Tuesday 12 September 2023

Time's up

For months, I have felt we haven't seen each other. We have met each other - spoken, heard and laughed for hours. Yet it seems like eons since I have seen you. I have been counting seconds to when you would get a vacation from all the responsibilities that have stolen you away from me. I have been waiting and playing hopscotch with the hands of the clock. 


Tomorrow, I am going to meet you. I am flooded with anticipation like the desert sand at the mirage of a cloud. "To be pretty for you I have dropped two seeds of turnsole in the dark of both eyes." 

I see you coming from distance. My heartbeats rhyme with your footsteps. You are here now.  'Would owning all the watches and clocks give one the ability to stop time?' I wishfully wonder.  Time's up. We leave. 





Written for the Prosery prompt at dVerse Poets Pub, to write a prose in under 144 words including the deliciously beautiful line -“To be pretty for you I have dropped two seeds of turnsole in the dark of both eyes.”   from Isabel Duarte-Gray's lovely poem Garden  

  

Friday 4 August 2023

D.I.M.H

 YOU
PRISTINELY PRESERVED
FROM THE TYRANNY OF TIME
IN THE SANCTUM SANCTORUM
OF A TEMPLE OF THOUGHTS
IN MY NOSTALGIC NECROPOLIS

YOU
APPEAR AFFECTIONATELY
FROM RHAPSODIC RUINS
WHEN I AM DISTRAUGHT
BEYOND DECISIONS AND DESIRE
BETWEEN RIGHTS AND WRONGS

YOU
SMOOTHLY SOOTHING
LIKE A FROZEN DESSERT
IN A SCORCHING DESERT
MY EXCLUSIVE ELUSIVE ELIXIR
FOR THE DISEASE OF REALITY.

Tuesday 11 April 2023

Poetry - My Damsel In Shining Armor

   The moment she left, I felt utterly empty yet my mind was overflowing with feelings. I couldn't find the courage to speak to any friend. I didn't want to burden them with my emotions. And when I did muster the courage to speak, I was at a loss of words. That's when poetry came to my rescue as my damsel in shining armor. I never realized until I attempted writing that "The seed of a poem lay dormant in my heart."

   My amorphous feelings found solace in the structure of poems. Poetry became a beloved friend, who would listen without interrupting, without judgement, without unsolicited advices. I began reading to learn more about her. The more I learn of her, the more there is to learn. Now I don't speak to her so often but I know she's still here. Poetry is still here. 


  Written for the Prosery prompt at dVersePoets by Michelle Beauchamp to use the line 'The seed of a poem lay dormant in my heart.' from the poem "Winged Words" by Valsa George 

Wednesday 15 February 2023

Origami Rose

I wished to give you a rose
A rose that doesn't wilt
A rose that doesn't dry
I went to the florist
She did not have such a flower
I went to a garden
It did not have such a flower
So I took a sheet of paper
and made an origami rose
but it lacked color and scent
so I colored it red
and dipped it in a rose perfume
when I took it out
It smelt like a real rose
but its color had faded
So I kept it in a compartment
Where it can be constantly colored
with the color red of my blood
but now I cannot give it to you
as It smells of my blood
So I bathe myself profusely
in the same rose perfume
And give you myself.

Tuesday 14 February 2023

I thought I will not think of you

It happens every year. I make many resolutions. I want to do some things and not do many things to make my life better. Every year ends up being the same after a few days. It feels like everything is out of control and I get wafted away in the turbulent flow of time. 'This year's a different thing, I’ll not think of you, I affirm to myself every day, every morning as soon as I wake up to an army of alarms. I try not to think of you and your words. But I fail always, you have become a personification of all the negative things my mind says to me. I loved your articulateness and now it has become the ghost that haunts me. Sometimes, I manage to keep you away from thoughts only to be spooked by you in my dreams. 



 Written for the prosery prompt  at dVerse Poets to use the phrase "This year’s a different thing, – I’ll not think of you" within a prose/ flash fiction of 144 words or less 


Thursday 26 May 2022

Dead Butterflies

They all are dead
Those butterflies
That fluttered
In their stomach.

What killed them -
Lack of flowers?
Pesky predators?
Climate change?

Colorful corpses
Decorate their gut
Decomposing desire
Into graves of grief.




Monday 24 May 2021

Vacation From Life

I wish to go
on a vacation
Away from Life
For sometime
For some space
Away from everyone
Towards no one
Away from deadlines
Towards start lines
Away from sounds
Towards silence
Away from goals
Towards aimlessness
Away from emotions
Towards stillness
Away from expectations
Towards acceptance
Away from grief
Towards relief
Away from worries
Towards wondering
For sometime
For some space
Away from Life
on a vacation
I wish to go.

Thursday 4 March 2021

Moist Memories

 Yesterday night, I cried myself to sleep
While I was drafting a response
To the letter that you sent 
My response was quite long
But my translation 
of feelings to words
somehow felt wrong
my fingers cramped 
with the effort of writing
So my eyes started watering
to lubricate my fingers 
to also dilute the ink
that was drying off in the pen
I stayed up as long as I could 
not knowing when I fell asleep 
I woke up only when I felt wet
and my bed was floating 
In my room filled with water
It seems like my eyes did not stop
they kept pouring drop by drop
as I snored away in glory 
all my books were floating in the water
along with my memories of you 
while escaping a nasty slip
I frantically searched 
for the letter, I was writing,
for the letter that you wrote 
Only 4 moist blank pages were left
with ink faded away like my tears. 

Monday 7 December 2020

Blind Justice

We should have known
When each of your siblings succumbed
one by one by one
starting with the one we put into power
We should have known
that eventually even you would be corrupted
that one day you would go steeping into darkness

But who were we kidding?
You always wear a blindfold
I never quite understood why you do that
Is it to escape all the wrongs that take place
while you play with the balance in your hands
Is it to ignore all the rights that are wronged
while you stand playing deaf in large buildings

We mistook you
enamored by your Impeccable ideals
mesmerized by your pretty promises
bamboozled by your weird words
fooled by your bewitching beauty
As you stood there in inaction,
a stale statue of stoical silence

You have just become a puppet
of the puppets of the puppets in power
who destroy every minute detail
of the delusions of democracy
I stand before you in desperation
begging you to wake up from slumber
Ignite your icy irisis and burn your blindfold.

Wednesday 14 October 2020

Ew

..EW


I never realized how quickly they grew

When I started all felt good and new

There were many things I never knew

Now my whole universe is askew


When I piled up tasks, they seemed few

But they just multiplied as time flew

I don’t see a clear solution in my view

 avalanche of expectations, I am a shrew


Every morning, hopes disappear like dew

With regrets I end my day with a phew

I have gobbled more than I can chew

I desperately wish to do everything anew


My distractions need to be put into curfew

To complete the pending things in my purview

All my skills and focus need to act as crew

To mend all the tears in thoughts with a sew.




Friday 2 October 2020

One Night Sit

The sky pours
my anxiety sours
I have so many chores
left to do in my writing course.

Like I am on the deadline
Hoping everything will be fine
the mind has become a landmine
the oasis of ideas is hit by a famine.

I have a small coffee sachet
to kill my sleep like a machete 
as my thoughts burn like an omelet
as the clock plays a Russian roulette.
 
I had given up thrice
like a scared puny mice
made me feel not very nice
hoping the deadline adds some spice. 

As my ideas go nuts 
I munch on boiled peanuts
Fighting my mind's if and buts
As discomfort wriggles in my guts.

It is 3 AM and I am still awake
as strings with words, I try to make
Procrastination is always a mistake
I have this weird sense of being a fake.

I slurp on my dried lips
reaching for the pack of chips
Wishing I had some hummus dips
As my mind ambushes me with quips.

Concentrate on my tasks, I must
Watching an online tour seemed just 
to ensure my plan doesn't kiss the dust
but my mind fiercely personifies wanderlust. 

I fall asleep beside my thought stream
When In my head I heard a silent scream
only to be woken up by an alarm in my dream
And my blank screen taunting me with a gleam.

Monday 21 September 2020

Dear Sky

 

Dear Sky,
 
    Mystically majestically
        You blanket the whole world
    Clearly cryptically  
        You hold all the stars in place
    Stunningly cunningly
        You act as a veil for puny gods
    Blissfully beautifully
        You are the universe’s saree
    Coincidental and accidental
        You are the canvas of creation.

Sunday 20 September 2020

Wordless

 ๐ผ ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘‘๐‘ 
๐ต๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘‘๐‘  ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘œ๐‘“๐‘“
๐‘†๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘ก
๐‘†๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ
๐‘†๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘œ ๐‘ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™
๐‘†๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘’๐‘™๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘œ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘ฆ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’.
๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘› ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘š๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘‘
๐‘๐‘œ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘“๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘”๐‘œ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘› ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™-๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ
๐ด๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘›๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™๐‘ 
๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ฆ ๐‘“๐‘’๐‘’๐‘™ ๐‘Ž๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘š
๐‘‚๐‘› ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ค ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘ ,
๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘˜ ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ 
๐‘‡๐‘œ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ฆ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘‘๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘โ„Ž ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘–๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘ง๐‘’
๐‘ˆ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™๐‘ฆ, ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘› ๐‘’๐‘š๐‘๐‘ก๐‘ฆ-โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘Ÿ
๐‘‚๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ฆ ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘”๐‘ 
๐ผ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘ โ„Ž ๐ผ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘‘๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก๐‘ .