Category: poetry

When the dreams are too tough to follow

And the spurts of yearning have had to swallow

All their pride

And become quiet

Still

Slow and commit to die

The Lord asked,

Why not pursue

Your passion with greater might

Ignore all the pain

All the slight

And be one with the love

That you have always sought

Without caring for what is

And what is ought

she has worshipped you

in faraway lands

with the same devotion

that are the stuff

of which legends are made of

she wiped the steps of your temple

every day

with her scarf which she tied

over hear head

she washed the dirt all around

she cooked the bread and offered

it to birds every day

and filled the water pot

for life from all around to partake in it

you are still thinking

whether to accept her prayers or not

what kind of god you are

have you never been offered true love

did you never experience the stormy caresses

of intimacy

come down,

walk out of your temple

look her in eyes

yes, she is the devotion incarnate

you will nor understand

you have met only those

who offer a little and pray for a lot of rewards

she has asked for nothing

is that why your vanity is challenged!!!

forgive me Mother Kaali

you have never understood me

whenever I came to offer

flowers of white lilies

you looked other way

complaining as if, why did I

not bring coloured flowers

how would i tell you

what did I give you

it was a slice  of  cake

made with deep pain inside

buried in my garden

the manure with which I had grown

these white lilies

please smile Mother

accept these lilies

I have nothing else to offer,

which I can claim has

a part of me

undried tears of a devotee

when the drains of tears got filled

and started overflowing

the devotee could not wait any longer

to empty herself at the altar of

your feet

but you did not even look at her

you walked away

like

a whiff of a moist breeze

wanting to wipe the dry dust

from the unused canvas

that she had not painted for years

waiting for inspiration

that was tapped in some dreams

which will never unfold

lest your resolve

give way

and you decide to accept her

prayers

why do tears pay toll tax at the gate of love

why should smiles  be pasted

on all the places on wall
where plaster has been peeled off

by the leaking moisture

when the mason was building this house

he was not asked to make imperviosu walls

he left some spaces for moist air to come in

but did he know

that tears will have pay toll tax

to enter the same house today

I have been betrayed by you Mother

When you compromised

You threatened me

And bribed me when it suited you

But after all, you only gave me the strength

To fight, and stand up

For those who needed me

And I will always stand up for those

Who will not be afraid

Of privileges wrapping them

And sweeping all memories of

The surrender

Of valiant armies of  vanity and valour

In defense of the powerful

Who could give away

All that mattered so that

Hunger of the rich was

I have been lost

Many times in the mist at the top

Of the mountain and lost my way

But then old pathways

To the deepest recess of

Silent valleys

Of time and tide

Help me find my way

But I d not ever get back to

Where I lost my way

Can we never get back

And start our lost journeys afresh

Why should search for truth

Be so elusive

Why should intimacy threaten

The universality of love

Why should passion be devoid of duty

To discover the grace with in you

You can do what you wish

And pray at any temple or mosque

Only way you will enter this city

Of admonition

Is when you will

“Combine

Love and duty

To discover the grace with in you[1]”

I have seen icons of power falling down

I have seen idols of love melting away

In the heat of scorn and stymied

Sulking anger

But then what good is it to love

If we can not swallow

The pride of being indifferent

Towards the sensitive notes of music

Sung by the  wayside bards

Devoted as they are

To please any body who will care

Without favour and without any snare

Aroma of a slowly extinguishing incense stick

I never claimed

I was extraordinary mind

And yet my instincts were of a kind

That could sense the advancing storms

And the monsoon winds

From miles before their time,

You thought I could protect you

But then I could not

Why do you feel lost

When I am gone away like the

Aroma of a slowly extinguishing incense stick

Why do you keep peeling bamboo

Sticks

To make more such incense sticks

Knowing that their aroma will not

Let you leave the shores

Of a river, eternal as it is

Never will it dry

No matter however so much you cry

Do we love each other

For our respective virtues

Or the inadequacies

Which we pretend we

Could compliment

Why did we love so much

When you fell down

I was worried

And you did not like my advice

More I was concerned

More you despised

Do we only love when we are distanced

From the railings which

You hold to walk

And I keep quiet

When you wish, I would talk