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…