letters from summer

a thought rolls in my mouth

tossed, turned, examined, forgotten.

till it cut the tongue

like a shard of glass

and ceaselessly, memories bled

slipping from the smile’s, tight grip.

heart gave in first, eyes followed.

and now,

winter sits at my doorsteps

awaiting the letters from summer

.....forever

Notes - Letting go is always difficult. This one is for all my friends, college days, the cute little Santa Cruz apartment, collegues at office and the one hell of a ravishing city called 'Mumbai'! I spend an incredible and unforgettable three years here and would return back in two months........ with a ring on my finger. :)

Kabhi Toh....

kabhi toh toot jaane ka mann karta hai

bikharke, hazaaron kataron mai,

beh jaane ka mann karta hai

kisi kohre ki tarah,

subah ki dhoop mai, chupke se,

ghul jane ka mann karta hai

kabhi toh toot jane ka mann karta hai.

in chann aasuoon ko beh jaane de agar,

ek samandar sa kuch inme doob jayega

kya kahe ki kis tarah khamoshi mai tadapti hai cheekhen

vo toh tanhai hai, jo milti nahi....

Notes - The last semester at college was the best lesson in stress management. Juggling a full-time job along with a full-time college was very challenging. The poem is meant to convey a feeling of disintegration.

 

Unbruised

Walking along the shadowy banks
A river coursing through silent hills
Feet wandering in shallow cold waters
Mind humming at the edges of infinity

My river a mosaic of broken glass
A hundred dying suns knitted together
Fake, a fake grandeur
Like the sparkle in moistened eyes deceives

The calm air has a certain tinge
Like the bright hues of melting skies
As I draw forth these painted breaths
I wonder, how sometimes
The world stains us..

Echoes of silence rip off the peace
Of my sacred dome
But outside is a world of sound
Melancholy cries of birds
The soft chuckle of river
Yet somehow
They remain unheard
Like a dried leaf floats on
But the waters unaware

What is this teasing odour of?
Odour of the dark?
Odour of absence?

Is this what it feels to be alone?
A single feeling delving deep?
But deep enough
To bruise the tender inner core

Waves lap the rock
Motionless impression-less
It stands
Through old waters and new
It stands
And so shall I
Must walk unfeeling
And wrap these fragile moments
Hold them in my arms
Close to my heart
So that they lie
Unburned by the sun
Unstained by the sky
Unsmoked by the dark and
Unbruised by absence.



Notes- I was walking along a river bank one evening. I find the evenings most inspiring of all times. This poem is about cherishing happy moments and most importantly safeguarding them from all the bad things that happen in life. Because during tough times memories of happier times give us the strength to keep going.

Coffee Stains

That day,
as you left the room,
you took
all the light with you.

now all that remains -
are the coffee-stains on time-kissed pages
and the dust laden sighs of the lonely table…

The air is still moist
with your words
lips still wet with its wine…..
Was it not yesterday?
that I watched the sun
setting on your face,
and when you opened your eyes
the world was lit again?

Every night as I sleep,
moon-drenched by the window
quietly, the silence burns
in gentle silver flames
leaving behind a tear
in my dream-filled eyes….

the tear falls gently
like December's’s snow
and how it burns a summer in my heart!

too drunk on memories
when the mind becomes
I dance like the wind
barefeet, in desert’s cold sand.
while the sounds of anklets
ravage my world
in modest little storms.

the empty room breathes
heavily
in hollow broken breaths
the faint echoes of your laughter
simply spoil the mood
like a scream of green piercing from a frosted heart!

'coffee stains' is a word I like a lot for some reason (may be it has got to do something with my fondness for coffee). For me it symbolizes memories of happy times, like an old photograph of smiling faces.

The empty room in the poem symbolizes an empty heart. Although it has been portrayed a lot like a lover's lament it actually is about these being the last two months of my college and missing my friends and roomies (leo feo).

The 'burning of silence' symbolizes the quietude and loneliness of the room at night. The 'scream of green' is a new shoot or leaf in the dead of winter.

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.