She is The Breeze

The earth sighed, feeling tied
He watched her twirl and rise high.
Knowing he could never travel wide.
But what wonder, he was rising with her
The dust whirling, having great fun.
She cannot touch my core, he thought.
But when she settled, he felt heavy at heart.
She was the breeze who entered crevices.
Exploring dark corners he thought he kept a secret.

The water flowed, but thought with envy.
Ah she can travel, more than me!
I am bound by banks, but she knows no limits!
Even through territories uncharted like a spirit.
And he saw his surface rising in joyful waves.
Tiny droplets carried a long way off.
Falling on lands he dared not dream of.
She was the breeze who carried him easily.
To places he longed to visit secretly.

Fire roared and burned and thought himself strong!
And yet she tamed him so he may do no harm.
When he thought he would die out in shame.
She gently roused him to his former frame!
She teased him, lured him, carried him far.
Showed him his place when he puffed up too broad.
Never mind that she burned too to save.
She was the breeze who would rise again.
And she held in her hand all his secrets.

Calm, untouched, too far above all.
Ether felt benevolent, watching the tiny forms.
Scrambling hither and thither, sending prayers his way.
He thought he held in his hands their fates.
His vision blurred though with the cloud cover.
He rumbled angrily, sending lightening and thunder
She blew clouds away and made them scatter.
She was the breeze who defied his might.
Knowing how hard he kept his weakness a secret.

She was the breeze who gave them life.
She knew all their wily little secrets.
She knew the joys and sorrows they felt.
And played and teased when in the mood for it.
She would not be tamed or contained.
She gave all life, she knew with pride..
She was everywhere and yet unseen.
She was the breeze and she roared and whispered.
Through it all she keeps her secret!

The Shadow Lover

You are the sky to my earth
You are the rain to my pond
You are the ocean to my river
You are the cloud to my sun

You are the one I seek
In a quest that goes deep
When I am awake or asleep
Whether at home or in the street



When I hear your voice within
Ever so fast my heart beats
Like a flippant, fleeting vision
You slip before I can reason

Distracted by the forms around
I grab what comes anon
In ephemeral things I think
I find that thing that I seek

Is it too much to ask?
Is revealing yourself such a task?
Must you remain just a shadow?
No form that you could borrow?

To grasp you tightly
To feel your presence
To become one with you
Forever and ever.

Light Up The Mind

Through the dark winter nights
When gloom and despair weaken our minds
Oh delicate lady of prosperity
May your light burn a path so bright

The black silence rouses our fears
Demons mock our very weakness
Oh brave lord of courage
Destroy them so we may see the way

Lights and sounds fill the air
Should we shouldn't we, the debate rages
And yet lights and crackers ablaze
The festive season of joy arrives

The bright lights, the crackers say
Have fun, share the joy
Destroy the darkness of your mind
Let the mind light up from within.

Dream Lover

My head on your lap
Your hand on my head
You take me gently
To the world of oblivion

My eyes closed
My breath even
My limbs loose
My mind on leave

Drifting, floating
Safe in your arms
In a world of our own
Untouched by harm

You remain true
Till I surrender to you
Angry when anxiety
Claims me for its own

Don't desert me
When worries beset me
For in you I find
True love that affects me

Love me, kiss me
Heal me, cure me
Sleep, my dream lover
Embrace me, forever and ever.

The Whimsical

Soft and smooth

As a balm it soothes

Turning inside out

Cutting like a double-edged sword

Like a chick it falls

Bald and four syllables long

It sprouts the wings of a lore

Slipping from tongue to tongue

Meanings change

Intentions mistaken

A film of confusion

Covers the words spoken

Read the lines

And between them too

Find meanings

Even when not meant so

Sometimes rock solid

Like hammer on nail

Or hard to grasp

Slippery like the eel

Words, elusive words

With your many faces

Your many whims and fancies

Cause many to suffer.

The Eternal Search

From a seed hidden under ground
A tiny shoot shot out
Tentative, unsure
Promise of something new

Will it wither or survive
As it seeks water and light
Reaching out to another branch nearby
Hoping for friendship and some sunshine

The many paths they can take
Their desire forever unslaked
Intertwined like inseparable vines
Sometimes just the touch so benign

Or will it be harshly rejected
To be left alone, dejected
To culminate in a point nowhere
Hanging loose forever and ever

Perhaps another one more kind
Will wrap its fingers warmly from behind
Embracing the little one in its fold
To save it from miseries untold

The path of relationships so uncertain
Sometimes taking one up to heavens
Sometimes showing one infernal hell
Knotted, with many stories to tell

And yet the little branch seeks
All its life for one who speaks
The language of love, oh so sweet
To walk hand in hand till the eternal sleep.

A Lovesong

She curled her gnarled fingers,
In impotent rage
Have you  forgotten me
In my old age?

My once lusty body
And lush green mane,
How you sought me
Night and day!

Caressing me gently
With your breeze and drizzle
And in uncontrolled passion
Swaying me with stormy winds.

Sucking from me
All that you could
You leave me now
Alone in the wood.

Your heat sets me aflame still
My aged body helplessly trills
You blaze in glory and leave me no shade
Where are the cooling winds and the rain?

Let me rest in peace now
Cover me with a wafer of cloud
Be loving, be gentle
Show me that you care still.

Here and Now

A chocolate, asked the child
Not now darling, came the reply
Pouting, crying, throwing a tantrum
The best way to have his way

Get me this, get me that
Needs grew with age just like that
No was not an answer to be had
Pouting, crying, tantrum were for that

The needs and demands grew
And though he became older too
The years of practice in that art
Made unlearning not too cool

From simple things his mind moved
To reaching out for the distant moon
Sometimes not in ways too straight
But it was important to have it too

And then one day something tickled
His mind and it was getting pickled
Get me a girl now he said
Or else, the gun in his hand jiggled

All he got was a girl too young
With a sweet tooth and sweet tongue
Chocolate lured her into his den
Yet again he had won.

The Omnipresent

You fill the air
And our hearts with despair
You never get defeated
Rebounding with flair

Nets and sprays
Cannot keep you out
A generation is all it takes
To come back and bout

We talk and try
Our best to find ways
To finish you forever,
Once and for all

And yet you return
Not letting us turn
Walk, sit or sleep
As you suck our very blood

Hail Mosquito
You are more present
Than the almighty
Who is sometimes easy to forget

Let it Bloom

The green hides the beauty within
Promise of colours raring to spring
Layer by layer, with time it blooms
Petal by petal unravelled, none too soon

The wayfarer, passing casually by
The promise of colours catches his eye
Stirring up feelings that we dare not pry
For they make us tremble, fear and cry

Oh! What evil lurks under his skin
Why this wish to crumple this thing
That which needs tender, loving care
Rape, plunder and crush, he dare!

Let it bloom, display its colours
Spreading joy, smiles all over
Don't pluck the bud before it's time
Let it too bloom and shine.

The Unceasing Waves

Day and night I crash against
The unmoving rocks in vain
Frothing in the mouth
Tired but compelled
Each wave rises with no respite

Angry sometimes, rising high
Calm and placid, content at other times
Touching all who come close
Drawing others deep inside
In all-consuming passion uncontrolled

The wind, the sun, the moon
All make me rise and swoon
And yet there remain
My questions arraigned
With no answers coming from you

Is this by design?
Or have you ordained?
That I bang in vain
Against the rocks unrestrained
Praying for a look of kindness and love
Seeking redemption from pain unsure

---Inspired by the Pondicherry seashore

Light and free

Stone by stone, weighs me down
Heavy limbs, heart heavier still

Darkness, sorrow, fear and anger
A long tunnel, which ends never

And then suddenly, I shake it all
With new hope, that only heart can call

Throwing the burdens away in one stroke
Lifting up in air, wings flapping in the wind

No, wait, there is no effort, as I float in air
Weightless, formless and light as feather

In the vast wilderness, wild and free
I drift with the wind, aimlessly.

The Beast Roams Free

He lurked in dark corners
In shady bus shelters
Anonymous in crowds
Furtive in glance and movements

He groped, pinched, rubbed
When no one could catch him
For he feared persecution
Humiliation and exposure

Today he roams the city free
In broadlight, head held high
With his herd, confident
He could get away with murder

In the midst of crowds
Sure of his success
He corners the single,
The helpless and the unaware

He pounces, ravages, walks away
Leaving others wondering
What the crumpled victim did
To incur his wrath

In the Clouds

Fly as high as you can dare
But on ground you have to land
Dream as only you can
Feet on earth firmly you plant

Reality on the ground
To anchor us through ups and downs
Floating is a pleasure but brief
Time will steal it away, the thief

Like day and night they come and go
Sorrow and joy, two sides of a coin
Head in air, feet on land
To live in joy, and remain strong.

The Untiring Runner

It hasn't stopped
this race
challenging each
at a constant pace

Persistent, merciless
never tired
watching impassively
without a comment

Ups and downs
taken in a stride
tripping tumbling
matter not a mite

Bang your head
pray, pass or kill it
Procrastinate, or rush
but it all comes to zilch

For it has practice
at running
For eons and eons
without stopping

It stops for us
but once
When we breathe
our very last breath.

Turning a Blind Eye

"Oh my darling, my bundle of joy,"
They held the child close to their heart
Promising themselves they will forever
Cherish and protect this bundle so soft.

Routine, the key to maintain sanity
Trusting strangers to take care of the baby
As one rushes out to build own life
For the future of the little one to shine bright

The present marred by the stranger's hand
Probing, exploring where parents don't dare
Lost and frightened, the children shut up
Scared to even with parents open up

"Hey, look, you must take care"
Warns a friendly neighbour who dares
Only to be withered by a look that throbs
Defying and saying, "We know our job."

Don't turn a blind eye o parents dear
There are many beasts, we hear
Patiently waiting for a chance
Winning your trust perhaps.

The people you trust
A mask comes first
Hiding the beast
That lurks within.

Head on Pillow

To not look at time
And run a mile
To not have to decide
Between the car and bike

To be able to walk
Talk, hear a tale
And not worry
That I might be late

For the head
To touch the pillow
And let the dream
Smoothly flow

No to-do list
Keeping me awake
No plans, no answers
Inspiring in mid sleep

To just sleep
With no cares
And wake up
To uneventful days

I wish for this
And yet, do I?
For even as I write
Boredom seems the plight!

Being Born as a Woman

Being born a woman
Born of a woman
Having borne a woman
Can she be a woe!

Educate her
Treat her well
Respect her
She will respect others

Cherish the woman
Nourish her body
Nurture her mind
And you create wealth

This simple equation
Lost in translation
The only consideration
The dowry calculation

A child bearing machine
To carry only men
An unpaid worker
Her role only in the kitchen

Locked up in the house
How will she then show
What she is capable of
If you don't let her grow!

Open your minds
See the world around
Woman is in space
But she has no place!

In your heart
In your hearth
At your feet
You trample ruthlessly!

You are not cursed
Because you have a girl
She is the one
Cursed to be born to you!

Fallen Leaves

Aged, dried,
Unable to cling on
Discarded leaves
Their life gone

They had been green too
Once upon a time
Providing others shade
And the tree some food

Yellowing and useless
They fall in the light breeze
To be crushed under
Hurriedly walking feet

Raked up and bundled
Shoved to a corner
To be burnt brutally
And then forgotten forever

But the ones that escape
Have a purpose to fulfill
Making the dry ground
Like soft bedding.

In Two

Strange is the heart
Split into two halves

Elated on one hand
Hurt for another part

Celebrating, one moment
Then turning sour!

I wonder when
The thought crept in

Is it worth it, I ask
It replies, not at all

And yet it clings
To that which singes

Breathe in deep
Meditate on good

Let the joy wash over
Dip in deep and swim

Distractions galore
And yet that thorn

Tears the little heart
Into two equal halves.