Starting Anew

A poem without my signature,
Written some forgotten day.

In a race called life,
Footprints have faded away.

I walk back all over again
Slowly to the starting line.

I turn a fresh page,
New poem with a kissed sign.

Defining Myself

An abstract that will find its rhyme,
A rebel against nature and time.

Love brutally deprived of grace,
Innocence has a battered face.

Because diplomacy is not my forte,
Solitude, my last resort.

Silence is my war cry.
Hopes, proved futile, refuse to die.

You may be flying high,
I reach the stars with a sigh.

Dreams, tearful eyes can’t see,
A thousand wishes and one me.

Love Calls Back

The cuckoo responds to the return of spring
From the sweet smelling mango trees.

Or, perhaps the spring comes back
On the soulful call of little cuckoo.


The rains answer the prayers
Of a thirsty, bald, burning earth.

The earth welcomes the rain song
With intoxicating earthy scent,
Tender green twigs spring up.


Flowers bloom at the outbreak of dawn,
As the glorious morning sun
Romance with their delicate petals.

It is the yearning of innocent buds
That calls back the sun every morning.


Such is the nature of love
The way two lovers regroup,
It seems eternal
And yet the moments race away.
Only to be relived and rediscovered.


May be, you pulled me back
May be, I knocked at your doors.
We are together again,
And everything else has faded away.

Because Life Moves On

I look back
To see crowded roads
I left long ago,
Friends who deserted me
without a goodbye,
And gestures of kindness
From strangers.
"No looking back" I say
and move on.

Withered with thirst,
Tired, shattered and broken,
I look back again...
My mommy's lullaby,
My papa's strong shoulders,
My growing up,my first step,
My first failure,bruised knees,
Tears mixed with sand,
"No more tears", I hear
And move on.

Before a steep road,
Stoney and lonely,
With roadblocks all around,
I take a sigh and close my eyes...
I see my first date,
The blush on her cheeks,
My hasty voice,
Sweet nothings we wishpered,
The taste of her lips.

Suddenly I am shaken to truth,
No haunted solitude,
No one besides me.

I look inside...
So many memories
Yet i feel empty, drained, lost...
Voices fade away,
And breath is caught in my lungs,
Visions blurr...

I look ahead and
With a little shake of head,
A shrug of shoulders,
Clinched fist,
One giant stride
I move on.

The Ecstasy Of Pain 3

I refuse to smile,
No, I can’t,
I am sad, I don’t feel cheerful.
Smile is the expression of bliss.
It should be innocent
Tender, playful,
May be naughty at times.
Like it once was.

It should not be forced
Or else,
It will look like a crack
A break, a scar, a wound.

It can’t be used as a mask.
I won’t wear facades.
I am not guilty,
I need not hide.

I am simply hurt,
Badly hurt,
Brutally hurt.
My pain is real, innocent
Please let it be.
Please let it heal.

I won’t scream
It’s not my way.
I need no lullabies
So, what if I can’t sleep.
I will stay up, awake;
And weave new dreams.

Silence will discover peace
Pain will meet joy.
I will find me.

The Ecstasy Of Pain 2

You may have seen nightmares
And woken up screaming.
Last night I woke up
To see the worst nightmare
And I could not scream,
Neither could I sleep again.

I went for a stroll
It was early morning,
Or late night perhaps.
Didn’t really matter,
As all times seemed alike.

The day slowly unfolded,
A little child in me
Wanted to cry again,
But it was crowded in the park,
A frantic pain rose in my chest.
And only smoke came out
Through my hollow eyes.

I walked on,
But could not feel the earth,
No, I wasn’t numb,
I was stuck,
I was sinking with the earth.

Ah, it was great pain
To see the earth sinking.
Even the sky screamed,
A scar across it’s dark face,
Tears poured on all of us,
Blood came through the scar
They called it rainbow.

But, I know
The earth and sky were hurt
And me too.

Caught In The Cobweb

On a corner of my window,
I found entangled strands of silver
Beaded with pearls,
Sining in the thin sunshine,
Amused by its delicacy
I moved closer.

To my surprise,
It was a cobweb
Ladden with dewdrops,
Arresting a tiny insect
Hanging in the air
Perhaps unaware of its fate,
A life slowly coming to an end.


I wonder,
Is that me?
Chained with sackles;
Simingly delicate yet so strong,
However elegant and beautiful;
Suspended between heaven and hell
Unaware of the peril.

Sunrise

They walked together on the seaside
to see the sun rise,
his eyes were still sleepy
like he was walking in sleep
his dreams peeping through her eyes.

The dawn had not yet descended
the stars looked in awe
two people from different worlds
she was beauty and grace
wit and charm,he?
he was just a dreamer,
his hair like hay
and sleepy eyes,
they strolled together
between night and day.

She said in voice so lovely,
"the sand is so soft
like walking on cake"
he didnt feel it
he could only feel
her palm so soft in his hands
was he really awake???

"touch can be so touching!!!"
as his feet brushed against
her bare dovefeet,delibirately?

He thanked the wind
as her hair fell on his face
"once more o sweet breeze!"
this was way too good
he was clearly not at ease.

She admired the sun
as it rose from the sea;
"sun should rise from her bossom"
you know he was lost,
the sun or his love,
I am not sure
what caused him envy.

And then he felt the sunrise
as she kissed him on cheek
he touched her lips
his mouth was filled with sun
he couldnot speak.
the sun plunged into the waters
as he kissed her;

I can tell you what followed
but he cant because
in that one moment
he lost his senses
forever in her lips.

You know his eyes were sleepy
and he was a dreamer.

I Am The Poem !

I am the poem !

You wrote a lovely poem
And threw it away,
Just because it didn’t rhyme?

You had told me,
“The lines are meaningless,
The dreams weaved are unreal,
It’s too abstract.
It can’t be sung,It reaches nowhere.”

Many unsung poems you have,
Between your books
Lost, forgotten.
Dead pieces of papers.

You kept it by your bed,
It was too abstract,
But you read it daily.

Yes, it was meaningless,
The letters were blurred.
Why? Did you cry?
You had brushed the question away
“No it did, it cries too.”

You held it to your chest,
You had said,
“One day, It will rhyme.”

You kissed the end lines,
“Ah, why can’t it reach somewhere.”

And then you threw it away,
Tell me, why?

Your poem is now bleeding.
it is about to die.

Tell me, why?

What if it can never rhyme?

I am the poem !

Joker

I make people laugh, they say I am a joker... I will tell you how it feels to be one,
It's about the real jokers, don't take this for me...

JOKER

I am a joker
with a smiling mask,
not a magician
but almost as amusing.

Thrown on the stage
to make you laugh.
The jokes you hear
are a kind of prayer,
a communication to God
my struggle to survive.

My mask vivid and colorful
reds and greens and yellows,
let the dark remain hidden.
Read the animated expressions
don’t look into my eyes
or I may crumble down.

Raise your hands
for a huge applause,
and grin, whistle and make my fun,
that’s what I am here for.

Please don’t sympathize,
don’t come for a handshake,
and don’t ask me how I feel,
don’t chase me behind the curtains.

I am a joker;
don’t ask my name
I don’t remember.
I was born normal
but its what they say
I don’t really know.

One day the show will end for me
but you won't get a clue.
What you recognize is a mask
that will be passed on.
The agony of death
I will bear alone.

I Am A Dream !

Neither the way I pretend
nor what I seem,
I am nothing but a dream..

With layers to be scratched,
Cryptic meanings,
Unplumbed depths
And hieghts unconquered,
A story untold,
A language unknown,
All painted in a blurred vision...

Loved or loathed,
A feeling of nostalgia
Often forgotten,
Colours will soon dissolve,
And voices in slumber
Would be lost,
Recognition and admiration
and the distance between,
Dream with ambitious wish....

Safe in your oyester eyes
I have got a lovely life,
Rays of sun will mark my end
Dawn will never descend,
I shall die even before
I truely come alive....

I am nothing but a dream...

Eternal Bliss

I tiptoe into the noisy town,
One more dusty afternoon.
A little child crying in a corner.
I split a candy into two,
We shared a sweet smile.

The day is breezy again.
A small window opens at dawn,
Dew drops sparkle in the sun,
A momentary bliss to hold on to.
The numbness in my tearful eyes
Evaporate with a ray of hope,
Giving way to nascent dreams.
A thousand wishes live again.

On a lost way in mid desert,
There is an oasis at last.
I thank the mirages,
They kept me going for so long.

A stormy, gloomy, rainy evening,
A bud opens reluctantly,
A bird hides in my little hut.
Rainbow slowly unfolds its beauty,
I walk on the dissolving colors.
Sweet earthy smell shows me way.

Hide And Seek

You remember that tube-well?
How I filled my little bucket,
And we sprayed all the water around,
A bucket full of joy.

And when we chased butterflies
In those bushes of laughter,
When I brushed your curly hair,
How your sweet giggle rang.
Butterflies, I set them free.

You always said,
I was so awful at fishing.
At the riverside in long afternoons
When your little rose reddened
With frustration and anger.
It was all I fished for.

You will be sad to know this,
Our little mud castle
Was washed away in one rain.

The Gulmohar we planted together
Has grown big but it's still young.
Trees never grow old,
They never leave their air...

Now this game of hide and seek
Has gone too long;
The sun is about to set.
Tired, I give up now,
Common and say "Den!".
I am waiting.
Let's play a new game.