blossoms

[Tanka]

**

his parting words
hearts share loneliness
entice her
the fiery racemes
stab deep inside


**

croons the myna
amid parrot tree florets
unmindfully
she stitches garlands
with keel-shaped petals

**

illusions

[Tanka]

**
watching
the unsullied dawn
her blushed smile
he gifts her
a red corundum

**

in starlight
she hunts all corners
for her lost coins
these alleys weren’t vague
last full moon night

**

differ
from the worldly-minded
silver sickle tells her
spinning dreamy threads
could be great occupation

**
(c)Arunansu Banerjee

the negatives

a predator
lurks near him
his shadow

*

for ever
the way is lost
towards the star
shining bright
in deathly gloom

*

pages
of memories
fade like autumn posy
the green turns auburn in meadows
too soon

**********

(c) Arunansu Banerjee

vignettes

[ Tanka ]

I.

arid river bed
in v-shaped valley
awaits monsoon
for the wind to rattle
her name

II.

meet you again
near the lantern shrub
she told the sun
he searches for a poem
every morning

III.

akin to
an oyster's pearl
fondled by waves
his chiseled verses
remain password protected

(c) Arunansu Banerjee

options

[Tanka]

to chose between
a daffodil and a daisy--
the obsessed Narcissus
or the ‘eye of a day’

walk
the lonely path
sighs an autumn
the poet finds
a new door, every hour

(c)Arunansu Banerjee

frustration [ Senryu ]

try bad manners
urges the wine
to a poet

untamed lion
growls at the mirror
receives a sneer

(c)Arunansu Banerjee

Blackberries (Erasure Poem)

In its first year
a new stem
grows vigorously
arching or trailing along the ground
bearing large palmately leaves;

it does not produce any flowers.


In its second year,
the stem does not grow longer

but the flower buds break

this iciness

**
bluebird hops
studies bare branches
a pauper’s song

**
croons
the weary traveler
tale of a torn leaf

**
till next fall
no bloodshed
promises a maple

**
your breath
in the filmy fog
disturbs a pond

**
(c)Arunansu Banerjee 2010

Departure Cherita

my train sets off

the platform moves backward
i flip through a guidebook

sun follows me
behind a mangrove wall
i sip the morning


(c) Arunansu Banerjee, 2010

the celestial body

[Tanka]
*
saunters
on an exoplanet
the verse-writer
magma stream oozes
from his depth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

he resides
in a star's bright
light years away
distanced from dear earth
from clouds, from rain
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c)Arunansu Banerjee

Musings... on early Jan

[Tanka]
*
hid her face
her wavy tresses
in nightly breeze
the moon vanished
from a poet's view

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a lark sings
springtime tune
at dead hour
my toes explore
icy corners

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

newborn day
rests on windowsill
lips curved
a tint of smile
in obscureness

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c)Arunansu Banerjee 2010

'To go the way of the dodo'(Prose Poetry)

The Zoo Garden's Curator appeared helpless. The recent discovery, a grey-feathered dodo, probably the last living specimen of its kind, has stopped taking its food. Veterinary experts had been summoned, special diet-charts prepared - fruits, grains, insects, even other bird-meat were offered, yet all of those have politely been overlooked. One double-chinned Ornithologist thought that the shy bird must be missing its natural habitat and might be puzzled by the sight of so many overzealous onlookers. He didn't rule out the possibility of the dodo suffering from acute mental depression, being set-apart from its soul-mate, had there been one. The Curator nodded knowingly and added: a twelve member search team had been dispatched that very morning to the islands near Mauritius; an exploration to find out whether or not any more members of the rare clan could be found alive. "We will leave no stones unturned," asserted the crestfallen man, "Therefore-"

"Therefore, Ladies & Gentlemen," interrupted a lean bespectacled person, "Therefore, we MUST find a way to soothe the nerves of the loner. Watch its eyes, watch the dreamy glint... There, that's the philosopher's look!

O Angel of Love, thy grief shines beamingly, a candle glows through the darkest hours of Night. O Dove, have pity on the wretched human folk who hath dared to make thee a mere prisoner! Immerse thy sorrow within the nectar of rhymes, make thy life a saint's solitude. Let me offer thee my humble verses.” He flashed out a few torn pages from his pocket and flung them towards the bird. To the utter disbelief of the conglomeration, it slowly moved, crouched forward, picked up one poem and gulped it down its throat. Within the next fourteen minutes, fourteen more poems found their way to its stomach. A pandemonium followed.

Since last reported, law keepers have cordoned off the area, and public-viewing of the spectacle has been suspended indefinitely. In the meantime, the bird has gobbled up the entire notebook, enriched with poesy.
(c)Arunansu Banerjee 2010

Feelings... on Jan 2

[Tanka ]

in the mist
Stars-of-Bethlehem
still look bright
pages of a year
I’ve just recited

*

the blue moon
being eroded
every night
I’m trying to live
on starlight alone

*

confetti hearts
scattered
on the floor
a lazy sunshine
crawls with shadows

***

[ Stars-of-Bethlehem : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithogalum ]
(c)Arunansu Banerjee

Feelings on Jan 1

[ Tanka ]


she grew quiet
as I recited
the poem
that took a lifetime
to sprout

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

her silence
her decade-old smile
warms me up
the morning coffee
fills a ten year void

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c)Arunansu Banerjee 2010

Three dwarfs

[ Tanka ]

bumble bees
on a whirlwind tour
churchyard path
dusted with pollen
light and shadows drift

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i loiter
till the fog gifts me
red lilies
a butterfly’s nest
beside a milestone

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i search for
rose petals
within a book
timeworn pages show
dinosaur footprints

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c)Arunansu Banerjee 2010