Touch me
with the flame of an autumn
I witness the sage foliage
blazing without smoke
no odor of burnt skin
Leaves plummet in graveyard silence
wingless birds
Year after year
an unknowing wind spreads the embers
making me more insipid
The intransigence of death sounds itself
in the ennui of a stifled morn
watching each accursed bird
descend with dull thump
Now you can torch me
with the venom of love
Echinoderm
On the gentle beach juvenile waves gush in
Douse your tube feet with pizzazz
You feed on blue mussels and solitary hours
Pink arms fidget with their usual apathy
You seem to perceive the tinkling sounds
Rebounding within an aquatic abyss
Drowned sailor songs echo ancient storms
You were a slave the king-wave your tormentor
Douse your tube feet with pizzazz
You feed on blue mussels and solitary hours
Pink arms fidget with their usual apathy
You seem to perceive the tinkling sounds
Rebounding within an aquatic abyss
Drowned sailor songs echo ancient storms
You were a slave the king-wave your tormentor
Dawn (haiku)
light trickles in
through a fine cloud gap --
whistling tea kettle
the rickshaw puller
tightens his rug around him--
burning of leaves
through a fine cloud gap --
whistling tea kettle
the rickshaw puller
tightens his rug around him--
burning of leaves
Himalaya (Part II )
I met her somewhere in the foothills
she was seated in front of her bamboo-hut
basking in a January sun
her fingers nimbly weaving
pattern flowers
I was a traveler
fatigued by wintry winds
She queried my whereabouts
her voice sounding like that of faraway souls
Her eyes glittery and lucent
resembled those of a sculpture
carved from ice
In the intensifying silence
I envisioned cold death of a thousand
wingless words
I stammered
gave her a muffled reply
and she laughed out loud
And then there was an avalanche
she was seated in front of her bamboo-hut
basking in a January sun
her fingers nimbly weaving
pattern flowers
I was a traveler
fatigued by wintry winds
She queried my whereabouts
her voice sounding like that of faraway souls
Her eyes glittery and lucent
resembled those of a sculpture
carved from ice
In the intensifying silence
I envisioned cold death of a thousand
wingless words
I stammered
gave her a muffled reply
and she laughed out loud
And then there was an avalanche
Philippine Violet
we are mauve petals
wavering in late afternoon
the winter creaks like any other
loneliness a dried up firmament
deadened as archaic rocks
numb shadows irk me
there's no waterfall to talk to
we live alongside a milestone
masked with dead moss
gazing at an empty road
i recall the last clatter of horse-hooves
some gallant riders had passed by
in twilight gold
at times when the wind
waters memories
i doze off
wavering in late afternoon
the winter creaks like any other
loneliness a dried up firmament
deadened as archaic rocks
numb shadows irk me
there's no waterfall to talk to
we live alongside a milestone
masked with dead moss
gazing at an empty road
i recall the last clatter of horse-hooves
some gallant riders had passed by
in twilight gold
at times when the wind
waters memories
i doze off
Himalaya
I am an alien
in a world without words
weighed down by the quiet
staring blankly into the obscure
As light breaks the cordon of vagueness
and a radiant blood bathes ice--capped summits
crowned with dangling cloud-tufts
I search for syllables
The careless breeze
the flutter of a pheasant passing overhead
the chime of a distant monastery gong
pronounces the lull
A monk opens his thoughtful eyes
A poet starts scripting his verse
under unsullied azure
in a world without words
weighed down by the quiet
staring blankly into the obscure
As light breaks the cordon of vagueness
and a radiant blood bathes ice--capped summits
crowned with dangling cloud-tufts
I search for syllables
The careless breeze
the flutter of a pheasant passing overhead
the chime of a distant monastery gong
pronounces the lull
A monk opens his thoughtful eyes
A poet starts scripting his verse
under unsullied azure
The bloody idiot asks
If you had been to the grocers’
lately you must have noticed how
mutely he taps the keys of his laptop
Have you observed
the way his wrinkles get pronounced
the way his lips curve with an eagerness
to grasp the lilt and cadence of a threadbare life
At times he takes off his glasses
stares once to the left then once to the right
and then sighs and takes a deep breath
before resuming his quest
He goes on entwining his whims
while his brother a lean fellow with a leaden look
looks after worldly dealings with such robotic
accuracy that makes me doubt
Whether his younger kin is close to being
a two state device brimmed with curt ‘yes’s and ‘no’s
and who could only identify credits and debentures
Together they appear as if a pair of pigeons
one aged and bespectacled munching words for food
and the other a thinned down excuse of living
who doesn’t take his eyes off from his grains
Do you feel either of the two
can appreciate
the meaning of being alive
lately you must have noticed how
mutely he taps the keys of his laptop
Have you observed
the way his wrinkles get pronounced
the way his lips curve with an eagerness
to grasp the lilt and cadence of a threadbare life
At times he takes off his glasses
stares once to the left then once to the right
and then sighs and takes a deep breath
before resuming his quest
He goes on entwining his whims
while his brother a lean fellow with a leaden look
looks after worldly dealings with such robotic
accuracy that makes me doubt
Whether his younger kin is close to being
a two state device brimmed with curt ‘yes’s and ‘no’s
and who could only identify credits and debentures
Together they appear as if a pair of pigeons
one aged and bespectacled munching words for food
and the other a thinned down excuse of living
who doesn’t take his eyes off from his grains
Do you feel either of the two
can appreciate
the meaning of being alive
Latent
this dream that buds in me
billows like smoke column of joss sticks
i watch it soar and blend into the haze
dew-laden florets enthuse a silent choir
with their perfume
that’s when broken whispers weave melodies
that's how rehearsals commence
in my inattention
often a sitar starts to hum and guides
immigrant plots to reach inviting homes
yet the verve fizzes out
the heart beat softens
those sitar thrums tone down
and i revert back to ant-watching
billows like smoke column of joss sticks
i watch it soar and blend into the haze
dew-laden florets enthuse a silent choir
with their perfume
that’s when broken whispers weave melodies
that's how rehearsals commence
in my inattention
often a sitar starts to hum and guides
immigrant plots to reach inviting homes
yet the verve fizzes out
the heart beat softens
those sitar thrums tone down
and i revert back to ant-watching
Chiseled form
on a rare whim
you usher in a hesitant winter
he recounts the soundless
surrounds of glaciers and shows you fossils
the eventual destiny of bizarre leaves
he had unearthed
naively you play to the tune of icy winds
view the residual spring flaking off
you fabricate the sketch of a castle made of ether
before you realize the wise guest has left
and in secret he has taken with him
your cherished greens
you resemble a chiseled stone sculpture now
a grotesque décor fit for shipshape rooms
you usher in a hesitant winter
he recounts the soundless
surrounds of glaciers and shows you fossils
the eventual destiny of bizarre leaves
he had unearthed
naively you play to the tune of icy winds
view the residual spring flaking off
you fabricate the sketch of a castle made of ether
before you realize the wise guest has left
and in secret he has taken with him
your cherished greens
you resemble a chiseled stone sculpture now
a grotesque décor fit for shipshape rooms
Winter
it’s much better this way
that i’ve become accustomed
to the nerveless feel
of a porcelain bowl
with its ivory white purity
its saint-like shine
as if it had never been kissed by you
since its making
and will never be
again
that i’ve become accustomed
to the nerveless feel
of a porcelain bowl
with its ivory white purity
its saint-like shine
as if it had never been kissed by you
since its making
and will never be
again
Prayer
I have set sail in a dinghy
under a downcast sky
under furrowed gaze of clouds
Their low deep rumbles portend
impending perils
Sinister waves build up
heedfully contrive their misdeeds
before they lash against the hull
You the Omnipresent
the one who rules over lilt and rhythm
who delivers precepts to my unlearned muse
The seed of my invincible beliefs
Guide me
Guide me through this murk
I'm loaded with thinned words
and morsels of a brittle life
You the Omnipotent
make my oar relentless
under a downcast sky
under furrowed gaze of clouds
Their low deep rumbles portend
impending perils
Sinister waves build up
heedfully contrive their misdeeds
before they lash against the hull
You the Omnipresent
the one who rules over lilt and rhythm
who delivers precepts to my unlearned muse
The seed of my invincible beliefs
Guide me
Guide me through this murk
I'm loaded with thinned words
and morsels of a brittle life
You the Omnipotent
make my oar relentless
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