Dj
   It’s gonna be alright,
   By the time the sun touches the horizon
   By the time, it’s time for us to sleep,
   Situations forgotten,
   Troubles, lost in the dead of the night.
   The rhythm of the night will play you a melody
   While your troubled soul will waltz
   to the ballads in your dreams.
   I am persuaded to believe
   your heart has begun to smile,
   and see rays of the next sunrise,
   as I fight to understand what made you so
   restless at the mistakes we made today,
   Those, usually overlooked
   and I wonder if I have said or done anything wrong.
   I don’t recollect…
   Cause I am so used to saying things
   and doings
   that I don’t have to think you can tolerate.
   I feel the silence as Fausto Papetti
   plays Emmanuelle in my ears,
   To finally see peace on your enchanting face,
   your light snoring, confirming
   you’re not troubled anymore.
   My job is done,
   I fade the music and switch off the lights
   I have been your DJ for the night
   Playin’ you the tunes you so needed…
   Cherry Blossom
   Trains slide to and fro,
   station crowded
   as if to watch a rare solar occurrence,
   jostling, rushing
   feet stamping…
   My right foot goes up his pedestal
   for the third time today
   “Sahib, extra shine?”
   He asks, catching the tossed coins…
   Accompanying
   My soul wanders
   like a thirsting eagle
   over lands far and near
   and beyond cosmic horizons.
   I emerge from deep oceans
   and disappear into somber clouds,
   I appear to the raindrops
   crying over your pain
   and fade with the rainbow,
   I dance to the sunrays
   and vanish like bubbles
   of waves upon the shore,
   I swirl with the whirlwind
   to be found in your thoughts,
   I whisper to your sighs
   and alleviate the sore winds…
   What would I not lose
   to win your love but this life
   that I can regain no more?
   When your dreams die out
   and your heart has come to life,
   ready to love again,
   ~ I’ll fly away…
   One Sided
   When life is a one sided game
   we’re left to contemplate
   who the winner is.
   Though one sided,
   the game does have two players
   both strong, headstrong.
   Today there is turmoil on the board
   you played your move
   while I am playing mine
   alone, one sided.
   On your subsequent move,
   I’ve decided neither to attack you
   nor to play my move
   but simply move on and let you win.
   ~*~
   sand tickles pebbles
   running to shore now and then
   ~ waves laugh and crash.
   ~*~
   A Mother’s Lament
   Sleep little ones, this night will be long,
   Let peace not be disturbed with light of day,
   Sleep gently, until angels sing a song
   and heartless men come to take you away.
   Staring at your sleeping remains tonight,
   Frail bodies wilted in profound slumber
   Like flowers trampled in a horses flight,
   Deafened evermore to bombing thunder.
   Sleepy guiltless faces soft with sweetness
   Strength curled up in the stiffness of battle
   Blood run deep beneath the soil so ruthless
   While tanks and arms roll over and rattle.
   So sleep now in my arms like a kingdom,
   gently, until you soar to your freedom…
   ~*~
   without complaining
   blossoms give birth to sweet fruits
   standing in the sun
   ~*~
   The Strength of a Man
   The strength of a man lies in his dreams,
   Dreams fantasized from the strength of reality
   Bodily strength can achieve these dreams
   With the strength of his soul guiding him.
   The strength of a man lies in his heart,
   A heart built on the strength of his love
   Love, bringing comfort and strength to others
   The strength needed to live from day to day.
   The strength of a man lies in his hands,
   Not in strength and sharpness of swords
   Not in the strength and impact of his blows
   But in strength and power of his soothing touch.
   The strength of a man lies in his tongue,
   In the strength of the words he speaks
   Revealing his strength and stability of mind
   The strength needed to control his dreams.
   The strength of a man lies solely in him,
   In the strength of his dreams and goals
   In the strength of his beliefs to overcome
   and the strength that is bestowed upon him.
   The Yellow Leaves of Autumn
   Summer’s gone,
   and every morning I now see
   new leaves adding to the sidewalk,
   The older ones turning crisp,
   crushing under my feet.
   Some look like crescent moons,
   others like stars,
   and I wonder why
   when the weather is so pleasant
   they can’t cling on to the trees?
   Why, when the sun burnt them,
   they danced so merrily in the summer breeze?
   Is it the winter they dread?
   And then I guess the purpose of life,
   How everything must come to an end…
   Relationships, seasons,
   fame, life’s games,
   and at last, life itself.
   The leaves of autumn,
   they thought me to bear the pain
   that comes with everything that ends,
   I could hear the leaves whispering
   as they rustled
   in the soft morning autumn breeze.
   Soon there’d be a spring
   and a memory to go with every tear…
   Beyond the Horizon
   In the quietness of my solitude I see,
   a soldier, a mother: streams of emotions,
   nameless, unfamiliar faces.
   Beyond the horizons of my mind,
   where the sun never sets,
   and the dreadful dawn deafens
   the laughter of his children.
   Beyond the horizon, a season of fear,
   rage and uncertainty,
   blows winds far over his home.
   In the quietness of my solitude I hear,
   a soldier, a father: a falling tear
   innocent familiar voices.
   Beyond the horizon, sacrifices
   turn into joy or pain,
   when he returns home,<
br />
   ~ loser or a valiant fighter,
   amidst smiles or tears,
   into arms stretched out or holding…
   The soldier, in every way, a hero.
   Evaporating
   I stepped into the garden this morning,
   while the dew
   was still on the flowers,
   Basking in the soothing sun,
   catching glimpses of nature’s exquisiteness,
   buried bottomless by my busy life,
   as drops glided like children over slides
   on merry evenings.
   Each drop like a universe,
   held a marvel of its own,
   feeding my arid soul.
   S
   l
   i
   d
   i
   n
   g
   like teardrops
   over smooth delicate rosy cheeks
   and evaporating.
   Off Balance
   Our love has turned me into an acrobat,
   and I am walking the tight rope
   every second of my life,
   keeping equilibrium
   so my mind may not explode,
   spilling sparks of sorrowed solitude,
   throwing me off this thin-skinned twine.
   I wonder where and what I am,
   As I am holding on, onto this fragile rope
   and walking on it at the same time
   balancing frustration, anguish and loneliness
   with fake satisfaction, delight and company of strangers.
   Silently I beg unto you
   to have pity on me
   and make me suffer no more,
   but you can’t hear me…
   no more.
   ‘cause,
   you have reached too far
   that the voice of my insufferable soul
   doesn’t resonate to where you are – in a world of your own.
   Soon I will fall off balance,
   the weight of despair and isolation
   has taken its toll…
   An Ode to Myself
   I followed the sun, crossed the rivers,
   Scaled the mountains,
   Stumbled, scraped and bruised.
   In my younger days
   The mountains seemed so high
   and the rivers, deep.
   I grew,
   These mountains too
   and the rivers grew even deeper,
   Washing me out into the vast ocean.
   The feelings, haunting, tormenting,
   The people I used to die for,
   Changed.
   And my feelings for them changed too.
   Even though in their own time and phases
   of torment and vulnerability.
   Many times I died
   and resurrected,
   Because the world I live in
   Never got enough of me.
   ~*~
   chime of falling pins
   sound like rude thunder
   ~ meditation
   ~*~
   Love and Lust: A Perfect Spell
   (Shakespearean Sonnet)
   Left on edges of very sharp pieces
   Mistaken visions drowned by unflawed lust,
   My heart followed all your whims and wishes
   The fire of one night turned all to dust.
   Soul and body fluttered to touch your face,
   And gravity failed, to keep me aground
   Flying in cloud nine as my heartbeats raced,
   Hearing your whispers like spring breeze around.
   The farewell has left an endless simmer
   Our time together doesn’t seem squandered
   Passion still wakens from its slight glimmer
   Coming back from wherever it’s wandered
   Our bodies and soul cast a perfect spell
   Love it was, our heartbeat and eyes could tell
   ~*~
   calm nocturnal hours
   watch cicadas one-eyed
   awaking the hills.
   ~*~
   Lost Pages
   Life is at the centre of its reading
   taking a bit too long,
   Suspense,
   protracted in the face of complexity,
   Halting, wasting time to find meanings.
   Sometimes the pages are dog eared
   and we have to unfurl
   the surprises it holds for us
   waiting at the corners.
   But what can we say of life,
   when the thrilling chapters read
   spending half our lives
   are forgotten,
   Pages torn, lost and dampened
   on the green grass of yesteryears?
   And then, how can we complete this story
   with missing pages?
   Love has no appearance
   I have not been pained to see our feelings fading and dying,
   From a purest, my love flowed and pierced your once seeking heart,
   Overwhelming every love and nature’s altruism.
   I have not known a world existing of shame or fame,
   Oblivious to labeled facets of love, but one.
   Love is for those to take and for whom it is given freely,
   Without complaint, without expectation, without hesitation,
   Not for the refusing, but for the bruising.
   You can’t blame if love doesn’t know how to stop,
   As much as I want you to go away, that much, I want you to stay.
   Finding new happiness is not finding love,
   For happiness is but ephemeral, fleeting like the dawn,
   Like a bad dream, that has no connection with love,
   And fades before the sunny morning comes
   But love is buried like a tuberous root waiting for the rain.
   If love was of one kind and for just one creature of this cosmos,
   I’d lock my heart and wait for an echo, of one who holds the key,
   But love is supremely vast and with no form,
   Like the source of creation I acknowledge with every tick of time
   and bow before you as though you were my God.
   A Life Still Beautiful
   Thank you for saving my life,
   It was vital then.
   In those critical moments,
   - all I needed was life…
   My death began as your blood
   ran through my veins,
   Slower than tongues
   spreading news I had AIDS.
   I became the child whore,
   punished by God’s wrath,
   and this scourge, my fault.
   How could anyone hold you responsible?
   How could anyone victimize me?
   Terrorize a life I still found beautiful.
   They have been terrified
   of touching the mud from my grave,
   Truth unknown, my story unforgotten,
   Even though my body has long been rotten.
   Thank you for saving my life,
   You were not responsible then,
   Not now or ever.
   - For all I needed was life,
   and you gave it to me…
   The Unsung Village Hero ~ For Dileep
   The folk made your life a mystery,
   A legend to travel down the generations.
   A child trapped in a man’s body,
   intoxicated in a world of your own
   with nothing to blame the 
end.
   The folk made your life a mystery,
   Possessed by the devil who stole and
   flew you into the depths of the black forest,
   where the village could hear your wailing
   and the sound of beating - far, near, then far…
   A legend travels down to the generations
   of your brilliance, and what became of it,
   The part of the village life that you were
   The life of the village that you were –
   A mere Market Square entertainer.
   A child trapped in a man’s body,
   You loved the company of children.
   You desired to go to school it seemed,
   Going there while the children returned home,
   Crying to see no students or teachers anywhere.
   Intoxicated in a world of your own
   where everything seemed senseless
   to you and to those around you,
   “Taking” to smoking two cigarettes at a time,
   Offered by cocky brainless fools.
   With nothing to blame the end,
   your end ended everyone’s burdens,
   As an angel of mercy led you to that black forest –
   to be lost and found in your usual tattered suit,
   decomposed and resting in peace…
   Leaving No Spaces
   When the eternal daylight fades
   turning into Eden, your brief absence
   like delayed creation finds me by myself,
   Lured to eat the fruits of my own accord.
   Spaces among sheets feel like your subtle skin
   My own breath clenching as you leave me naked
   in craving that will never be lost or faded,
   Our hundredth moment feeling like the first.
   I, no stranger to the soles of your feet.
   your every curve and nerve visible or not –
   Those that speak your demands to my soul.
   My brain cells daubed by your perfume
   replays our last refrain of last morning,
   While your perfume in the room enhances.
   The Builder
   Death,
   warrants him hope, a new promise.
   It isn’t his childhood horror-tale-terror anymore,
   With illusions or shadows walking
   into the midnight until dawn,
   fears of silent nights,
   and whispers of the dark wind,
   or the qualms of another dying soul.
   
 
 Four Decades And A Poem Page 6