evening wakes up to the
oddest shade of summer, and
i kick specks of dust to the
sky where they hang silently
like shining stars. one, two, three
and now, look, a million –
undifferentiated.
no pattern to follow, they
look at me inquiringly.
i laugh, and kick a few more
up into the sky. goodbye
i say and i look toward
the perfect horizon, where
a bird dances to its own
odd and summery music, and
drifts all the way to paradise.
Categories: Poetry
the sound of rain is a thought in my mind
grumbling
tumbling
singing
splashing
mingling
out of the blackness of the sky, a new god
like others before him
same old
tame mould
so cold
i won’t enfold
in the rain, no play
to this god, no pray
i am astray
i lose myself in my little island
i go missing
no more masked gods for me
the sound of rain is a thought in my mind
a gentle, reassuring song
out of the blackness of the sky, a new god
him i won’t worship
hiding in my little island, i wait for the drama to end
Categories: Poetry
the moon is silent tonight.
maybe, the confused wind whispers,
he will sing again. i smile
at the moon—nobody knows
that we have taken refuge in silence.
Categories: Poetry
Your kiss, years later, lingers still
On my trembling lips;
Doomed am I
To a lifetime of love.
Concrete, neon, plastic,
Tetrapods in the sea,
Dreams and disasters—
Memories of these, and
My love for you, haunt me.
A thousand miles away,
In a dry land,
I am damp inside.
This one’s on Mumbai. I wrote it a few days ago, when it was raining in Delhi.
Categories: Confessions · People, Places · Poetry
Yawn. I’m bored. Got nothing to do. I’ve been sitting at my desk, writing poems, since morning. I edited this tiny thing a few hours ago. It’s probably not good but I like it because it contains only one sentence.
It is a dark night, and
my eyes ache—
not from the tears I’ve shed
(for out of my eyes have spilled
none)
but from the tears I’ve kept.
Categories: Poetry
Countless burning morns
found me beside a simmering brook
that sang to me, and
danced with me;
I was such a happy fool!
One dreamy summer night I walked
by the fretful hem
of the sea’s blue gown;
when Love met me there, brighter
than the moon that hung above my head,
I gave him everything.
I gave Love everything I had.
Categories: Poetry
For ‘Strawberry’, who, like me, still doesn’t know what the hell happened.
your plastic smile gives off
a bitter odour in the untimely summer
rain. i
shrug; not for me
things of stolen beauty.
i dip my fingers in a bowlful of words—they
keep me sane. you
bite the notes of rapture that rise in my head.
(and, suddenly, every
place inside me
is anti-utopia.)
splinters of my dappled heart are strewn all over
our little confetti-laden
coffee table.
your terriblebrown voice cuts
through the trace of a twirl.
(it was lingering over
my fretful toes, and now it’s gone.)
i slip into another world, away
from this tirelonesome
reality, and i
start worrying about my
chipped nails.
Something reminded me of my school days yesterday; so, I ploughed through my journal and stumbled across a particularly interesting piece of prose (dated August 2006). I just made a poem out of it, and this is what I ended up with. The expression “chipped nails” didn’t appear in the original piece—I borrowed it from my recent conversation with ‘Bindi’.
Many thanks to ‘Bindi’ for tossing the words “chipped nails” at me, and for dancing with me even after the music stopped. And to ‘Information Sponge’ who, unknowingly, for a second time, made me come across a forgotten piece of work.
Categories: Confessions · Poetry
To ‘Bindi’, who said that the poem was at once “cool and stoney”.
Wonderbloodyful night
Of unsaid goodbyes and shattered eyes,
Of lengths of rope and sharp knives.
Quick and easy.
One. Two. Three.
Justlikethat.
And, maybe, a pirouette or two beforehand
Merely for effect.
Categories: Poetry
Gravity reigned around me.
A rose-coloured cloud
Stretched out its hand,
And I spread my wings
Wide open.
I reached out,
Took hold,
Took flight.
I unbecame in the moonlight.
Written in 2006. The first line of this piece has been used, in a different context, in a poem that I wrote earlier this month.
Categories: Poetry
No succulent taste
Of pleasurable flights.
Gravity reigns around me.
Not for me
The comfort of prayer.
In shadowy lanes linger
The watery moon and I—
Two Godless creatures.
No plain thing
I let my story be.
Every sunny note of summer
Embellishes this thing I wear:
The mask of Life.
Categories: Poetry
