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!

Old man's smile

A life lived and times spent
Moments borrowed and moments lent
Paths laid and roads ignored
All in the smile hiding those wrinkles

Words uttered and those held back
Views reinforced and ideas discarded
Chills withstood and shocks passed
All in the smile teasing that silence

Values made own and lessons taught
Areas tested and places visited
Knowing it all and leaving it all
All in the smile spreading the joy

Long live - struggle

A demand that does not press is a flower that does not bloom
Free time that is not coveted is a time that is not free
Journey that does not turn is a twist very expected
A man that is not occupied is a life that has no life
A heart that is restful is a throb without music
A stare that is still is a look without a face
Pain that wakes, chain that binds is a breath that gets a life

That Sun rise

Is that you I expect to see
Promising to warm and struggling to arrive
That hearty glow I want to feel
Hiding from me or clouded by my fears
Is that your support I need right now
Scars on the face marking your courage
That winning bout I hope it is
Change in your colour waking my fellows
And now that you are here and I am up to it
It is not you I expect to stay back

This place

How different my world to yours, yet we cross paths
How noisy your talk, yet a silent blip in my ether
Such tinsel around you, yet shaded full my view
We had to meet. So, i know and so you know
Span of our lives is more than one world
Tang in our days, flavors multitude
We had to speak and together its a song. So, everyone knows
The result of our thinking - gift to mankind
Chiselling at the frontiers -new world for all

Backyard - abandoned house

What about it?

So, it was spoken and never heard

But survives as echo soothing my soul

Unknown the meaning of it all - but still felt

So, it is there and no one knows

But it shines in dark, showing the way

Unknown the source of light - but still felt

So, it moves and nothing cares

But it stays near, wrapping allover

Unknown the love of its cuddle - but still felt

Unknown it sleeps and unknown the dreams

Wakes up unknown and newness every breath

The life unknown, unnoticed the pit-a-pat

Sings unheard its own song in the chirps of sparrow

Unkempt and spread, keeping its own way

The life unknown, unlooked-for the sprouts

Lives on its own in its own way

It's the doing, the done and the future

It is what it is, untied the design and the chance

It is

Touched by elements, I am the elements

Sung by the time, I am the song

Glow of the day, I am sunshine

Hidden from dark, I am the night

Without you, I am all this and more

With you- I am you and that is all I am

Question Man

Questions so many and answers none
You owned them and now its common property
Older you are - newer I am - timeless these questions
Hope -you had. Wish -I have. Misfit - this world
OK, you tried. your blood boils- cool down
We will try perhaps to close it all
And make a move, set a sail - until we discover
That air where questions are met with answers

Sir

The glitter in your eyes piercing my queries

Making vanish my concerns of a lifetime

The welcome poise measuring my conduct

Knocking that impatience fluttering on my head

The acceptance in your presence calming my worries

And then teasing me with my past, present and future

The joy on your face sharing all your deeds

Inciting me to make the move, break the routine

Hope?

New day and an old habit
Air sealed, water sealed in me
Sealed I am in the roll of eons
Yet, Unchained by the dawn
Only to be occupied. Again and again

Chill in the air and an old mood
Times bygone, places lost somewhere
Lost I am in the rolled out events
Yet, liberated by the recalls
Only to be occupied. Again and again

Rush on the roads and an old route
Bylanes waking up, smells maturing
Caught I am between past and future
Yet, moved by the breeze
Only to be occupied. Again and again

One

So, what am I if not a riddle?

What of you if not a problem

And all of us, unknown, unsolved drifters

All under the cloud, yet one Sun to pierce it all

What do I seek that you don’t need

What do you solve that is only yours?

All of us, poking the same, sliding the same time

All under the surge, yet one wave to roll us to land

Billions of us, of same make, similar expiry

Alike our Battles and alike, the ink in our diary

Small our span, smaller still our stride

All under the spell, yet one view to fix it all

Muse?

Today, as I mull over my muses

Think about what to do

The things I want to do and things I don’t want to do

The difference between them is on the shrink

The burden of things that I have to do

The easiness of things that I can ignore

The loiter in the memory lane, also a bore

None of these linger in my angle of view

EGO || OGE

Part of my ego, unseen, untouched and not unknown
Now exposed to world, crying like only it can
As old as I am. But this part - like a new born infant
Nursing it now with sight, touch and care
Ego too big to admit. And baby too tender to neglect
Caught in this logjam. My look of years and new image in mirror
Which one to choose? Old wine or same thing born again

Missed

Missed you for so long and now I meet you
Few moments I meet you and miss myself
Void that I cultivated and you own the way out
Your one word held back and empty hopelessness
Could miss forever, kill my hours and thats better
Missing is no joy, waiting is no fun but hope gone is story done
Things I could share with only you. A lifetime of collections
My issues with the world. Closure only when you hear
Heart overflowing. Words failing. Time stopping for you to ask
And you hold back all. You are my issue now

Storyteller

Cut by the ways of being, I tell stories
Existence - one-question, one-answer and one-way
But when I talk - questions none , prospects many
Life - you run away or run near, but get caught at last
My stories - waves get caught even beyond view
Senses-five, time-one and drift unknown
With me - things timeless and sense boundless
You - all nine feels in one breath and then death
Come to me - worries sweet and struggles pleasant
I live my story and tell my moments
Storyteller I am. Life treasurer I am

Illicit, is it?

Illicit this thought, but it is mine
It is mine and I mined it from myself
With courage like no choice at all
And faith slim, dim fluttering flame
Restless when it lay inside
And fearful now as it grows outdoors
And it's is yours hereafter
After all, the baby should be yours
I brought it out but you kindled it

Elements of nature, I am. You are
Thought as natural as I am, as you are
Born now, will live like me, like you
Free, you are. My writing self ruled. Thought unpoliced
Do I hold it or you own it? Raw natural and pure it is
Illicit how? stigma why? Honesty why not? Divine how not?
This thought mine, its yours too, its cosmic
After all, the baby should be sacred
We touched it, but made of elements. Godly elements

Love poem

The way I own the joy, who else can
Will you still bloom when I am not there
The praise that I sing , who else can
Will you still smile when I am not there
The embrace that I throw, who else can
Will you still hug when I am not there
The pleasant that I present, who else can
Will you still breath fresh when I am not there
The thrills that I bring, who else can
Will you still throb when I am not there
The life that I lose, who else can
Will you still live when I am not there

Will world survive when we are not one

The night

To the night I speak
What do you hide that I don't know
Your sparkling smile I ask
What do you reveal that I can't read
In your silence I wonder
What are the sounds you can't suppress
In the thick of your presence
What of our efforts to tame your hold
In the depths of your stare
What do you have that I don't have

Friends of the night, I question
What do you do when night takes a break
I am in the day, I am in the night
What can't I give that only night can give
Secrets I can keep, hushed I can stay
I am the light in night and shade in day

What next?

What next, I ask in my highbrow tone

All the blood I pump fiercely. All inside me

All the chaos and the calm banging my skin

All the logic and the think. working my nerves

Furiously, madly, bursting at the seams

What next, I ask in my tired curious tone

Blank, I draw. Gaping at my wit's end

And you - people. Your answer too bland

Run-of-the-mill is problem not solution

BIG. So what?

So small my life and you universe so big
Yet I hold you full in my small thought
So petty my strife and you world beyond measure
Yet I win - lose world in every petty fight
So young my stay and you cosmos grand old
Yet I ask and poke every new tick, new wink
So limited my senses and you so infinite
Yet I sense the boundless bounds
So trivial my writing and heaven your truth
Yet what the hell, bliss flows from my pen

Note from my tree

Bare to the core; away from my ilk

Decor gone; native frills uncovered

On the spot, on the road; in the traffic flux

Bones peeled away; weathered, dark, tired

Frame standing firm. I am an old world art

Rooted in our past; rooted to your path

Moorings strong as ever and pivot fickle fly

Your stare is what I own; soothing my strain

Your heedless care blocks the sun and the rain

Regards to you, your cool cucumber life. I have a bond.

see  Note to my tree

Touch-me-not

Cheer me up and I am startled

Not the happening but the act

Not the joy, the fun but the act

Not the happiness around but the act

Care a bit and I am scared

Not the act but the thought

Not the act but the review

Not the act, the thing but the prospect

Share with me and I am terrified

Not the food but the life-slice

Not the taste, the tang but the life-slice

Not the heartfelt but the life-slice

My end of bargain, can I keep - my worry

I will give everything, good enough?

My life for the moment, do I measure?

Last straw - my ego at your feet. Can I still pay back?

Convoluted

If it moves, it can lie
Is it the movement that begets falsity
Or is it the truth that manages to flow

If it lies, it can think
Is it the lying that brings out thoughts
Or is it dumbness that shadows reality

If it thinks, it can stay still
Is it the thinking that causes stillness
Or is it movement that produces brainwork

Dawn

Pause to witness the dew drops metamorphose
As the sky opens its portal
And nascent sun with promise immortal
Gazes placidly as leaflets pose
With the Earth, beetles confabulate
Unmindful of the condescending shrub
Indulges in faux pas, the bug
Kisses the ground and gains a color, its pate
The odor of the primordial
Embraces the spirit and mildly nudges
In thrall as I meander over the hedges
Creases on my face turn immaterial

Stars still shine

Unaware of our zest, thank you dear west
Bringing light to you, my stars shine
On your wild fields, on my long kept images
Stars still shine, dawn still young

Ignorant of our awe, thank you dear west
Inspiring you to know, my stars shine
On your darkness, on my school-time rhymes
Stars still shine, joys still first

Illiterate about our game, thank you dear west
Teaching you to play, my stars shine
On your grand cities, on my lost places
Stars still shine, wonders still many

Unsure of our ways, thank you dear west
Clearing your doubts, my stars shine
On your busy lives, on my matinée show
Stars still shine, childhood still fresh

Dad's Joy

I grew up, I fell down, got up, walked and I ran
drifted to shore like a rudderless man
The life that had been and the times that have been
Is all gone by, never again will these be seen

But…Someone like me, just like me
Is doing it all over again, there... Do you see?
Aah...Same. The way I look and the way I used to scream
What blessed joy, every moment feels like a dream!

He, my son, will do things better than I ever did!
He will do things I failed to do, this my kid
My dad knows that, on this boy, all his hopes rest
And I know, he is right that my baby is the best.


Dedicated: Ayaan and Asif (Dad)

What season is this?

This thunder is a song drenched in your thoughts
These flashes - mere pauses, tied up in your knots
This wet is now sunshine washed by your scents
This storm is but a soft breeze held in your eyes

What season is this?

This Road

Alluring, the call to walk on this road

But unknown where this path will lead

It's almost perfect, the way and the sky

Long and straight, dimming somewhere down

Sun, that is faded and shade very fine

With those tall trees waiting to welcome

Lacking just, my slow unsure steps

Shall I take a step and make it full

Or stand still and let wonder grow

Is there a turn that I don't see

Or there a treasure that's meant for me

This joy high point or riches worth a try

Note to my tree

Live with me; you like it or not
Get to know me; interested or not
Sing for me; you wish or not
Bloom me up; you love it or not
Hide-and-seek Sun; I avail or not
Bath in rain; I sight or not
I share with you; care or not
Stare at you; accept or not
Hugs for you; embrace or not
Move you can't; change I may not
Speak you won't; hear I might not

Be here - you will; right here I am

see Note from my tree

Return

Staying on and moving on - making a mark everywhere
Some that are felt and some put down in memories
That scar on times, art in spaces and script here - there
Lingering in the past, twinkling like stars, very far away
Quirk of fate or turn of ship - pass by these, just as a visitor
Awakened are thoughts, mindscapes like fest, joy and fun
Freed from demand - to act on that mark and to craft in time
Every mark is an art, owned by senses and pleasure unbound

Underground coal mine

Tour to a world, my own world
Right below my feet, hidden for long
The way, older than me, than my book
Path travelled by many, yet so pristine
Trip so new, newness there in every stride

Feet mine, nerve ours, and blood from every root
Thrill mine, challenge ours, and treasure for every one
Trail mine, trace ours, and prick for planet Earth
Coal mine, energy ours, and light for midnight Sun
Wonder mine, heartbeat ours, and story for every tomorrow

A man dies

Story that I am, what is my story if I don’t end

A visitor that I am, what is my stay if I don’t go

A journey that I am, what is my trip if I don’t halt

Life that I am, what is my living if I don’t die

Group that we are, what is our growth if I don’t recede

Sequels that we are, what is our flowering if I don’t wither

Game that we are, what is our play if I don’t retire

Life that we are, what is our lifeblood if I don’t die

World needs change and change needs you

Nothing will move if I stay put for ever

New birth is called for and first looks are needed

Let world breath afresh in my last gasp

You will walk my path, you will trace me later

It's perhaps not an end, surely not the onset

Make-believe and Maya, these all events

Into the unknown, my flight is confirmed

Things I wanted to do, I should have done

Will wait for me and look for a rescue

Unfinished was the destiny or my role was limited

No one is essential, world will move on…