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