The Size of Trouble

When it was far
Insignificant and small
I laughed with glee
Ignoring the loud footfall
Nearer as it loomed
Growing bigger and bigger
With every step it zoomed
In my heart, fear it triggered

On my head
The sky was falling
I cowered and shivered
At the troubles appalling
Sobbing and whining
Wishing it away
'Why me' the question
Didn't help anyway

When I stood up straight
The troubles dispersed
My steady eye it met
And looked away in despise
It didn't vanish
Nor did it grow
Meeting its match
It just sank low

Never fear
For help is near
Right in your heart
If you let it say its part.
No greater friend
No greater foe
Your mind is where it is
If you really want to know.

Never No Time

Honey, she called,
Seeking but a moment
Not now, he replied,
Pointing to his work

Why did you call, mother?
Chafed her teenage daughter
Classes, parties, friends,
There is a lot I must attend

Will be out all day, ma
Son said as he stepped out
Don't wait up for me, he said
And yet she did just that

She was wife, ma, mother
Around this revolved her world
It seemed shrunk in size
And she, the only one to reside

Her eyes crossed the horizon
Worlds beyond they sought
New challenges they met
Many battles they fought

Though her world expanded
Beyond the lines that limit
Encircling it within her arms
She carried it where she went

Honey, husband called
Mother, daughter cried
Ma, son thought
Her new responsibilities beckoned

Not now, dear,
No time for you

Never for a moment 

Did she even think to say.

Democracy Hijacked

By, of, for the people, they said
But the people's protest went unheard
They played the numbers game
And the calculations were not the same
Between devil and the deep sea
Sold easily, and that too cheap!

Betrayed, and not even by someone trusted
Held for ransom, the entire state protested
Rules and laws too turned traitors
Making the turncoats legislators
The hated gang seems to be smiling
Despite their well laid plans failing

Rival families must be celebrating
While pretenses they are good at keeping
What, oh, of the man on the street
Wailing today for his own misdeeds!
What you sow, you reap
Hope you see the lesson it has to teach.

Democracy hijacked by kings and princes
Even nephews and niece get to eat the pieces
What shape will this drama take?
How will this unravel, what is at stake?
From chaos emerges clarity, they say
Will the dark nights bring a brighter day?

I Pray

Photo courtesy: Srikant Ranganathan

I pray, I pray, I pray

For what?
The mortal body
That will leave us one day?


For health?
That will fail
As we slowly age?

For wealth?
Which we will leave
When our soul flies away?

Demon-it-is-e

It has us in its vice grip
Making us spin and trip
Filling all our thoughts
That is all we ever sought

Free and Flying

That leaf clinging to the tree
Struggles hard to break free
To toss and turn in the breeze
Playing, unmindful of who sees

No burdens, no thoughts
Not even that organ called heart
Just sheer joy and glee
Of feeling totally free

Oh to lose these heavy limbs
Not to be burdened by things
To roll and fly as I please
To play, just be, and to tease

Let the wind lend me wings
To drift with no strings
Go mind take some rest
Put all planning under arrest.

Age of Guilt

I smile, what for I wonder
I look around and shudder

Hate, hurt, angst and anger,
Tempers hanging on egos slender

Looting, rape, bullying, murder
Destruction and burning all to cinders

Amidst aplenty lingers hunger
Cruelty, even in love, lingers

Why so much noise and plunder?
Is humanity deep in slumber?

How do we face each other?
Why doesn't guilt tear us asunder?

My hands rise up in surrender
But is there a saviour, I wonder.

Love, and Love

I hide the marks your love leaves on my person
I bury the scars in my heart of love unreturned

My life brims with joy knowing you are near
I shut the door on emptiness of thoughts dear

My life floats in the fragrance of your presence
A whiff of you threatens to shake my very essence

I write with you the chapters of my life
The few words we shared create an epic strife

The journey together, a story of contentment
A life not lived, fighting resentment

Love unspoken, our bond strengthens
In the noise, the silence deepens.

A Prayer, O Mother

Rising sun, shining forth
Spreading light, and hope
Colouring earth with saffron hue
Riding in the sky ever so blue

White, pure and bright
Filling hearts with divine light
In the middle a blue dot
Representing the Ultimate Truth

The lush, cooling green
And the trees, life-giving
For farmers who toil
Shedding sweat on my soil

The three stand out
And yet are ever together
Fluttering proudly in the wind
Making my heart sing

My eyes well up
When I look at you
Sometimes with pride
Sometimes with regret

May we be worthy of you
May we make you proud
Every day, every year
I offer you this prayer.

Pleasure and Pain

From feeling intense anguish
It is no more even a deep wish
Oh! This pain cherished
Has all but vanished.

In this journey through life
Of being someone's mother and wife
Facing day to day strife
Which cuts one like a knife

As old wounds slowly heal
With new ones one has to deal

In layers that don't peel

And yet pleasure in this ordeal

Yes, the pain that gives pleasure

Cherished secretly, like treasure

Not to be revealed even under pressure

And relished with love at leisure

One day that pain too deserts

As better sense reasserts

Living in the present needs efforts

Memories come and go but in spurts

Let go, for past is of no use

To accept pain, heart will refuse

Grab the moment and pain will diffuse

Then in heart will joy suffuse.

The Cycle of Tragedy

It rocks and steadies, rocks and steadies
Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, catastrophes
Murders, rapes, arson and robberies

Blasts, butchery, terrorism, even slavery

I Flow Like the River

I flow like the river
Slipping through rocks and stones
Frothing and fuming on the surface
Hiding within depths my true self.

The River of Soul

From one source
We are but tributaries
Hidden by ignorance
Flowing where life takes us

Me

"Oh, eyes so lovely!"
Exclaim even strangers friendly
Thanking them, I smile shyly,
O father, I got it from you really.

Who Is She?

He loves her, for in her womb was he carried

He seeks her, so he may bestow on her his seed

He ravages her, when threatened by her mind free

He disdains her when there is no more life to be seen

From birth to death so is she seen

As the mother or the mother-to-be

Her boon and bane it shall be

For her womb defines her identity. 

A Joyous Journey

Life is not a bed of roses
Thorns often poke their noses
Petals wither, thorns dry up
Fragrance dissipates, but we never give up

Some laughter, some tears
A bit of anger, sometimes fears
Holding hands, walking our separate ways
We have moved forward despite the sways

Is this the first or maybe the second?
Fifth, could even be the seventh.
How many births, we know not for sureBut let the love flow forever pure.

In this one life with each other
Let’s live with wisdom together
Let’s share wonderful hours
Let there be joy around us.

On our 16th Wedding Anniversary, Jan 27, 2016

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The Stream of Thoughts

Where does it begin?
Where does it end?
All I see is
It flowing forever
Sometimes winding
Sometimes straight
Sometimes mingling
With other thoughts that might
Start in parallel,
Later or before
Jumbled or lucid
Taking new shapes and forms

Pools of memory

Fossilised foam

Clouds precipitating

Storms that roar

Some vanishing

Some merging
Demanding or subtle
They all flow
In an unending stream
Stopping not even when in dream.

Clouds of Imagination

One, two, three
Chasing each other in glee
Kick one off the list
Two replace it quick

Not a thought in the head
But subheads demanding to be fed
Stories, novels, features, blogs
Family, dance, leisure, phew, no dogs!

Work drills, heat kills
Body cries, mind dries
Like a zombie, on the mill
Up and down, and yet only downhill

Pull the reins of your life
Leave behind the daily strife
Break free from the life of ruination
Adrift on the clouds of imagination.

Floating and dreaming
Mind empty, life filled with meaning
A nice dream, till it lasted
Now let me get back, before I am blasted!

Making Sense of Nonsense

I am silent
I don't comment
I don't like
For I dislike

Extinguishing lives
Young and old alike
Driving through the hearts
Sharp shooting spikes

Can one even start to think
Of explaining all this stink?
Of hatred that runs so deep
That it has its own course to keep?

In the name of God, they say
Playing Devil's advocate
Revenge for our hurts, it seems
Hurting so much that heart weeps

Soothing can these words be?
These smooth, double-edged swords?
Raking wounds, reminders of loss
Reminders that it could be any of us all

In routine we find solace
In denial there is paradise
Just mind your business, friends
And we will be rid of this nonsense

And so we shout
And so we complain
Then get back to our lives
Till new irritants arise.