Cinderella in Trekking Shoes

Born with a curse,

I speak in-verse,

And here the proof does lie;

Bitter like coffee,

Dark like chocolate,

I ain’t no sugar pie.

Keep it cryptic,

Yet play it straight,

Say it, but say it all;

My stage this world,

Am the spotlight girl,

Rest is illusion all….

Ma luv is in ma curses,

As honeyed as ol’ Brit verses,

Mean a lot more than I could say;

A rhythm in the vein,

No moment mundane,

Living on the ‘edge’ e-veryday.

I like it neat,

But life’s on the rocks,

Living always on a high;

It all seems,

Just like a dream,

And I can’t wait to fly.

Not a deli-cate dame,

Nor the Lord’s ‘tall claim’,

Jus’ an angel who forgot her rules;

Am a river wild and free,

Yet a ‘deviant’ mys-teree,

Like Cinderella in trekking shoes!!

Notes : I got a little bugged with the 'moon-june' poems, you know, the 'beauty of the flowers' and 'how romantic are the stars' types. Had enough of the dark poetry too, people can't seem to die in any newer artistic ways you see. So I thought of trying something 'refreshingly' ugly. Didn't have to go farther than a mirror too. ;)

Rainbow

Beads of nectar

On shivering winter lips,

This morning the rainbow drips.

The jingle of anklets

Of the dancing drizzle,

Is a song I hum in yellow summer.

Beyond the window

At the tip of arched leaves

A thousand galaxies glimmer.

Into the wet world outside

Sauntering through the square hearth,

Eyes brimmed with the tears of June

Rejuvenating the barren earth.

A vision rain-soaked.

Glint from dews

Bright rainbow hues

The sunshine soaked in showers

I pluck gently

Hold them in loving palms

And as I breathe in,

Their fragrance fills a void.

Stealthily,

I'll hide away this rain

In a heart's corner

To balm the scorched summers

Quench the thirst of parch hearts.

This was written in Dec 2004. I don't know what I was doing thinking of rains in the middle of winters, but anyways. The poem speaks about cherishing the good times to live through the tough ones. Sometimes happy memories give us a lot of strength to survive trying situations.

Virgin Heart

The sensuous soft curves of candle smoke
Rising yet melting in the dark,
Mist fairies swaying across lonely lake
Vanishing slowly in mellow morning spark

Your scent’s there somewhere
Amidst the floss of moments apart,
Amidst the gloss of a virgin heart,
Your scent’s there somewhere!

In the kiss of the soothing rain,
In the silence of a moonlit lane,
Why do I seek you?

Oh the elusive evening glow above,
‘tis no birth of beauty
But a sleep of unspent love.

Tantalizing images in the unwatchful eye
Vapour, they vapour
As I try
To touch them, hold them close....

Laughter of dreams is night’s music
Are a gentle blush on her face.
The blessing is a sweet restlessness,
Aching and twisting in their soft caress

But dreams they are
Slip as sand does
From the clutches of realism.
And I am left;
With your scent again
And yet so lonely, yet so reft…



A very special poem for me indeed. I wrote it in my 10th grade. What makes it special is that it was my first romantic poem, something that I still very rarely write and I was honestly surprised to find out that I could compose something like this.

why is this wind so sad today

Why is this wind so sad today?
Something feels very wrong
Like it has been mourning a death
For far too long

With the dying light everyday
The sun within me dies too
With the rains incessantly lashing away
The phoenix in me cries too

My tears, my wounds.
It is the gaze of the onlookers
That makes it a performance.

When the world becomes devoid of voices
The happy sad noises,
The stillness that befalls
As sudden and as complete
Like the silence after an explosion
And the existence feels conscious
Stands stark naked
Before the Self’s judging eyes



Evenings often make me very sad. This poem talks about self introspection. Sometimes thoughts just follow a very random direction. You begin with something and you end up with something else.

A Little Before Sunset

In this evening faintly cold

some secrets untold,

in a kiss of scarlet

peep through smiles

that pretty disguise

and ah! such sweet,

assassinating sighs!

When the raincloud teases

the gulmohar in youthful burst,

darker mysteries are discovered

quenching the fire's thirst...

I wrote this poem on my way back from office during summer internship. It was a beautiful evening when the monsoon began giving the early hints of its arrival. Specially, I found the contrasting colours of the dark clouds and the orange gulmohar in full bloom, very interesting. This poem is about a lover's longing when nature takes a turn.