A tear for a tear

No thoughtful words nor kind advice

No scrolls of wisdom from the ancient wise

No heartfelt hug, no loving embrace

No tender touch that caresses my face

Nothing can soothe and melt my pain

And turn grey skies bright blue again

Better than the tears of my kindred soul

Who feels my pain deep in his bones

And whose heart aches with unspeakable grief

When my smile plays a game of hide-and-seek

When my strength fails me in stormy times

When wounds cut deep, tears cloud my mind

There is no better salve nor sweet solace

Than a soft tear drop that rolls down your face

A seed in spring

Through lifeless winter, under layers of snow

A seed lay curled in, feeling cold, alone

But come spring, the sun's golden light

Stirred something in its heart deep inside

Soon, seeking its sun, the soul broke free

Tore through the earth with effortless ease

As its eyes opened to a bright blue sky

Its heart put forth green shoots of joy

Now basking in the sun's boundless warmth

It embraces the world with open arms

A soul at peace wants nothing, it shares

Every flower it springs, every fruit it bears

Oh, the magic of love, pure and true

That bathes you in light, but asks nothing of you

It thaws a frozen heart, opens a tender soul

To become a joyous part of the infinite whole

A swing in the park

I ambled in the park on a bright spring day
What joy it is to watch the children play!
Amidst peals of laughter, shrieks and cries
One little child on a swing caught my eye

When the swing went up, a chest-thumping roar
On its way down, he'd let out a painful moan
He'd flail his limbs before the inevitable rise
And beam with pride at all the fleeting highs

Oh, but a child is he, little does he know
That in the swing's swings he plays barely a role
To see this truth someday, I hope he'll be wise
There need be no shame in the fall, nor pride in the rise

Liberated

A tiny boat dots the boundless sea

Under the glow of the morning sky

Centered in the calm of the ocean's deep

Yet bobbing with the ebb and tide

Unhurried, and with a joyous peace

It cruises as the currents flow

Its sails, caressed by the gentle breeze

They pine for no distant shore

Over golden drops of the sun that glitter

And adorn the playful waves

The boat, like a mind that is free, unfettered

Glides into the beautiful day

A beautiful moment

She came by me, a beauty sublime

With the gentle warmth of winter sunshine

As morning dew, her soft embrace

A scented zephyr, her elegant grace

But I rue I paid her attention scant

For my mind was lost in distant lands

Of battles past, of scars and tears

Of dreams for the morrow, of hopes and fears

As I ambled back, I am sad to say

I found her gone, she'd slipped away

Now I wonder why, when the moment arose

I didn't smell its joy, I didn't hold her close

---

As we step into the new year, here's wishing all of us more awareness of the beautiful moments of life. Because, with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Alchemy

Look there, a feather floats in a breeze
Carefree and calm, in an easy peace
Over fields of gold, and a clear blue sky
With a lightness of being, and a heart of joy
Embracing the world with its open arms
For 'tis a wonderful life, so full of charm

But in a moment, it turns a block of lead
Weighed down by bitterness of words unsaid
Curled in from the world, distant and closed,
For the thorns around, they so prick and poke
The sun doesn't shine, no light comes in
And a poison brews in the dark within

Oh, what a consummate alchemist is He
For He needs no more than a minute or three
To paint the bonny sky a shade of wintry grey
To make the fields of gold all just melt away
To turn the twinkle in the eye a teary red
To morph the mind from a feather to a block of lead

The mighty river

"Whence comes your strength, your majestic force

That moves mighty ships, births life on your shores?"

I ask the river, and she, with a puzzled eye

Looks up to me and says "But what strength have I?

I am molten snow that rolls down the hill

Along the paths paved by Mother Nature's will

The brooks feed me, the rain helps me grow

Down to the sea I am but impelled to flow

I claim no great force, for who is this "I"?

Am I the tiny brook, the grey cloud in the sky?

Am I the wisp of vapor that rises from the sea?

Am I the child of nature that bows to gravity?

The ships of mighty men, or a child's paper boat

Oh! What joy to know I help keep them afloat

But I say this, my friend, not with humility

I do naught, it all just happens through me"

-----

This concept of "acting without being the doer" is expounded in many Eastern philosophies. It is called "wu wei" in Taoism, which means effortless action in harmony with the flow of the universe. The Bhagavadgita, of course, delves very deep into this concept. For example, Chapter 3, Verse 27 says

prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvashah

ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate

which roughly translates to "actions happen due to the forces of nature, but the ignorant man thinks of himself as the doer". The Gita also teaches us that we are just a "nimittamatra" or an instrument of nature's will. 

Ode to a fragrant flower

Your silent presence by my side

Such magic it weaves in my life

The world is filled with a fragrant joy

Its many flaws do not catch my eye

My simple life of mundane things

Dons a new charm, a new meaning

So I am glad, my love, all those years ago

I held your hand, and never let go

Lost

With open arms, what does it ask of the sky

This lofty tree laden with luscious fruit?

Why does it trill such high notes of joy

The lonely bird perched in those dark woods?

What impels the bees to fly long miles

To gather more food than they'd ever use?

Why do the ants spend their fleeting lives

Building castles of mud and other refuse?

Why so they act? How so their thoughts?

If knowing such simple souls is beyond my ken

It is little wonder that I'm forever lost

In the labyrinthine ways of the world of men

The course of a river

It was born in a heady exuberance

(Was the earth reaching to touch the heavens?)

It flowed in joy and gurgling smiles

Like the sweet babble of an innocent child

It took down the walls along its way

And off our feet, we were swept away

In time, it slowed and steadied its course

In its cradling arms, new life arose

Come flood or drought, it kept flowing on

Burrowing deeper, and growing strong

We drifted along its meandering ways

On some dark nights, many blessed days

And now it is the boundless sea

No waves ripple through the peace

The calm sea breeze lifts us high

We float under the clear blue sky

As drops in the ocean, two kindred souls

That have merged to become one happy whole

Oh, how wondrous the paths of destiny

That've brought us together, you and me

Through laughter, joy, and some aching tears

Look how much we've grown over the years

From the hills to the sea, as the river flows

Our love has indeed walked a beautiful course

The enlightened tree

Come barren winter or blooming spring

Parching summer or pouring rain

The tree, she stands calm, unshaken

A stoic sage through joy and pain

Perhaps she knows she owes the world

No leaf nor fruit nor tender flower

She owes nothing but sixty honest seconds

Of living in a minute given to her

All she needs shall flow in time

From the earth's bosom and sun's embrace

As she stands rooted with open arms

To accept what comes with humble grace

From seed to shoot, from tree to dust

Mother Nature paves her path of life

Watching in wonder the way unfold

She gently floats on the waves of time

Through seasons of change, storms of fate

She stands in stillness and in peace

As I sit by her, I think I must too

Not yearn to become, but learn to be

Eternal

The hardiest of plants blooms not

Without a tending of the soil

The flame of a lamp dies out

If we replenish not its oil

The roaring river needs its rains

To renew its strength and flow

The earth, it seeks the sun's kiss

Each day to kindle its soul

How then does an eternal love

A marriage of beautiful minds

Though nourished not with loving words

It withers not with time?

What keeps passion's flames aglow

When stoked not by a lover's hand?

What magic etches, I ask of you

Feelings forever on fleeting sand?

You look at me with a gentle smile

You, whose love for me it shone

A steady light through stormy times

And helped me find my way back home

I ask you whence comes your strength

You, my deepest love, truest of friends

You draw me close and whisper, with tenderness

"Love begins, my dear, where reason ends"

 

A poetic end

The evening glows in a golden light

No dark clouds are pouring rain

As I walk to the sunset one last time

May your smile wash away my pain

May your thoughts fill my vivid dreams

As I slip into the endless night

When the music of life begins to ebb

May your song be my lullaby

May your soft breath caress my face

As I breathe in the last of mine

In your warm embrace, may I fall

In love with you one more time

May the last thing I see be your eyes

Of solemn grace and silent strength

As beautiful as our journey was

May just as poetic be its end

---

Inspired by these poignant lines from a ghazal by Qateel Shifai

aakhri hichki tere zaanu pe aaye

maut bhi main shaairana chahta hoon

Why do I write?

Why do I douse my deepest thoughts

In ink and lay them on a paper white

And weave them into words and verse

To what end, I wonder, do I write

I write, perhaps, with the hope someday

Someone may find the shards of my soul

Like petals dried in the pages of books

And put me together into a whole

And know me, beyond the gilded masks

I don for my mistress of vanity

And beyond the baubles bestowed on me

By the benign grace of destiny

And see me, beyond the clothes that hide

My naked flaws in thought and deed

My basest fears and baseless dreams

Memories that bruise, scars that bleed

I write so someone may know me someday

See the real me, without love or loathe

But simply, clearly, with a kind eye

As a soul would see its kindred soul

I write for the lonely child who plays

Hide and seek with the world around

And leaves a trail of words to her place

I write so someday she may be found

When the night dies

In silent grace comes the unassuming night

Draped in a cape of a golden light

She shrouds the earth, from hill to the sea

With her cloak of dark and tranquil peace

And the earth, so wearied by the drudging day

Melts in her arms, finds warm solace

With a hand, she pins stars in the skies

And with the other, she fills the jaded eyes

Of tired souls with placid sleep

And whispers oh such magical dreams

That no man, no tree, nor beast she meets 

Is left untouched by her wand that heals

But soon she sees the break of dawn

And knows it is now time to move on

When come the first pink rays of the sun

She fades away, biding farewell to none

And the world awakens in sweet delight

Ever so grateful for the soothing night

So deep do some souls touch our lives

That only joy fills the hole they leave behind

And that is why when the great night dies

No laments are heard, none mourns nor cries

But for a sentimental flower or two

Whose hearts bleed tears of morning dew

Evanescence

A golden drop of dew on a summer morn

Melts as it meets the warm rays of the sun

Light as air, the 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

Like 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