Dark and Light

Walking beside the silver brook
Beneath a swaying green canopy
Over the soft bed of bluebells
Pillowed with golden sun followers

Snowfall of pheromones
Chocolat and copper kiss
Spunky webs and unseen tears
Scaly heart seeking anchor

Of two-fanged curses
And clawy reach of fate
Dark lofts and attic corners
Scavenging humanity’s filth
In the indifferent darkness

Times past and journeyed
Times awaited in hope’s abyss
Life-string as a puppet
Of desire and ambition

Of forbidden loves
And over-cooked angst
Like crumbling waffles

A tear drop of gratitude
A tear drop of regret
Choices made and abandoned
Of alluring and thoughtful roads…

The enticing quiet breeze lures
I slumber deep in the unbenown

Clauses

For, those with veiled eyes -
Will count the thorns on a rose
Will see the half-empty glass
And dunes, not the oasis beyond
Will see malice in kindness
And threats in helping hands

For, those with Is -
Are like horse eyes
Fail to see the other side
Are like the sun at night
Fail to see the other view

For, those with egos -
Will be blind to brutal honesty
And see only the sunnier side
Will consider wake up calls
As betrayal in friendly arms

For those who forget -
Ambitions are pickled from sweet mistakes
Superficial friends are not for rainy weekends

Strayed

Faceless
Nameless
In the grey alley
Behind crusty facades
Wet with twilight rain

Where They reign;
A spattering of feverish lurkers

Escape
or
Exile

That red -
A blood trail
or
Temple ashes

In my mind or
On the street

Subverted truth
Decorated truth
Plain white lies
In self service

Mind's release of endorphins
Quenching conjuring lips

Ifs

Roads uneven, unwalked
Words unspoke, unthought
Smiles unfast, untimely
Glances unmet, unheld

Losses unlost unknown.

Dot

Off my rocker
In the imagery of shackles
How absurd
The venom of innocence

Tight fists
Clenched lips
Clipped tones

A litany of damns
Anger at the cosmos
At blurry lines of destiny
That rule so mercilessly

Karmic punishment
For riles of a life past

The dues are paid
Unwrinkle my brow
No more ransom
With each exhaled breath

Damn precognition
Hold of invisible threads

The waiting dots, darkens my soul
Countdown to a wretched deliverance

30 Years

A comma in the straight line
A semi-colon before going on

One more waiting room
In yet another waystation

Cheap soapsuds for my weary back
Bitter coffee for tired tastebuds
A couldnt-care-less uneven bed

Long breath of reflection
Of gratitudes & regrets
Of scars collected enroute
Of soothing hushes in ears

To ruminate and reflect; only
For an exhaled breath of time

I will linger on the flowers
See blessings in the petals
Troubles will be flicked off
Like lint off my worn jacket

The journey wears me down
The path entices and mocks

Pick up the bags and pick-me-up
Duty calls - a life to be lived

Coiled

Vice clench of uncertainty
Late bite of the tongue
Constant flickering air
Underneath the windpipe

Thought-clouds in the head
Disturbia behind wakeful eyes
Ghost pain on nerve points

Crash of external vibes
Against dense hide of survival

Twitching feet
Tapping fingers
Shifty eyes
Licking lips

Invisible flinches
Mementos gathered over time

Tracks

Green, wet and golden Chertala
Red warmth in deep Barbil mines
Dussera fun in heating Rourkela

Of missed buses in Bhubaneshwar
And unravelling vulnerability
New promises in sweaty Cuttack
Revered sanctuary of Ravenshaw
Gifting new lives and forever friends

Push and pull - a new perspective
Anchors laid down - visions clear

Onwards to challenging Dhenkanal
Afternoon mirages in Raipur
And cricket live in Nagpur
Sought and found in Bhopal

New chapters - Evernew questions
Precious life lessons learnt

Uproot to root in Bangalore
Both, pitstop and temple
In pursuit of happyness
Siren call of love and want
Answered, watered and fostered

Tales of lands traversed; never seen
Straight lines of dusty train rides
Voyages of languages and worlds

Forever seeking
Finally living...

My Mother

Cast in life's wild waters
Lone girl amongst strangers
Sat alone with worry lines
In a sterilised white house
As all heavens poured down

Fickle lamp lights
Overlapping darkness
Reverberating thunders

An impatient insider
Waters come calling
No knocks of warning

Call it foresight
Blueprint of a life
Future foreseen
In swirling window panes
And infant muddy puddles

Worried whitecoats
Flurrying footsteps
Still silent strong
Legacy longingly coveted
Yet only half-bequeathed
To red squawking heir
Lone girl amidst 30 males

Dawn of awakening promises
Of strength and ambitions
Anchor to the lone sailor
Ploughing on coconut sands
Bordering long distant shores