Twigs

Hanging from the high boughs of a sturdy oak

A bunch of twigs sways in the strong wind…

Left and right and forward and backward it swings

Flexible in conception and safe in its making

The strenuous job for a master builder, it is one of a kind….

It was once a lonely straw rotting upon the earth

And now ‘tis the home of a family, their own hearth…

The tempest brewing outside is but oblivious to it,

Hell bent to destroy every dream that dares to challenge it…

The tumultuous squall doesn’t care for the bird-lings just hatched in it…

The anxious canaries swirl resolutely around their abode

Mimicking fate’s endless charade in an engrossed mode…

The gale grew stronger and raindrops fell

The fiery thunder the scrawny twigs incompetent to quell

Oh so futile to lift destiny’s hefty impervious veil.

The once intricate meticulously built nest now gone,

The twigs now strewn half-burnt and damp,

The storm nowhere to be seen as the odious task was done.

The birds crying helplessly, in an eerie tone,

As they lamented by their nest as the first sunray shone,

The twigs now lay obnoxiously on the ground,

Back to where it came from, back to being alone….

dew drops on the window

Pressing his hands and face on the glass pane

Looks out a child to the outside world insane…

Foggy images of decrepit structures and encasing weeds,

People engrossed in fulfilling their selfish needs.

Trees standing leafless, like the thorny scrubs of death,

Uncanny sounds of ghouls and unholy wreath.

A whitewashed landscape, cold and colorless gaping…

A fog so stealthily, yet vividly creeping and shaping.

A rowdy place beneath a cloudy canopy of grey skies

A black bird ravenous, sits on the sill and spies…

Startled, the child takes off his face and hands to see

His breath has formed a mask on the pane, gee!!!

His pupil glowing, he traced a sun on the pane,

And a heart below it, atop a world free of pain.

High green mountains that formed,

Above beautiful hamlets and forests, and birds hummed

Floral gardens were now a reality in the eyes

And blue rivers gurgled white froth below the vast blue skies.

A fluffy cloud now harmlessly flies by…

What truth can be better than this beautiful lie?

For when the tracing was gone, merged back into the mist,

The first sun ray emerging from the cloud midst,

It showed a place so cruel, and obsessed in itself,

Unconcerned, unaffected by the shrewd destiny’s tryst.

The numerous dew drops now fuse into one and flow down,

Helpless under gravity and truth’s menacing shadow

The child sighs and backs off into the house
His dreams gone with the dew drops on the window……

its a sunset

a warm calm windy  afternoon it was,
which was ending, when i decided to sit and see the setting sun.
the ground dressed in multicolored patterns of multitudes of hues,
the leaves, some green some yellow,l some new some mellow, fluttering in tune.
the bird-lings chirping, a song so pure.
yearning for their parents to come home, bowing to the evening's allure.
the hefty trees stand sturdy strong and sure
the high boughs swaying with a lovely, nay! mocking demure!
the shadows lengthen slowly, i watch as the sun goes down further west,
the grass smells so sweet, freshly cut, and wet.
the walls adorned with patterns of sunlight,
the reddish hue that begins to spread,
from a corner of the turquoise sky,
slant rays peep out from beneath the nimbus clouds,
like a newly wed bride, oh so shy!
the visions gradually blur with time,
a need so strong yet sublime,
the church bells together chime,
my thoughts, the skies so lewdly mime!
the trees give way to a happy couple loving,
the patterns on the wall now have no meaning...
the red apple slowly dissolving, like a drop of color on still water,
like memories of a time long gone, and an incomplete yearning!
shadows hold me transfixed, enraptured, my pupils widening,
the dancing fireflies rejoice, the birds disappearing.
the sun has set, the dark has come, the dragonflies long begone,
the impervious shadows have danced their way in,
the purple marquee asks me now to go n take rest,
ahh! what a long day it has been!

you gotta come back

walking by the woods one night,
the cool breeze caressing my head,
i realized that i was afraid
of the dark and nothing was in sight.
never was i so sure of fear, alone
i wondered, why was i afraid now? begone!
i asked fear to go; it didn't take pity on my plight,
the cool caressing breeze turned wild, the soothing
sounds screamed, i whimpered alone, and nothing
came to help me. oh 'twas dark! the night!
i cried, or so i thought, because tears eluded me, for i realized,
so far away am i, from home, from you, my aims i prized.

sitting by the porch, one sunny winter afternoon, i sighed
looking out at toddlers play, adults converse,i lied
to myself! saying i was fine! even though the world wasn't mine,
as it someday was. and i couldn't help it, i just sighed.
the singsong voice of a birdie, sitting hidden somewhere in the lush bush,
i heard, it asked, my self reflecting in its stance, "what was the hurry of being  seen?"
the answer eluded me, i dunno what to say! maybe because i tried hard enough to make a name,
knowing its easy enough to lose it, and meanwhile u awaited my homecoming, my sweet dame!
my features the soft red sunlight awash, i mustered courage, stifled my sighs, bit
my lips and consoled myself, because there wasn't anyone beside me,
my world, my dreams, my fame, my name, gone with the westerlies fast,
as they came, so they went, nothing ever seems to last.
i want you by my side, but 'm too lost in pride,
come and find me honey, i'm too tired to walk!
oh baby you gotta come back! you gotta come back!

i could not find a day more auspicious than the republic day of this great phenomenon of  country-India...
64 years to the day India finally got its own constitution, notwithstanding all the hurdles the founding fathers had to overcome...