify my themes


I go back knowing the drama
Your lordship and your friends
My prayer uttered, but can't be heard
Theory affirmed, questions orphaned
I see your issues and our issues
In colours my own, on your canvas
I feel for you my lord, as I return
Promise mine, we will together find
That joy to be free, to be away

Varanasi

A shore for myself to commit my sins
And a pail of river that covers them white
A moving crowd to poke my conscience
And a priestly figure who patches those pricks

A floating piece to survey the treatments
And a rising Sun that cures my darkness
A singing man soothing my knowledge
And a working cow that lingers my moves

A reining diety to share my wishes
And a queue of people telling their stories
Strength in my veins and wisdom in my sight
In one short visit, tryst with my river

Mandatory break

Making a move. Nay, made to move
There is a moment waiting in the way
To test my silence and tease my presence
To tell me it's the end and pushing me again

Breaking a routine. Nay, made to break
There is a glue waiting to let loose
To fasten it all and hold my comfort
To tell me it's still the same and avoiding again

Building a momentum. Nay, poking inertia
There is a mass running with me
To rest the movement and please passivity
To tell me the fun of giving it up and gaining again

Spending the time. Nay, made to spend
There is a clock waiting to halt
To measure the value before it's lost
To tell me things held in time and held in mind

Counting the days

I happen to count, not the numbers
Not the stars, not the blinks
But the days that die begetting nothing
And those that go pushing the pain
Few which pull back but go for sure
Days that pass away as their elder siblings
And some grow unique but break down usual

Why do I count? The birth, the death
And play the waves of wealth and loss
Since I can count, I should
On each of the counted days is my mark
And those not counted, exit unknown
Scarring a day makes it fruitful
Makes a memory, lesson for another day

And a day that succumbs uncounted
Also is my day where I did not live
My lifeless ticks turn it barren
But makes a way anyhow
Piles, void-rocks into nothing hill
The peaks of this rise mock. but hold
The dark ink that makes my mark

Careworn

Weighed down by care

Subdued by sky

Floating in the zero

Trapped on a sphere

Flame not flickering

Self still intact

Moves high deliberate

Questions savvy fresh

Thrills without zing

Pains, no sting

Smiles surprise-less

Shocks none at all

Inertia keeps it going

Your regards hold me here

Memories fetch the joy

That joy imparts life 

Let's not talk

Let's stop it, I may propose
Nothing comes of it, you may know
Time will do its thing, shall we hope
It may die it's death, its own way

No honesty in what I say
Conviction none in what you know
Times fly but this may settle here
Death is truth but end of way

Yet let's not talk, it consumes so much
You may agree but can u resist
Time would be spent any which way. Talk or not
What about this bond we earn as we talk

Let's weaken this bond, I suggest
Nothing comes out of this bind, you know
Bondage only of this time, not forever
Lets not talk, expand the space not thralldom

As we talk

I and my yesterday talk to you and your present

You don’t know those gone by times

I don’t see everything of your now

I offer a peep into the things that happened

You show me stuff occurring as I write

I and my present sing to you and your past

You know what moments I live

I guess what would have happened with you

I bare open my gift that is now

You let me know the charm that was there

I and my tomorrow, you and your future bound now

You wish for things to work in a way

I pray for things to move at no pace

I wait for all this to freeze right now

You somehow want it to end very soon

It’s all the same as you would say

Same Sun, the Moon, and Earth rotation

You impress upon me, I make my point

I tend to agree, it’s all the same

This moment lasts forever or as a memory

My Star

Alone as you shine in the dark expanse
Alone as I stare at the bright chance
Time stands still, joy comes alive
Breath deep fresh, worry lost gone
Lost and found - that moment yours, mine
Found and lost - lonely time in this tick
As I talk with my stares
As you smile in your glows
The world holds its stride, life takes a break
Weightless I wait, can it last little long
Lost and found - the secret yours, mine
Found and lost - this picture, this pose

Song

The stars, the night sky and quiet leaves
Cicadas buzzing behind dark nothings
Song, I hear. Silence can't stop its sway
My greetings to singer, none in return

Whose place this, I hear and not heard
Real my sense or mind making merry
Hushed and tranquil. Me and my thoughts
Whose song is this that silence sings

Unshakable

The cold stone that does not move

The stone that resists Sun, rain and the touch

The one that supports anything that needs

Watches everyone and reactions none

World shakes, shudders in its roll

Calm in worry's gaze and merry dance

Questions on face, solutions in the stance

Notices every tiny bit and responsive not

Fixed to ground or the other way round

Gives up traits for the sculptor's love

Gets a life that the carver gives

Loses the spirit, that timeless being

Random

With or without this name
In this age at this time
Memories of Earth or the sky
Trained to dream or living as is
Experience nothing or fulfilling
Moment of inflection or gradual buildup
Self driven or GPS aided
Road is a road is a road
Fate is a fate is a fate
Failing is a given - Success an accident
If success is default result of a logic
Bots, we shall have - Programmed and bound!

It just moves on

The page be turned or the book
Man be moved or outlook
Smile be given or accepted
Hand be held or fist fixed
It just moves on or so it seems

The Sun that rises and then sets
Sleep that occupies and vanishes
Word that is written and then read
Thought that is born and then dead
It just moves on or so it seems

What is it that moves on or so it seems
This body in the life or the life in cells
Time in this world or world of these times
Feel of this moment or the moment sums
It just moves on or so it seems

Restless

It could happen, I may find
A person uttering words in my mind
Laying the path for all my steps
Setting the stage for all those hecks

It does happen and I always find
Flowers bloom when I need their bind
Time lasts for as long as I want
Things hold back sensing my rant

It should happen and I ought to find
Days that put me in tiresome grind
Easy routine shall know itself
Listless breath - let be restless

FogStone

Fog, that doesn't hide that doesn't show but hints
A hint so charming, and sight so soothing
All on its own - surreal within sky, within earth

You, my unknown sculptor - hints not for you
Stones come alive - kissed by your hands, the delicate chisels
God's work - as old as time and your work freezes time

Sun be a mallet that thumps in those hands
Fog be a stone that awaits your love
Fogstone be chiselled, God takes his time and my eyes not for ever

Glue

Wealth all mine but no hands to hold
Bricks so many, not the sand, not the cement
Leaves tender green and branch nowhere seen
Flowers fragrant blooming, colors all but missing
People lovely stares, company none that cares
Chats - stars in the sky - sky itself away from scene
Pages - inked, dried and none bound into books 
Spirit pure, spotless - no body to carry it on
Glue natural binding, yet lost, sealed in charming pride 

Where is the pause?

Wavering and roving - where is the pause
On the way, in your say or the mind
In your eyes, I may rest - but oft you wink
And tell things pricking my links
Close my eyes, looking out for halts
Only to find those lingering double binds
Crowds lost in their act - there, I may roost
Your clones there, draw me in - pulling my strings
Away, I go on those aimless sorties
But discover all those aims and drives
Did you pause is what you ask waiting for my howls
It's hovering in some corner - where is the pause?

What is it?

What is the meaning of it all?

That I must walk, walk and get back
To rekindle that urge to walk
Get away to escape the warmth
And come back bitten by cold
Avoid the joy of your company
Only to look for you again and again

Like Daylight that's back to see what changed
Or the night returning to collect moments
Where do I belong? Here or there
Complete in myself and yet longing
Get pulled and pushed all at once
Wandering to find the drifts and none found

What is the meaning of it all?

Silly - Know it all - Pushy guy

"I know and you need to know what I know
Be careful - you need the care that I own
It's in my head, the agony of freedom
You are so free in chains, partake in my joy
I take it seriously, even if autopilot my job
My life a throbbing joke - don't laugh, I have issues
I am not sorted - so, I bubble sort you
I did it all and you ought to do it my way - the only way
I have time and yours is also mine"

Pleasing - your sight, moony night

What’s in that sight? World grows pleasing
Eyes expecting never – find new hope
Looks longing lost get solace, love
Stares silent startled absorb all of you
Faces curious cracks observe all your shades

What’s in that sight? World grows pleasing
Workmen tired needy – relax in their pain
Perfects nitpick, mutely – awed by your scars
Claiming you, your tantrums, romantics are held in sway
Lonely, unengaged lives – your company soothing, lulling

What’s in that sight? World grows pleasing
Sick sulking in the dust glow hale and hearty
Rich drunk in rituals come down soon to ground
Souls lost in transit return to high spirits
Men bent on one view accept every idea

What’s in that sight? World grows pleasing
Peace around you or calm inside you
Is it the twinkling smiles around you
Limitless dark. Is it? Behind you, your back?
Your kin waiting, wondering – Please speak, sing!