loosened
dandelion tufts
sail in the breeze
my wife’s wheelchair
makes a creaking sound
**
the room
devoid of words
carpeted with dust
it's still ten past nine
behind a plastic bouquet
**
rain brings
known scent
of freshened earth
on a pond surface
circles overlap, and fade
**
[ Title inspired from U2's "All that you can't leave behind"]
Storm Tanka
(TANKA)
I.
cover the path
with red petals
beside my window
your unbridled hair
rustles through branches
II.
your tears
bathe the earth
fill up potholes
not the darkened corner
in your eye
III.
you breathe your last
i get consumed
in silence
electron-arcs
rip shadows apart
I.
cover the path
with red petals
beside my window
your unbridled hair
rustles through branches
II.
your tears
bathe the earth
fill up potholes
not the darkened corner
in your eye
III.
you breathe your last
i get consumed
in silence
electron-arcs
rip shadows apart
Fade out
A nagging drizzle
bathes pinnate leaves,
I enjoy the luxury
to loiter with my beliefs
as I listen to the verbal opulence
of raindrops
that gather inside an earthen pot.
A melancholy flute
guides me to a little flower shop,
the wind informs
about a plane crash in Mangalore,
over a hundred voices
going silent in the haze,
over a hundred vessels
getting emptied in the rain.
bathes pinnate leaves,
I enjoy the luxury
to loiter with my beliefs
as I listen to the verbal opulence
of raindrops
that gather inside an earthen pot.
A melancholy flute
guides me to a little flower shop,
the wind informs
about a plane crash in Mangalore,
over a hundred voices
going silent in the haze,
over a hundred vessels
getting emptied in the rain.
the impasse
Had Jesse Owens tried his hand
as a sharecropper when at high school,
he might have ended up
being a landlord himself.
Instead, he chose the track as his lifeline.
Within forty-five minutes
his soaring resolve
made him a monarch.
Had I joined the service of a clerical staff
years ago, I might have been
by now, the head of a blissful family
with weepy kids and a beaming wife.
Owens didn’t take long to perceive
his ‘inner potential’.
Neither did Dylan.
Nor did Neruda.
Only, the literary journals
where I send essays, poems & short stories
do not seem to care
to reply.
as a sharecropper when at high school,
he might have ended up
being a landlord himself.
Instead, he chose the track as his lifeline.
Within forty-five minutes
his soaring resolve
made him a monarch.
Had I joined the service of a clerical staff
years ago, I might have been
by now, the head of a blissful family
with weepy kids and a beaming wife.
Owens didn’t take long to perceive
his ‘inner potential’.
Neither did Dylan.
Nor did Neruda.
Only, the literary journals
where I send essays, poems & short stories
do not seem to care
to reply.
When words are not enough
Brother, all my life
I’ve painted sunflowers, irises, wheat fields
rooftops, potato-eaters and the like.
But see, what the world has given me in return -
one scorching bullet-wound in my chest!
Watch the blood, so real, so down-to-earth
like the filthy woman in the old brothel ...
I can sense the curtain coming down,
a gargantuan shadow eclipsing my view.
I needed to die in an open field
free from the people lurking within
your half-lit bylanes.
Let it be then, brother, let it be.
Though the sadness of severing my ties
from these meadows glittering in July,
the cypress, the orchards
the green fairy absinthe,
Will last forever.
I’ve painted sunflowers, irises, wheat fields
rooftops, potato-eaters and the like.
But see, what the world has given me in return -
one scorching bullet-wound in my chest!
Watch the blood, so real, so down-to-earth
like the filthy woman in the old brothel ...
I can sense the curtain coming down,
a gargantuan shadow eclipsing my view.
I needed to die in an open field
free from the people lurking within
your half-lit bylanes.
Let it be then, brother, let it be.
Though the sadness of severing my ties
from these meadows glittering in July,
the cypress, the orchards
the green fairy absinthe,
Will last forever.
'grip tightly'
don't let go
the lifeline
-my frantic appeals
meet with silence
I feel like standing alone
on the riverside
watching a night sky sans moon's nectar
Had I known
the language of water particles
I might have fathomed their needs
-do they speak
of small revolutions-in-wait,
the insignificant uprisings
that languish
inside a cul-de-sac of passive sighs?
A few words approach me,
scrutinize me
then recede
A petite shooting star
falls into my hand
and slips through my fingers
I curse my inability
to hold on
(c)Arunansu Banerjee
the lifeline
-my frantic appeals
meet with silence
I feel like standing alone
on the riverside
watching a night sky sans moon's nectar
Had I known
the language of water particles
I might have fathomed their needs
-do they speak
of small revolutions-in-wait,
the insignificant uprisings
that languish
inside a cul-de-sac of passive sighs?
A few words approach me,
scrutinize me
then recede
A petite shooting star
falls into my hand
and slips through my fingers
I curse my inability
to hold on
(c)Arunansu Banerjee
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
**
**
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
**
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 platform moves backward
i flip through a guidebook
sun follows me
behind a mangrove wall
i sip the morning
(c) Arunansu Banerjee, 2010
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