#38 Goodbyes 

Goodbyes have never been my thing
The ones we exchange at airports - the worst kind. 
The last story,
The last few words,
The last time of shared silence.

The last laugh,
The last smile,
The last glance into twinkling eyes.

The last promises,
The last hug,
The last time you clasp my hands, 
A gentle reminder of being connected,
despite the ruthless miles in between. 

And even as I feel 
That I lose a part of me with each goodbye, 
I hold closely the part the other leaves behind, 
A precious gift of the time we shared. 

#37 : Sunset

I could be anywhere

Anywhere at all

On a secluded beach,

or crowded metro station,

In the seclusion of my home

Or at a viewpoint when on vacation

Standing on a roof top,

Or the apartment’s parking lot

In a wide, open field,

or in peak traffic caught

In a party full of friends

The music in a crazy din

Or on a long solo walk

With the peace seeping in

Each time I glance at the sky at dusk

I am transported into a magical world

With each colour in a stunning swirl.

Like a whirling dervish

Deep in his trance

Is colouring the skies

With the ecstasy of his dance.

And I could be feeling anything

Anything at all,

Either weary and beaten

By the struggles of the day

Or filled with gratitude

for the blessings that came my way

Looking forward to a new start

That has just begun to flow

Or struggling with a goodbye

When I am not ready to let go,

Each time I glance

at the evening sky

I feel emptied of the

what’s and why’s

As the glorious sunset

around me unfurls

Reminding me that

all’s right with my world.

Though I see the deepening darkness

Slowly bring the day to end

I sink into the peace and joy

Knowing that just around the bend

Awaits the sun, my powerful friend.

#36 - Changing Shades of Summer

I remember a time when summer was

Endless days of mindless fun

As we played in the scorching sun

Without a care or pause.

A time when mangoes lay in crates

The still air laden with their scent

And we ate them to our heart’s content

As the seeds lay stacked in our plates

And when the play for the day seemed done

It was time for books and treats

Under makeshift tents of torn bedsheets

That always had enough room for everyone

With each year these memories fade

The crates replaced by boxes small

Instead of tents, now tall glass walls

As through the workload we wade

And though sometimes the day is cooled

With much awaited evening rains

I do miss all the play, the games

Those days when mangoes and magic ruled!

#35 - The meeting of two worlds

(prompt: last line of your previous poem - first line of this one)

Under the canopy of forest skies

In a web that binds them all

The creatures live in quiet regard

For lives around big and small.

Here the survival of the fittest applies 

So do the laws of synergy 

Each creature playing their unique part 

In sync with the earth's energy.

Many lessons we could learn from there
If only one truly cares
But all we seem to do is encroach
Our home taking precedence over theirs 

I wonder if the creatures look beyond their land 

Wonderingly at our grey cityscapes.

As much as we look at their green lush worlds 

Longing for a quick escape.

#34 - The Sharing of Stories

Have you seen a story travel over winding dusty roads - 

On the lips of the minstrel traveling through the lands,

Planting hope with the words of the wise 

Have you seen a story travel through the pats of the grandma - 

The myth and made-up tales - all inheritance from her wrinkled hands

Passed onto sleep-laden eyes.

Have you see a story travel from the dog-eared pages of a book - 

As words become vivid images creating a whole new world of adventure 

With all its lows and highs

Have you seen a story travel on the sparks of a campfire bright - 

As the raconteur weaves dreams and fears into tales that survived a million years 

Under the canopy of the forest skies.

#33 Dreams

धूप से धुले हुएँ आँगन में दौड़ें यूँ

जैसे कोई पतंग उड़े चला बादलों को छू। 

और जब जब इस  धूप में होंसला लगे तपने, 

छाँव बन जातें है आकर सारे सपने

#32 Hope

I wish a star would shine today

Above the blackness of our days

Above the anger and the pain

To see another die in vain

And as we walk into the night

Clenched fists become handshakes  again. 

(prompt: Write in iambic meter)

#31: Beating the Blues

Sometimes I wish I could drape

a piece of the sky around you

So that you would remember

How you believed you could fly.

Other times, I wish I could lay the ocean

Right outside your doorstep

So that you could look beyond the walls

And see a limitless world to live by.

Maybe then, you could break free

From these self-imposed boxes

And with the sky for your wings

And the sea at your feet,

Find the strength to go seeking

Those mysterious, magical lands

That lay just beyond the horizon,

where the sky and the sea meet.

Or if the call of adventure

Seems too daunting in these times

At least walk to the shores

Leaving old imprints on the sands

Casting off the voices that hold you back

All the shoulds, the nevers, the can’ts

Until all you hear is call of the seabirds

Guiding lost sailors to safe lands.

I know it feels like it’s too late now

You say this is all you can be

The call of the sky and sea overwhelming

All you feel is the churning inside you.

Until you know you are not alone

Until you believe again in your dreams

I’ll be right by your side, I’ll be your voice,

And for now paint your walls blue.

#30: Strangers

Strangers on an airplane, yet

Between both a clear connect

Smiles that say "good choice"

For identical novels we hold    

While our stories remain untold.

(5 lines - 5 word poem)


Here's what Nia wrote:

Two strangers, never to meet.

Both working in different shifts.

Mechanically going out and in

Losing themselves in the din

In their silences - poetry written!

#29 : home after work

They both walk into the door

At the end of a hard day

He sees a place of rest 

His very own kingdom 

The sofa a welcoming throne

On which is will soon sprawl leisurely 

Reading the paper. 

She sees the start 

of her second shift for a job 

she hadn't even applied for,

Yet she unquestioningly takes on, 

Efficiently moving from one task to another on autopilot mode. 

He looks up only to acknowledge the offering of coffee  

The rich aroma a reminder of his privilege. 

Never will he notice how others tiptoe around him

Not wanting to disturb him

And in their silence hailing his position as the head of the household. 

She looks up only to take the next service request

Of unfinished craft projects

and specific dietary needs to be met

Never will she notice how everyone stomps around 

Not ever pausing to ask want she needs 

And in their silence declaring that this is what she signed up for 

When she decided to work. 

And as the evening slips into the night

They both lean back and sigh in unison 

"There's no place like home"

The words just the same,
Yet in very different tones.

#28 Survival guide 2018

BREATHE – PLAY – LOVE

Survival Guide 2018

Breathe through the smog of the divisive doctrines

Reach out with each breath to hold hands

Even if the other seems from another world 

And in the reaching out you will see

The truth that we are more alike  

However different our outward realities seem

Each connected to the other by our shared humanity 

Play as if your very survival depends on it 

Letting the rules emerge as your go along 

Allowing strangers to join in just as they are 

You know they are friends in disguise after all 

Love the world as it appears at your doorstep each day 

Often though a tough challenge it may seem 

Voice out the message of compassion, of hope and 

Eventually you will survive 2018! 

#27 Random musings #3

The waves they fall and rise

Again and again 

In a weary rhythmic pace

Like a hopeful young man 

Working with the Dumbbells 

In the silence of his room

To have those strong arms 

That can bear the weight of his life.  

How else can the seashore

Carry all the weight of 

The dreams

The despair

The hopes

The fears

The love

The heartbreak

The laughs

The tears 

Of hundreds who come there

Alone or with their beloved

Whispering confessions  

Each evening 

Watching the sun disappear

into the sea

Taking with it all the was meant to be

And leaving in the deepening shadows 

The promise of a fresh start. 

(Prompt : dumbbell, seashore, hope)

#26: In Today's Times

I know this world seems a confusing place 

I see the questions looming large on your little face 

As you start piecing together 

The breaking news

Remnants of grownup talks

Theories of your friends 

To plot a map that will

Be your guide. 

But what map can take you past doors locked twice 

Or help you see through all the hollow advice 

We hand out 

Hoping that the devices 

The safety apps  

and the tracking

Will keep you safe 

Knowing that this armour is as unreal

As the virtual world that birthed it. 

And will come crumbling 

The moment you walk into walls

Created by the taradiddle of the mighty  

Beti bachao now seeming more a warning than a slogan of change.  

Dear child, I don't know what lies to sprout 

As I stammer to answer your questions about 

Why anyone would kill an eight year old 

And I want you to believe that  

our streets aren't as unsafe

As the meadows she called home. 

But I know these lies won't  serve both you and I. 

So despite every instinct to hold you tight

I know you'll need to learn how to fight 

These lies, these bastions of blind power 

And for that here's all I can tell

Never be afraid to take a stand 

And speak up though you may be a lonely voice 

Trust the map inside your being

Deciding your own set of truths to live by 

Never resting on what seem like wins

For the best of the gardens always need weeding

And know that past these dark, confusing times 

There would be a glorious sunrise waiting, my little girl 

To remind you about the wonders of our precious world. 

# 25: The city that never sleeps

 Come one, come all for she calls you

With arms open wide to hold all your dreams 

Don't let the crowds, the smells overwhelm you

And it is but a myth that this city is bursting at its seams.  

For you shall find just the perfect space for you 

In crowded buildings and packed trains you'll fit right in. 

But only if you don't let the pace sweep you off you feet 

 You will find many opportunities even in the noisy din. 

To practice your own catwalk into the life you dreamed

On her concrete corridors decked with amber streetlights

And you will start to notice that chaos and order run like parallel train tracks 

Carrying every single person in this city, no matter what their plight. 

And you shall find friends among strangers as they shift

to graciously offer you that fourth spot on the seat. 

They may not smell or talk like you yet you'll find 

That your dreams create that common ground for you to meet

As you  will discover over casual chats over bhel and cutting chai

Standing in stairways lined with stains of paan 

ज़रा हटके ज़रा बचके, यह है Bombay मेरी जान! 

#24 : House of Lies

Remember the story of the three little pigs?

In a ploy to escape the wolf and stay safe

Each tried to make a home strong and sturdy 

And yet each time they conceded defeat. 

And finally it was the house of bricks,

That pig #3 built that did the trick. 

That's the kind of house we build 

With the lies we often tell ourselves. 

It starts with wanting safety from the fears outside

But before we know it, we completely lock ourselves in. 

The house of bricks becomes a prison strong,

Making even all our rights seem all wrong. 

I too once built a strong house of lies,

For denial seemed the only way to cope

From my failures, from my broken dreams ,

Wanting a haven where the bruised heart could heal  

And believed that in this house of bricks,  

No more hurt would life ever inflict. 

But that's not how life turned out to be. 

Denial numbed everything else with the pain 

And sitting inside that house for years feeling safe 

I turned into a stranger I could barely recognise. 

And as the lies further strengthened those walls 

My bruised heart could feel nothing at all. 

I began to see how this seemingly wise escape 

Had demanded the price of my vulnerability. 

Cladding me with a rusty iron armour to protect

But in reality, hurting my scarred skin even more.  

And it's true that the tears did stop for a while,

But with that also stopped the hugs, the smiles.  

Finally my head and my heart could bear it no more 

The armour was cast aside and with that

Once more I felt the pain, but I also felt the love 

- not a bad bargain!

And though it's scary, yet all the same  

I am slowly learning to shed these lies of mine 

And for now a house of straws will do just fine. 

#22 Sisterhood

Life's been as blessed and joyful as it should

Ever since I've been in this circle of sisterhood. 

 

This is not how it all began for me, in fact

I was taught to distrust women - their words and their acts. 

Strong clear lines that I heard patriarchy speak 

"Women kill their strong, men only kill their weak"

"Never trust a fair woman - she has many a vice"

I confess I did buy into these senseless lies. 

Until as the years passed, to my surprise I found, 

I got to where I did, thanks to the strong women around.  

Women who spoke their truth as they walked their path, 

Women who trusted their intuition, who lead from their heart. 

These sisters of mine, with whom I could share my laughter, my tears

Sisters who bore witness to my boldest dreams and darkest fears. 

I found them in every city, every street, every bend, 

These women who welcomed me as their sister, their friend. 

 

And the reason that today love and courage I don't lack 

Is because I have these incredibly amazing women at my back. 

(Prompt : write in couplets) 

#21: As Times Change

Many a day I have spent on shelves,

In all her homes, from her current one to her past

My bright red spine a clear reminder

Of the stories, the adventures I hold

Long forgotten tales waiting to be told.

And though many more books have come and gone,

To her, I am a memory of the times

When simple stories, with clear morals

Was just what would suffice to make sense

Of dilemmas, of challenges that seemed too intense.

But that was from a different time.

Life now seems to be a lot more complex

With many rights and even more wrongs

As she struggles to find some answers, some hope,

In the fleeting images of life’s kaleidoscope.

In the confusion and the weariness that now prevails

I have been a witness to her struggle with words

When she writes, when she speaks

And of late even when she thinks

Of ways and means to fill the missing links.

Last month she picked me up one last time

Seeking comfort as one might in a tattered quilt

But when one has lost one’s own voice and speech

No authors’ words or lines would ever

Deliver any meaning, no matter how clever.

While it’s been hard to say goodbye

To the shelf, to those hands that held me with love

It does make sense that she now seeks solace

In a box of dry pastels, 20 shades no less

Offering her the potential to sort through the mess.

I can see now she is making space

In her life, on her desk to find time to play

With colours, more than words unlike the old times

Tiny doodles making way to art on A3 sheets

That's perhaps the place where confusion and clarity meet.

And though I am resigned to a future in a second-hand store,

Not sure when I will find a friendship like hers,

I do wish that over time, the colours you hold

Will help her escape from words that bind

And march forth with hope, leaving despair behind.

(Prompt : A letter from something I have thrown to something I purchased recently) 

#20: In Response to Kathua

The reactions on Facebook, Twitter and the news

Everything spoken so far or left unsaid

Are all staring at me like a massive collage

Painted in deepening shades of red.

My head says this is the time to speak up

what the powerful and the powerless need to hear

I know anger, rage, courage are the right things to feel

but right now, all my heart feels is fear.

For how do you survive a society that uses

politics, religion and patriarchy to build confining walls?

A society already fractured by a line that someone once carelessly drew

Lessons from that bloody history clearly forgotten by all

And when history falls short, maybe myth is the antidote

As my instincts tell me to gather the women, all our girls

And go looking for a place where the earth splits open

Hopefully leading us all to a safer world.

A world where justice is not auctioned at the doorsteps of the powerful

A world where we speak of responsibilities that privilege brings to our boys and men

A world where our colour, our food, our gods don’t divide us

A world where we don’t ever fail our daughters again.

I don’t know how many more beastly acts and deaths there need to be,

Till creating such a world will be a shared quest

But for now, my daughter and I walk hand in hand

As we make our way to our street corner protest.

(prompt ABCB rhyming scheme)

#19 Poetry with my name

Vignette of my life 

Inscribed in the days  of this month sliding  by 

"Jumbled words from a forgotten script 

Jostling to find their space in the sun 

Inadvertently creating poetry!"

   

#17: Random Musings 2

From a blissful smile to an ecstatic laugh –
There are fifteen different emojis on my phone for feeling good
And then there are three times that number
When I check emojis for junk food

The disproportion make complete sense to me

For I've done the math

It's 15 raised to 45 times

that I have given into my urge for comfort eating.

The heart feeling satiated

while the rest of me takes a beating.

I don't know any other way to fill  

This bottomless pit I feel inside

That's been carved out by the disappointment

Of each failed attempt I have made

to change my relationship with my body

Only to drown in disgust that drenches my very soul. 

With violations from random strangers I meet.

I guess it's not just on Halloween

that monsters walk these streets.

But for now the nightmares seem abated

As I triumphantly sit

With sticky fingers, tongue slick with oil

in this self-built shrine decorated with empty food wrappers

Knowing fully well that by the end of the day

This body will feel like that

Enthusiastically carved pumpkin

left to rot at the doorstep.

(prompt words - pumpkin, nightmare, emoji)