Outside ,the fountain of sunlight

Sprays golden circles on the rooftops

The trees hide me in my nest

From the powerful eyes reaching into my soul.

 

Yet I seek to venture out

In search of all my dreams.

Finding  no shade , water or effective  fan

I  fall on the earth, an oven baking.

 

I try to escape the boiling world but;

I am blinded by hopelessness.

Up the mountains there are springs

Silence  but for the rumble of  a river.

 

Dawn  to dusk I think ,my mind

Brims up with dreams endless

Give me wings to travel far

Winds I  will brave , very strong.

 

The  firey sun rages , drifting clouds

Rush to deter  my flight, midway

Higher than the dawn rising above

With very brilliant shades, flies  me.

 

 

Dried leaves in the wind

Reaching places far away,

Long way from the tree.

“Are we never to go back?

And never be on the branches?

Green! shining in the sunlight!

Man has gorged away plants

Trees, the rooted pillars of life.

When will new leaves sprout?

And shoots emerge from soil?

When will buds come out as flowers

And fruits hang in bunches?

 

Written on the earth’s face is

The death sentence  of all things alive.

May be the rivers will dry up.

Mighty oceans will flow in.

Mountains will crumble when strong winds

Try to blow them away.

Forests have caught fire

who can put off man’s greed?

The dark night beckons

Sounds unheard in the light

shadows fear to whisper

As they find nowhere to hide.

 

Find a home for the furry cub

A water hole for the deer and foal

The song bird needs a branch to perch

Butterfly looks for grass to hide

Earth gives life to all.

Different lives live for all lives.

 

 

We  meet again on  the banks of this river

That once had flowed and flooded

Watered civilisations and nurtured

A culture , a language and imaginations.

 

After  you my turn comes

Dig up and drive off..

Water is there as a silver line

Let me suck it up in my belly

Before we speed away into the city

That waits for us with money.

 

We may meet again on the banks

Of another river with cool water

And sand golden , in the river’s soul.

We will bring the life and  soul of the river

To another city

Built over the grave of a dead river.

 

 

1

Whales

Whales are not scared of waves

But only of men who might kill

Whales must never forget to swim

Water may be hot or cold or dark.

Water cannot hide the men or their ships

When whales want to show their might.

2

Rest

Rest is healing for mind

To find rest , I stop

To think about me and the world around me.

Yet i find many thoughts trying to come in.

Will they turn into lines and flow away

As a poem , if I sleep.

 

3

Let Me Come In

Gone under  bed of flowers

only to endear the fragrance

then i was turned into a butterfly.

the  wings were gorgeous.

Very  deep   under the sea ,very dazzling

Bright hues of life under  water;

nothing  but turning into a  pearl i would

in an oyster ,warm and cozy.

eternity is wrapped in the skies

where  stars give timeless  insights

on things big and small , as i float

as a cloud weightless with  thoughts.

great is the theater called  world

the shows never stop.

where is my part in the story?

finding my role in no act!

the mirror waits for me

return  my  face paints

i  find no dialogues

there ! missed my expressions real.

did  the script   tear away?

did the  pages fly away ?

leaving me   undefined.

my place is among buds, seashells and clouds.

do i belong here?

is this my world?

then let me come in

to be with you in your  thoughts.

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/notes/commonwealth-youth-council/press-release-unseen-unspoken-iamable-poetry-results/1419531241476299/

 

The Mist of Myself

 

From far away  if you look

Seldom   will you spot

The towering peaks rising

In the mist of myself.

 

Emerging silent but determined

To tell the world , aloud

Of me ,my  wishes ,masked

By the mist of myself.

 

Valleys teem with colours

Of  butterflies and flowers

When the radiant sun shines

Upon the mist of myself.

 

Dark clouds  drift in at times,

To hide the eternal glow

That tries to draw its glory

On the mist of myself.

 

Down lies only darkness

Above there are stones sharp

You say ,without going deep

Into the mist of myself.

 

 

The blanket of loneliness

Thrown to me by the  world

Would never warm my soul

When  covers me the mist of myself.

 

 

I hope to reach  my goal!

Understand   and  guide me!

With  the light of love , when

I trudge along, in the mist of myself .

 

Why are we worried about our future , our tomorrow?  We fear the unknown and the uncertain. Today is most important. Rest of the days  are determined by our thoughts and actions today. Yet we bother  not  about the present but about the future ; setting in only when today  ends.

Can we make time move faster? Or slow down the earth in its orbit? Only time will unveil the hidden joys and sorrows of mankind.

Why hurry to  fill our platter with the best delicacies? We   can eat only what our stomach can digest.

Every minute is to know every thing around us. This moment is unfolding  only for now. We try  to preserve  it,thinking to enjoy it forever. Else   we  waste the  moment  thinking of moments that are in the fists of time.

Bestow  your mind with thoughts of love and care. Share your resources with people who want them. We need to share not only food and clothes but  also our time. We should listen to what feelings others have.

Join those  who are struggling  ,surviving against harsh tidings of life. Tomorrow appears  to throw little bright light on them who are alone in today’s darkness.    We forget  that our entire  world  is defined by time  as  we  record past which cannot be erased and imagine future that is still has not dawned.

Every little effort by  every life is worth  admiring.  Doing  things for others is also important. We must not wait for returns.

Time will prove the worth of our actions.

 

 

   1

Yesterdays

Yesterdays are over
Overcame my tears
Teardrops  down in my  wishes
Wished to soar, my dream
Dreamland  so  very  far
Farthest is  but despair.

 

2

Dawn of hope

 

Real  warrior tries to fight

Wars  ,with  perseverance, for the goals

That his  heart did not set

Reins of control not in his hands

Terms of allegiance not in his words.

We really are puppets

In the hands of our present ; history tomorrow,

Yet  we struggle

Joining pieces of   broken  dreams

Glued   together as a wish  unfulfilled.

Wandering winds  know not

Where they go, yet they set off the sails

Of ships that  seek victory

Tides fear the wind

The wind  knows not itself.

Why do we pursue goals unknown

Still we hope that what we do

is for our beloved ones

By travelling roads unfamiliar

Only to find no one waiting there.

Resort  to eternal truth

As  nothing stays stronger than hope

For tomorrows better

Let dawns bring light

Let waters ripple with music.

3

Flowers of my heart

Why my heart feels heavy?

Why my feet forget  to walk?

Where are the roses?

Where is the music?

Why am I lost in thoughts  that I fear most.

 

Words remain imprisoned;

Out of my heart comes my tears.

My silence tries to tell

All the stories I know

Sing many sweet songs for you.

 

Yet  I long for light

To shine on my face

To make me see the beauty

Of love in the hearts

Of people for whom I have a place.

 

Are the dark  shadows gone?

No  more scary thoughts!

With all the glory

And all the colors

My heart blooms into fragrant  flowers.

Music to ears, the raindrops fall
Over the trees and manmade towers.
Nothing goes untouched by the spray
That tries to clean every mind and soul:
Where only grime clogs,
Where remains the outlets blocked.
What can rain do but sink deep or
Wander along channels and back to sea.

Give space in your hearts.
Let the cool drops drizzle upon your thoughts
Soak everything hard and stiff
Until it flows as tiny streams.
Wash away the greed
Wipe clean all anger
Fill the hollows of earth with love
Cover the craters of agony with kindness.
When the clouds of intolerance accumulate
When thunder proclaims inequality
And cyclone of injustice brews
Let us hope for peace to shower
Upon you and me.
Gently……

 

The war inside

Only the feet  set out for the journey

Right and left together

Went in directions their own

Always thinking was  the head

Kept working  were the hands

The mouth is tired  talking

Eyes chose to remain shut

Very loud ; the ears stressed

Nose forgot to   sniff out the problem

The broken heart pounded

As the lungs heaved   every  breath

Real war of feelings inside

The soul left all alone.

 

 

Growing up

Road to the mountains only go up
Climb them
Tedious curves
Every breath finds it tough
With rising heights
Decision to reach the summit
As I grow up.

“Did  getting an interesting book from the library take this much time for you? ”

“What  great fun is  there in books ?”

“How can  people get so affected  by other people’s thoughts?, perhaps it’s all only their imagination!”

“No one will second your idea to stay  back here alone with some  faded pages for company . Forbidden world for you is our fine kingdom of these narrow dirty lanes . Every where we    are reigning as ‘terror boys’. “

“Set route for  us   to get into the shopping centre.   Lights will be  switched off there after midnight. “

Jina turned.

“Only use torch light to see. Festival season services and sales   assure heavy cash coming  into the shops. Get ready  fast guys , great fortune is awaiting us.”                                                                                                       “Edit instructions that I give in case there is need to save yourselves .”

Jina  paused for breath .

“ Udit , Kiesul get  the tools ready.”                                                             “Biko ! are you  sleeping ?”Jina shouted.

“No “ said Biko without lifting his head from the book that was in his lap.

Into his mind nothing else had entered . His  lips were speaking on their own.

Books  breathed joy into his soul. Rushing through the book  Kiesul   remarked  “oh! Pages sent to give me headache. My gods! Nothing better you can do?”.       Kiesul threw the “thing” on to the floor.

To hawk plaster of Paris idols was never his favourite time pass but hard business for keeping himself  alive

.

Ugly broken plaster dolls kept under the   old shelf awaited unknown future like the boys.

Nothing calmed Biko’s mind like books.  Getting second hand readable books from the vendor on the sidewalk  , read and return every Saturday for free.Biko called it the library. His mates didn’t bother to find out more. Biko read  books  all the free time he got.

Udit and Kiesul were ready for riding the dangerous track of destroying oneself.       Biko  read ,read until he fell asleep.

A loud knock on the tin door startled Biko. Suddenly he jumped to his feet.

From   outside emerged two policemen , one  sporting  the lathi in his left hand. soon Biko joined  Jina in the police station. The policemen were on the trail of Udit and Kiesul.

“Young men enjoy yourselves   till we find the other two. The sooner you give their details the less number of slaps I will give you. “                     The policeman shouted.

Time entered only very slowly, breaths seemed unable to travel into their lungs.

 

“You    urchin  you  are incredible. your photo is in today’s paper.  So you write  serious stuff during daytime and do serious crime at night.  “

The inspector  thought for a while before dialing on his mobile .

 

Jina  showed more regret  on  having  served as the one who  created trouble   for sensitive  innocent Biko than for his own wrong deeds.

“ Sir  Biko is not one among us, we are simply roommates just friends sharing a small dark damp room “

 

 

“Read to win”  had selected  Biko  as the overall champion in the national essay contest .I had the opportunity to give  him the medal.  Don’t you remember me? Am I  not correct?”

Asked the commissioner. Biko was  brought there by the inspector.

 

 

A car pulled up in front of the court for youngsters. “Sir are we late ? ”

No they have just finished the  procedures. We were at a vending machine. Biko now you are going with Mr. Das. Their trust will help you to build a  bright future.”

The inspector huggedBiko

“Good bye.”