Evanescence

A golden drop of dew on a summer morn

Melts as it meets the warm rays of the sun

Light as wintry air, fluffy flakes of snow

Crumble at the touch of a mortal soul

Only until dawn does the night jasmine bloom

With a heady scent, to serenade the silver moon

The innocent joy that twinkles in the eyes of a child

As the bright green of spring, is soon lost to time

And the love that binds two minds in sweet ecstasy

Lasts but for a moment, though boundless as the sea

Why does it so pine, the human heart of glass

Forevermore for fleeting beauty that never lasts?

Do not the Gods themselves say "Nothing Gold Can Stay"?

Does heaven bestow its grace only on things that fade away?

Why do we tie our joy to ephemera that are lost

In the quicksands of time, is it the curse of our lot?

Would we feel the same love for a tender flower 

If it were carved of steel, could live on forever?

Do we cherish the little baubles that will perish one day

Only to rebel against the sureness of death and decay?

---

("Nothing Gold Can Stay" is a famous poem by Robert Frost.)

Light

Light is her hand on the reins of life

As she rides to shape her destiny

She never endeavours to bend her fate

Towards paths that aren't meant to be

Light is her foot as she glides through life

In an elegant waltz, soaking in the view

She minds not the roads she does not find

For she is bound to this earth by desires few

Light is her heart, it quivers and sways

When it feels another's pleasure and pain

She cries when the sky is grey with gloom

She dances with joy in the pouring rain

Light is her mind that has shed its past

Of searing scars and sad laments

She floats unmoored on seas of bliss

With nary a weight but the present moment

Light is the laugh on her tender lips

That rest on her calm and placid face

For she knows, no matter what the ills

The world is still a beautiful place

Light is her grief when misery strikes

She falls as a feather, with poise and grace

And wrapped in the warmth of her solitude

She waits for the breeze from a happy place

Light is her soul, it soars as a bird

On wings of reason in boundless skies

No rules nor mores can bind her down

For she heeds no one but her inner voice

The light of the heavens it is, perhaps,

That twinkles in her dark deep eyes

For, a lightness of being has come over me

From the moment she's walked into my life

An October Morning

After a summer when the sun-kissed earth

Sprung to life, looking green and gay

But before she mourns her fallen leaves

Wearing a snowy veil of dowager grey

Comes an October morning...

The soft warm rays of the golden sun

Rise slowly up from over the hills

And bring a drop of joy, a tinge of heat

To gently nip at the morning chill

Pearls of dew shine on pretty blooms

And on luscious fruit that are just ripe

A fawn awakens with the zest of youth

A bird takes off in the clear blue sky

As life glides through the seasons, come

These times of balance and harmony

I sense perfection, unseen moments ago

And that, moments later, may cease to be

Like the fleeting instant of centered peace

As a pendulum sways from side to side

I feel a stillness, a glimpse of eternity

Between the ebbs and tides of flowing time

This October morning...

Questions

Can a tender stalk muster strength

  to stand upright in the rain?

In a just war bravely fought and lost

  is the valor spent in vain?

What salve can soothe the gentle heart's

  deep memories of pain?

Can a broken thread ever feel

  unbroken and whole again?

Who forgives you for falling short

  of the bar that you have set?

Should a rolling stone that crushes ants

  feel a modicum of regret?

A true love that wasn't meant to be

  can you ever forget?

Does nature abhor a peaceful race

  of quiescent minds at rest?

Quiescence

If we know a river must run her course

Along paths she is impelled by gravity

And sprinkle upon them her life force

Before she finds her stillness at sea

If we know a child must go out to play

Run wild in the sun and skin his knees

Before he can lie down at the end of day

On his mother's bosom in a restful sleep

Why then do we think we can still our mind

By holding it back, hushing its inner voice

That speaks of desires held deep inside

Which lead us on paths of pain and joy?

Should we not instead let ourselves go

Floating like a leaf in destiny's breeze?

Rise and fall with the tides of the flow

While trusting the river to find the sea?

Bless me, Mother, with strength and faith

So I may give myself up to the breeze

And leave no urge unmet, no debt unpaid

As I walk on the paths of my destiny

When the time is right, may I land gently

At your feet, a tired yet content child

And rest forever in silent peace

As the calm deep sea on a windless night

Stargazer

 

(The "stargazer" lily is named so because the flowers do not face down like those of other varieties of the lily, but instead, look up to the "stars".)

She bides her time with fortitude

Through the winter months of snow

Come spring and the warm rays of sun

She puts out green shoots to grow

She stands tall on her tender stalk

And even though her feet are tied

She looks up with hope to the stars

With the joy of the heavens in her eyes

Her delicate petals of crimson pink

Embrace the world with such gaiety

That brooks no fear of being hurt

By the sharp edge of nature's cruelty

Her subtle fragrance and heady charm

Linger around, do not waft too far

But those that come sit by her side

Are forever held in her thrall

Someday, she gently quivers and falls

For she knows when her time is spent

And as lightly as she walked in life

So she glides to its peaceful end

As I see this beautiful life

Of silent strength and elegant grace

I cannot believe She that made her

Also sculpted our human race

Vision

To see the order of natural laws

In the apparent chaos of the universe

And dervishes dancing on ellipses

In the wayward paths of the "wanderers"

To see the beauty of restrained passion

When a diffident flower waits for her bee

And in the tango of a couple's daily grind

A tender and touching love story

To see in the ebbs and tides of life

The balance and harmony of nature's flow

And the withered leaves that fall and die 

As one with the green shoots that grow

To see a palace of fulfilled dreams

In the bricks and stones of youthful hope

And a liberated soul in the lost monk

Who wanders, not knowing where he goes

To see a sublime Truth in imperfect words

Of the canon from which the pastor drones

To see thus is to truly see, my friend

The rest is just light on rods and cones

A dream

Last night I dreamt I lived a life

In the mountains someplace far away

A place where time moved so slow

I saw eternity in a single day

I was woken in the lap of the earth

By the misty whispers of the dawn

I filled my breath with the crispy air

And my soul with a sweet birdie's song

I spent my day walking the woods

On paths untouched by the guile of men

I tended to those around, in turn

They sustained me, made me one of them

At dusk, I sat by the mountainside

And watched the golden sun dim away

With it they went, the cares of my mind

For I hadn't paid heed to them all day

As the stars began to dot the sky

A quiet joy twinkled in my mind

I turned to you, and took your hand

We danced to the silence of the night

You, who knew the depths of my soul

So words unspoken were understood

You, whose company was just almost

As intoxicating as solitude

But now in the warmth of the morning sun

I watch you and the mountains melt away

I wake up from the truth of my dreams

To live a life of lies for another day

 

I wait

The skies are grey, the thoughts blue

The cold night brings in a pall of gloom

I wait for the warmth of the sun at dawn

I wait for the joy in the morning song

The trees droop under the weight of snow

A seed lies cold under the frost below

I wait for the bright green shoots of spring

I wait for hope and a new beginning 

The cruel summer has cast a dry spell

No water trickles up the village well

I wait for the rains to drench the earth

I wait for the wells to quench our thirst

My heart, it pines for its kindred soul

But fate has cast you to distant shores

I wait to hold you close, share your pain

I wait to drown in your laughter again

Some dreams are not meant to be chased

Some pangs must be borne with silent grace

Let life pass you by, as you stand still

Watching Fate unfold the tapestry of Her will 

For the warmth of the morning sun I yearn

I wait for the tides and seasons to turn

I wait to be washed by the first drops of rain

I wait for the day I will see you again

I wait...

The child

Who do I see, my dear, by your side

A little boy, perhaps no older than five

For the light of the heavens he was born with

Has not yet faded from his innocent eyes

I draw him into a tender embrace

He fills my heart with his happy smile

I feel a love that brooks no limits

As the love of a mother for her child

He regales me with his funny tales

And frolics around in playful mirth

He floats to the sky in a bubble of joy

That no rule nor duty tethers to earth

He brings to me his little trophies

With a smug yet demure look in his eye

He shows me his scraped elbows and knees

From when he fell but was too proud to cry

After my balm of calm solace

He rests in my lap, cares left behind

As I watch him nap, I feel blessed to have

Earned the affection of a blameless mind

Soon, life beckons, and he scampers away

To hide in a crevice of your adult mind

I wonder when I will see him again

That golden little drop of sunshine

The (inner) child

Things not found in nature

A bird soaring high in skies of blue

That is confused about which way to fly

And stops at every imagined fork to rue

The paths it chose that weren't right

A deer that strolls through lush meadows

Worried that it is just twiddling toes

It ponders on life's purpose and goal

And wonders if it should strive for more

A lion that kills a thousand prey

When all it can eat is but just one

And carefully stashes the rest away

Saving it for the generations to come

A honey bee that one day stops drinking

Its sweet nectar laced with morning dew

And walks out its hive in protest thinking

It is being denied the credit that is due

A tree that knows not the time of year

To sprout bright flowers or luscious fruit

For every fallen leaf, sheds a copious tear 

And honors its memory with an ornate tomb

A delicate lily and a golden butterfly

That moan their fleeting lives on a sunny day

And concoct theories of heaven and afterlife

To keep the fear of death at bay

A man that hears the harmony

In the silent melody of nature's song

And knowing his place in the rhapsody

Strikes the perfect note to sing along

Things Not Found in Nature.

The best swimmer

Many swimmers cross the river I see yonder

But to what end they swim so hard I ponder

And now that the time for me to swim has come

I wonder which of them I should be learning from

Is it the one who swims to distant shores the fastest?

Or the one who reaches across waters the farthest?

The one that always chooses to swim against the tide

Flailing arms and legs around with Herculean might?

But none impresses me more than this swimmer I see

Who has the aura of a monk meditating in peace

Wisely she surrenders to the flow of the stream

And swims as effortlessly as walking in a dream

She moves with grace, there is no splash nor sound

She is barely seen, she is one with the water around

She slices the surface with strokes clean and precise

And the river opens to her like butter under a knife

She doesn't resist but rides out the undulating waves

With the poise of a person standing steady in place

She treads the dark waters with a calm serene smile

Born in a heart full of joy and a clear quiescient mind

As she swims, not caring for clocking the miles

But only to push and glide, one breath at a time

It has now become clear as a summer's day to me -

When I swim this River of Life, that is how I must be

A magical night

The bright leaves of autumn

    orange and red

In the lap of earth, they have

    laid out a bed

For you. Come, lie down.

A cool breeze from the hills 

    gently wafts in

Bringing with it the scent

    of sweet jasmine

To caress your soul.

And it carries up its wings

    on its way out

The burdens you bear which were

    never really yours

Just let them all go.

A little bird on your shoulder

    has come over to whisper

A silly joke in your ear to make

    a hearty smile appear

On your beautiful face.

A silver feather glides over

    and softly lingers

Over your eyelids, as if stroking

    with its smooth fingers

Your tired eyes shut.

Soon the sun takes your leave

    in the western sky

Pulls down the golden blinds

    turns out all the lights

As he tiptoes away. 

The dark soothing stillness

    of the tender night

Like a warm cozy blanket

    wraps around you tight

Drift into sleep, my dear.

In your dreams, you must look

    up the starry sky

I'll be floating in the clouds

    waving with a smile

Can you see me?

Now take my hand in yours

    lets dance through the night

With true love in our hearts

    and the stars in our eyes

Just you and I.

Thoughts in a tea cup

(A poem inspired by the beautiful image above...)

The sun rises lazily over the eastern hills

A cool breeze wafts in ever so gently

Carrying with it the fresh scent of earth

And of fragrant spring flowers in bloom

We sit around a table outside our home

In the green valley between majestic hills

The wicker chairs are wet with the morning dew

Greetings are spoken, we pour out the tea

And caress the warm cups with our cold hands

Conversations flow, as we sip the brew, slowly...

I feel a sudden rush of warmth deep in my being

Is it from the ginger root steeped in the tea

Or from the sun that is now well over the hills?

Or from the love I am surrounded by this morning

From three generations of my family around the table?

Tomorrow, we will all be gone our separate ways

To chase our dreams, to fulfill our duties

But I wonder if someone can tell me this:

How much ginger in the brew, and how much sun

Would I need to feel this warmth again

When I sip tea all by myself, someplace far far away?

A lonely rooster cries a sad note from somewhere

And brings me back to the present moment

I hear the end of grandma's joke, and laugh along

I mustn't wander off in my thoughts, I tell myself

I must hold on to these precious moments now...

Every story being shared, every tease, every wink

The sound of laughter, of love, of the birds singing

The scents of the tea, of fresh earth, of flowers

The cool breeze on my face, the crisp chill in the air

The slanting rays of the sun, the dampness of the dew

The feeling of grandma's wrinkly hand over mine

The warm golden glow that washes over us all...

Why would she?

The storms of life, the plays of destiny

She faces them head on with a heart of steel

Stand tall in the lashing rain do the trees

They never cower and hide, so why would she?

When she does fall, she does so with grace

With a tired yet hopeful smile on her face

A jasmine flower fallen at the foot of the tree

Doesn't lose its fragrance, so why would she?

She wears with pride the scars on her skin

Whether from the battles she did lose or win

Dark stripes on gold do not mar her beauty

A tigress doesn't mind them, so why would she?

Some lessons she learns, but some she won't

She lives her life on terms of her own

No matter where it goes, the wild wild breeze

Never thinks it is lost, so why would she? 

The moon's monologue

Poets on earth sing paeans to my beauty

Basking in my cool rays

Little do they know the pain that sears me

Or the angst that fills my days

Many moons ago, she was a part of my soul

The beautiful, undulating sea

She'd fill my emptiness and make me whole

In her embrace I'd feel complete

But she was lost to me by a cruel mischance

We are but pawns of destiny

All I have left are dry ravines where once

Her fingers used to caress me

She now consorts with the blue-green earth

A lover, perhaps, more worthy

For, together the marvel of life they've birthed

Oh, look at their fecundity!

I stand alone in the cold nothingness

As self-doubt chokes me tight

A celestial impostor, a pock-marked mess

I only glow in borrowed light

Many times, I yearn for a glimpse of her

And earthwards I turn my gaze

I expect she won't make time for this lover

As she mothers her playful waves

But tonight, the earth is in a deep slumber

And the waves perfectly still

So I am gifted a sublime moment with her

As if by divine will

With loving tenderness, she draws me near

Into her warm embrace

In the heart of her waters, calm and clear,

Is a perfect reflection of my face

I drown in her love, it is boundless and deep

And unchanged by our time apart

I am no worthless rock, for she sees in me

A luminous king of the stars

I hold back tears as she now whispers

These words that touch my soul

"You are worth all this love, my dear,

 You are worth so much more"

The taste of you

An enigmatic floral note in my glass of wine

That barely touched my palate, but lingers in my mind

A boisterious and endearing pint of hard beer 

That gives me a high, brings laughter and cheer

The mysterious and warm-scented vanilla bean

That pervades my senses, though hardly seen

A humble bowl of vegetable with piping hot rice

That fills me all up and makes me warm inside

A scoop of frozen icecream, hard, cold, and distant

That turns tender at my touch, melts in an instant

A soft sponge cake, sweet and pleasant to taste

Despite the hours it spent in the oven being baked

A drop of wrinkled pickle tucked on the side

That packs years of wisdom in one stinging bite

Clear tasteless water, an inseparable part of me

Take it away for a moment, and I will cease to be

When I hunger for you on a long lonely night

How do you think you taste to my craving mind?

A walk in the woods

The sky is awash with a golden glow

I step in the woods for my evening stroll

I ramble along the trails tree-lined

With no destination or pursuit in mind

I sway to the nightingale's lilting tunes

Alongside the trees and flowers in bloom

I drift and float on the gentle breeze 

Like dainty butterflies and falling leaves

I pass by a fawn and its mother deer

Playing on a green patch without fear

I feed it some grass I plucked on the way

And watch in content as it chomps it away

On some turns I lose the trail I'm on

And land in a bramble bush of thorn

But the way back always finds me somehow

The pain of the prick never lasts long

Through paths that wind with elegant grace

Around the woods like delicate lace

My feet are led in such an easy glide

That I am unaware of the passing time

Now the sun has set, my breath heavy

I finally sit down to rest my feet

I then realize that I'm not far gone

From the very place where I had begun

I smile with joy as I close my eyes

And the evening flashes through my mind

A serene peace fills my heaving breath

I hope I feel the same on my death bed

Walking on eggshells

A harmless tease, an innocuous joke

Or a good-natured, albeit ill-timed, poke

Is all it takes for our egos to bruise

Why this offense at the slightest excuse?

I surmise (though there is no way to tell)

We were born wrapped in an invisible shell

That broke apart as we grew from within

Exposing to the world our very thin skin

No shell to shield, the fragile egos bleed

And the smallest of nicks takes years to heal

Worse, we do not even clean up the mess

Forever we must walk on these broken shells

Distance

Across the hall, you see me and smile

The joy of the heavens is in your eyes

As my heart leaps out toward your feet

I realize you are far beyond my reach

For I see the distance that lies ahead

The miles and miles of words unsaid

Words that, had propriety let me speak

Would've told you what you mean to me

And strewn along those unspoken miles

An intense love from the depths of my mind

That I've not yet had the courage to feel

For fear I'll drown and gasp to breathe

So I pull my heart back just in time

And greet you only with a stoic smile

You walk away like the sun at the end of day

As I watch you from the twilight miles away

Summer

The parched earth pants in the heat of pent-up desire

Under a canopy of palaash, their pining hearts on fire

The heady fragrance of jasmine and luscious summer fruits

Stokes flames of passion in the musk-scented woods

Long sweltering days end in warm sleepless nights

Filled with tender dreams where longing lovers unite

In a burst of joyous tears on a blessed rainy day

As the many months of yearning melt in a gentle embrace

The sweet reverie is broken by a silent whisper of dawn

And a fleeting bliss wafts in with the cool breeze of morn

But soon the day smoulders under the dour unforgiving sun

And awaits the coming of grey clouds that presage a union

Through aching days, dreamy nights, and burning moments of pain

I wait for you, my love, as the summer waits for her rain

The Ship of Theseus

I am at a place that's close to my heart

The street that I grew up on as a child

The old dust of feelings forgotten

Is raked up as memories run wild

Here is where my house it stood

I played with friends in that park

A block away was the ice cream parlor

To where we'd sneak out after dark

This corner on rainy mornings

My mother and I awaited the bus

And here was where my friends and I

Would hide to peek at my first crush

But my home or park, parlor or corner

Not one of those remains anymore

So I wonder why I call it my street

Like the Ship of Theseus in the Greek lore

Perhaps, I can't say I've lived here either 

For our cells, they renew every seven years

So if I'm not that person, this isn't my street

Why do I stand here welled up with tears?

---

From Wikipedia: The Ship of Theseus, also known as Theseus's Paradox, is a thought experiment and paradox about whether an object is the same object after having had all of its original components replaced over time, typically one after the other.

A noble soul

In my garden this morning I realize

The universe has many a noble soul

You need look no further for proof 

Than to my humble shrub of rose

She had great fortitude to bear 

In silence the harsh winter months

Come spring, the only food she gets

Are vegetable rinds and rotten humus

But she bears no ill will toward me 

No matter what things at her I throw

She greets me with a smile this morning

Holding in her hand a beautiful rose!

Hunger

By man's hunger for power are many

Civilizations laid to waste

By his lust for love are relationships

Made and broken in haste

His hunger for wealth, it sows

Discord in a warm hearth

In our thirst for knowledge, do we

Plunder the pristine earth

Lucky then, that woman on the road

With a wailing infant on her breast

Doesn't have the will to hunger for

Anything more than a loaf of bread

Out of phase

We stand together on the ocean shore

The evening is awash in a golden glow

We watch the waves put up a splendid show

Oh, why would the heart want anything more? 

At a distance, one wave begins to rise

Her crest adorned with a smile of glee

She feels one with the limitless sea

A surge of joy lifts her to the sky

Closer by, another wave hits the beach

Bearing a load of unreasonable hope

Alas, he is broken by the rocky shore

And he washes back dejected to the sea

As he recedes, he meets the rising tide

His force brings her happy flight to rest

He doesn't mean to, but breaks her crest

Into the bitter foam of a broken smile

They wash to the sea and rise as waves

She leaps forth again to kiss the sky

He wants to fly with her, share her joy

But yet again, they are out of phase

As they rise and fall forever in agony

She wonders what pleasure He finds

In pairing things of opposite kinds

She smiles at His sense of irony

We silently stare at these waves from the shore

And watch our friends frolick in the sand

Lost in your thoughts, you hold my hand

Oh, but why does my heart want something more?

Words

After a stroll in the garden one fine evening

I lie in your lap under a moonlit sky 

I look at you and feel such a lightness of being

A sweet poem flows from the depths of my mind

Then I imagine a man thousands of years ago

Who after a day in the woods hunting big game

Would've expressed his joy at being back home

By grunting a few times to his voluptuous dame

Aren't we glad for beautiful words in our time

That draw out our sublime threads of thought

Into the loom of language with the warp of rhyme

And weave exquisite poems of silken cloth?

Would you have known the depth of my devotion

Had I grunted a bit instead of singing a poem?

Would my mind have birthed the finer emotions

Without the trellis of words to support them?

Then I find you looking at me with such tenderness

As you run your fingers through my hair in a caress

I see in your eyes that there is nothing else

You want more in this world than my happiness

I drown in your love, you haven't said a word yet

Let alone weave a baroque poem 

Oh, true feelings of the heart are perhaps felt

No matter how or whether you say them

Broken

It has not been very many days 

Since I was kissed by warm ocean waves

But my tired mind, like a broken pail

Hasn't held on to the joy of a single wave

Poured into me are rivers of love

From my kith and kin and the Gods above

But my heart is like a broken pot

Even a drop of that I can now feel not

Much have I tasted the Lady Luck's kiss

But why do I still feel something's amiss?

No winds of hope can lift my broken wings

Oh, why is my soul made of such broken things?

Were we once part of a beautiful whole

That was then taken apart, soul by soul

And strewn across the earth in a jumbled mess?

Is that why we feel this incompleteness?

 

Perhaps that is why we seek new things and places

We search for friends among strange faces

We yearn for the thing that will make us whole

But only a fortunate few find that kindred soul

Who walks into our lives when the time is right

Like a drop of the sun that makes all things bright

Who brings to our lives the balance we need

And a breeze that makes us float carefree

Who fills our hearts with unbounded joy

And gives us wings so our dreams can fly

Who sees into our souls beyond the skin

Whose touch awakens the child within

When they hold us close, promise to never let go

The nomad in us feels he is finally home

When they hear our words that are never spoken

That is when we become truly unbroken

A soulmate, for many, is an unending quest

But if we cease, the heart is never quite at rest

The yearning, the seeking, and the joy of becoming

One with the other, is it the purpose of our being?

Perhaps we are pieces of a jigsaw puzzle

That our maker breaks and rebuilds for his thrill

The lucky amongst us, wedged in place, feel complete

Whilst the rest of us search for our matching piece

Yesterday

She walked into my life like a sunrise

This beautiful damsel called Yesterday

Her body was sensual as a moonlit night

Her smile as radiant as a summer's day

Her silken robe woven of the fabric of Time

Was studded with moments of pleasure and pain

When I tugged at the robe to draw her nigh 

The fine cloth, from my hand, it'd slip away

She walked by me till dusk from dawn

We danced together, sang a wild song

When the night in bed we spent in thrall

The love was savored, never rushed along

That one tender night and she was gone

Before my thirst for her could slake

All I am left with are some beads of her gown -

Moments of smiling joy and silent ache

A vine and a tree

A gardener once placed a small ivy

In the earth next to a sapling tree

Entwined thus, they grew up together

He a tall tree, and she a vine slender

He never saw her as a burden to bear

On his rough bark did no leaf of her tear

He gave her a perch from where she could see

The world around and beyond, to infinity

She was the witness to his life's story

To his tales of sorrow and small glory

She shared with him his every breath

She gave him solace, as he gave her strength

One day, as the vine looked up tenderly

"Is this what they call love?" asked her the tree

She said,  "I know not, my dear, but this is true,

I do not know who I am without you"

Just a sprinkle

A shrub of night queen in a corner

Fills the street with heady fragrance

A sliver of a sun ray is all it takes

For life to burst forth in abundance

Just a shaving of fresh ginger root

Adds vigor to my morning chai

A pinch of fairy dust in Neverland

Sends the pixies flying to the sky

No wonder then, a scent of your charm

A whiff of your wit, or a hint of a smile

A sprinkle of you is all I need

To make my day sparkle and shine

Be Human

Let us be a lotus leaf in a pond

Impervious to the wetness around

But let us not forget the joy of being

Drenched by the rain when it pours down

Let us be the candle in a windless room

That glows with a steady unflinching flame

But let us not forget that flames do flicker

When facing gales that are hard to tame

Let us be like the ocean that stays

Unfazed as mighty rivers drain in

But let us not forget that gentle waves

Arise on its surface despite the calm within 

 

Let us be like a monk who can sit all day

Alone in a cave, wanting next to nothing

But let us not forget that destiny stokes

Desires in us so we may do His bidding

Let us be that person whom pleasure and pain

Visit not long, nor touch too deep

But let us not forget, some scars are for life

And some joys can sweep us off our feet

Let us follow the path laid out by the wise

To lead us all from darkness to light

But let us not forget, some paths are such

We must lose our way before we arrive

We each have in us a drop of the divine

That we must, no doubt, in earnest, seek

But as we strive to reach Him, let us not forget

To embrace the human He made us to be

A barren tree

What a beautiful sight, the arrival of spring!

It was a festive mood in my backyard this morning

Trees dressed up in fresh leaves so green

Showing off their flowers to the birds and bees

New life bursting forth everywhere I see

Except for a corner, where stood a barren tree

A childless woman in a park, she stood alone

Among trees bearing flowers, with none of her own

But of bitterness or envy I saw no trace

Arms raised upwards, she still prayed for grace

She would beget life soon, unshaken was her faith

In her heart filled with hope, grief found no place

A little bird stopped by, chirped with curiosity

"Where are your flowers?", it asked innocently

If the words pricked the tree, she showed no sign

She spoke to the bird with the most gentle smile

"Tomorrow, my dear, new flowers you will see

Where there is love, life will find a way to be"

Then the wind came by, blew a joke in the breeze

And the tree laughed heartily, swaying with ease

I wondered, for a tree left barren in spring

Whence comes peace, such lightness of being?

What fortitude brings such calm acceptance

Of the vagaries of nature, of life's randomness?

Passing by

We crossed each other on the street today

At first, I had my face turned the other way

But I knew it was you, I had no doubt

I could pick your perfume even in a crowd

I turned to see, you had almost passed me by

We only had time for a quick nod and smile

Your smile was cold like the rays of the moon

It wasn't the sunshine I was used to

Your face didn't glow like a lotus in bloom

It was closed up like a bud in the morning dew

Your eyes missed the spark that would light up my soul

Today they were just embers that had turned cold

Your nod felt like you had a cup on your head

Poison to the brim, that if spilt, would've left you dead

Was it the same cup, when you and I would embrace

That would overflow with joy and drench your face?

If your face and smile are not what they used to be

Perhaps the fault lies with my memory

I forget that you aren't just the love of my life

You walked the street today as someone else's wife

An autumn leaf

Start of autumn and it was time
To say goodbye to my mother tree
And make my bed in the soil and grime
And look skywards to bide my time
To the day when the earth would embrace me

As I drifted down I thought I must
Pick one of roads ahead of me
To lay down on before turning to dust
Though I wondered if it mattered much
Which I picked, if dust was all I'd be

But still, hard I thought in agony
About which of the roads for me was right
Until I felt the breeze of destiny
Lift me on its wings and carry me
To the road I was always meant to find

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I let it find me, the way to go by

And that has made all the difference

(A humble ode to one of my favorite poems - "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost)

A love song

Let me sing you a love song

 

With words so deep
They cannot be spoken
About promises to keep
That will not be broken

About our life together
Perfect and unlived
And dreams for each other

Lofty but unfulfilled

 

I sing this song so loud
The words rip my heart on their way out

I wouldn't want you to be where I am

So, for once, I am glad you are not around

The snail and I

One rainy morning, who did I see on the floor?
It was snail that was lost a long way from home
Perhaps the wind blew him in through the door
Or he hitched a ride on my shoe the night before

As I held him by his shell and placed him in my hand
Into his safe den he scampered away to hide
I wanted naught but to lead him back to his land
But scared as he was, he could not read my mind

Soon he must have seen that I meant no harm
For he crawled out of his shell into my palm
He stood there long with his slimy flesh laid bare
Looking at me as if to say "Hey, hello there"

I wondered at his naivete (or was it courage immense?)
That let him stand that way, with no shell, no defense
Of all the souls on earth, why did he place this trust in me?
No more than a stranger was I, but what kinship did he see?

A long time has now passed since the snail and I
Crossed paths for a moment in our journey of life
But even to this day, I smile as I remember
That beautiful moment of his realized surrender

A Frosty Crow

(The first two stanzas below are from the poem "Dust of Snow" by Robert Frost. The next two stanzas have been added by me.)

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued

The next time in sorrow
I'll go back to the tree
Looking for the crow
To dust snow on me

What if the crow then dusts no snow

Occupied perhaps with its own woe?

Maybe I mustn't look up to the crow

But learn to mend my heart on my own

A butterfly

On my walk in the evening twilight

I saw a golden butterfly
Flitting across lavender and marigold
Flowers arrayed in a line
In a garden that borrowed warmth
From the setting sun in the sky
Soon the butterfly gently landed 
On my palm in an elegant glide

I looked long at that delicate soul
Sorry for its fleeting life
Would it survive the brutes of nature?
Or a hand less kinder than mine?
Soon would it meet the inevitable scythe
Of that unforgiving reaper, Time
But the butterfly, happily away it flew
Unheeding the cares of my mind

As I brooded on these thoughts and more
In wafted a scented zephyr
Carrying the fragrance of garden flowers
And of my hopes and sweet desire
It whispered to me, "Whatever tomorrow's pain
Why does your heart now tire?
Fly with the butterfly, my dear child,
Soar in the sky, higher and higher"

My harshest critic

One wrong step have I barely taken
And she appears before me, frowning
She doesn't care that I'm already shaken
She stares me down, scowling

"The misstep was unintentional", I say
"Any other would have done the same"
But for context she doesn't much care
"I expect better, your excuse is lame"

She remembers all the mistakes I regret
Her needling words rip through the scabs
Of old wounds I'm trying to forget
A twisting spear through them she stabs

To others, she is a compassionate friend
She feels their pain deep in her soul
I wonder why the kindness doesn't extend
To me, whose battles she sees up close

I'll ask these questions, and then some more
When I see her in the mirror next

The abandoned boathouse

An abandoned boathouse stood on the edge
Of a placid lake, behind a hedge

No one visits it anymore

But not too far back there would be
Lovestruck couples who would come to see
The lake from this shore

They would come to see the colors of the sun
As it slowly sank below the horizon
Across the twinkling waves

They would ride their boats around the lake
Their lovers or their brides along they'd take
To chase the setting sun

Among those people was a beautiful girl
Whose smile would make the heartstrings twirl
Of one handsome boy

Every day they'd meet and talk
Of the dreams they'd chase, the paths they'd walk
As they grow old together

Of the house they'd build, for their many cute kids
Over pillars of trust, with their love as bricks
What a happy home it'd be!

From this house, their dreams they'd chase
And come back by dusk to its warm fireplace
Into each others arms

They'd talk these things as they rode in the boat
Or walked hand in hand along the shore
Lost in the other's eyes

At the end of the day, they'd part with a kiss
And sing a love song on how much they'd miss
Each other that night

All this I recount from many moons ago
They don't visit the boathouse anymore
I wonder what they've become

But if you've ever had a husband or a wife
Or if you've been an astute student of life
You can easily surmise

That they would no longer be singing
Love songs, but instead be bickering
Over life's mundane things

That they would no longer dream, but only rue
Their dreams of youth that never came true
And the unfairness of life

They'd perhaps be living in a sad little house
With its walls plastered with many a grouse
And no love lost in the bricks

And around its fireplace they'd never huddle
They'd have no time for kisses or a cuddle
Or for any of those silly things

And the house of their dreams would be lying alone
In dreams that they never visit anymore
Abandoned, like the boathouse

What is art?

Words of a poem, in my mind they land
Gently like the waves on the warm beach sand
Words that, in moments of sorrow or cheer
I wish someone had whispered in my ear
Words that slake the thirst of my mind
Those are the words that I love to write

So the next time some music holds you in thrall
Or you lose yourself in a painting on the wall
Remember that a much greater joy this brings
To the mind of the artist that birthed these things

What is the art of an artist if nothing more
Than leftovers from the feast laid out for her soul?

Titiksha

How does the beautiful bright moon
Always manage to hide its dark side?
Why do the peaceful stars not betray
Signs of fires that eat them from inside?

How do the clouds carry themselves
With such grace when welled up with rain?
Why does the heart wince when it sees
Good people silently bearing their pain?

-----

titiksha is a Sanskrit word that roughly translates to forbearance. It is defined as "the bearing of all suffering without the intention to react, and without anxiety or weeping" in vivekachudamani.