half moon (Haiku)

half moon...
neither 'yes' nor 'no'
in her smile

fairies dancing (Haiku)

fairies dancing
in the summer breeze
dandelion seeds 

it all started (Tanka)

it all started
with a nagging rain
that slowed...
our words drowned out
in a cloudburst

your smile (Haiku)

your smile
soap bubbles
disappearing

more COVID deaths (Haiku)

more COVID deaths--
peacocks dancing
in a Mumbai street

no moon... (Haiku)


no moon...
a koel calls out
from the void


lockdown (Tanka)

lockdown
lifts the veil
after ages
distant mountains shine
in Jalandhar sky

a leopard prowls (Haiku)

a leopard prowls
on a locked-down street —
stay home, stay safe

full moon (Haiku)

full moon
frequent calls
of a koel

An hour away from Home (Tanka Sequence)

no longer
did she feel hunger or pain
only a voice
in her head chattered on
'an hour's walk more, just an hour'


braving thirst
and unsparing sun
they returned home...
all but little Makdam
she left for a land unknown


like a wind-up toy
she staggered and fell...
so near she came
so far she remained
an hour away from home



[A 12-year-old girl named Jamlo Makdam died after walking nearly 150 km from Telangana to her native district in Chhattisgarh, because of the extended nationwide lockdown to fight coronavirus. She worked in chilli fields to earn for her family.]

Tanka

born with a clubfoot
after a foggy night
in Bhopal,
she meets her end
on a foggy night in Vizag

cocoon days (Haiku)

cocoon days...
now and then
a flutter

Salvator Mundi


the mundus
is way too simple
to be Leonardo's
Christ looks on
as the wildfire rages

church pews




church pews
filled with photos
of absentees . . .
the melody resounds
'He is not here; He is risen.'

sharing (tanka)

sharing a kiss
through surgical masks
on a deserted highway
tasting love
amidst the hour of plague

no one (Tanka)

no one 
can ever hold you
as I do
-only I can measure
your fragility

Haiku

her tired smile
after chemo
leaves fall

these days (tanka)

these days
the mist rarely clears
all i see
are multi-hued forms
of fading dolls
 
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