DAMMED LOVE!

This river bed runs dry
parched land of polite phrases
And phony facades.

This river never to meet the ocean.
Never to know its tide
reach for a reciprocation.
Never to know its breeze
seek your breath.
Never to graze gently
the lush green of love.
Never to be still
in deep waters
of underlying currents.
Never to be drawn in and lost
in the whirlpool of your passion.

Never to know
of my dammed love!

PREDICTIONS FOR A LAIDBACK PHILOSOPHER

The crowds moved around me
With purpose
Life led somewhere.
My own had settled
At the bottom of a teacup
In a pattern of uncertainty.

The sky held possibilities
My fist held fear.
The mist cleared
And the crystal ball showed
A transit period
When everything I touched
Turned to gold.

I crossed her palm with silver
And she read lines
On mine 
That criss-crossed
Into the star
I would be
When I reached for the skies.

She did not read my eyes
She did not read my thoughts
And I did not tell her
Of old habits
That die hard.

MIDWEEK WHIRLPOOL

Stupid, lousy Wednesday
Caught in the vortex of the mid week whirlpool
Sucked in helplessly
Bitten, swirled, deluged and driven
Found flung on the other side of the week
On the banks of another stupid, lousy Wednesday.

LOVE POEM

Plucking at the string of my senses
The highs and lows at your will
Knowing too surely
Your way around me
Sliding your hands across
To extract a note
Playing willy-nilly with my uncertainties
Till they stop swinging both ways
And turn helplessly towards you
The pain in my heart
Guiding my footsteps
My feet now certain
That my music lies
In that direction
My senses 
To your touch
A synchronized
Harmony.

I MUST GO

The seconds hand ticks
Each heartbeat.

Each heartbeat
A hope.

Each hope
A prayer.

Each prayer
A promise.

Each promise
A raindrop.

Each raindrop
A prism.

Each prism
The colors of my dreams.

Each dream
My smile.

Each smile
A knowledge.

That some day
It will all fall into place.

But for now
I must go.

RAPE

You were disbelieving, 

were you not?
In your innocence
You never imagined
Such things could happen

They weren't real.

Those near and dear to you

Were neither so near

Nor so dear.

Your screams echoed through empty skies

Birds flew away.

The wind blew hard

And branches swayed

Mother Earth smothered your terrified cries

Your body you realize

Is not a temple

Because there is no God.

Lowered to a commodity

Your body is not your own

One last thought remains

Mother, where are you?

The red rivulet

From your nostril

Declares

Nothing remains.

Glory

GLORY IN BUDDHA

Hey Buddha! How come there's light around you
Now, where exactly d'you hide the switch?
"Oh, that's the light of wisdom shining through
Comes of sitting still despite a twitch."

Hey Buddha! How come you sit cross legged for hours
It takes just minutes for me to get a cramp
"Oh, by the bestowing of celestial powers
I can sit like this despite the damp."

Hey Buddha! watcha doing here?
Your son needs his father to take him fishing
"Aw shucks! Aw Lord! Aw, of all that's dear!
To go back to him now you have me wishing!"

And so he got up and took off back home
Thinking all the way of his son and dear 'Yashudha'
Completely cured of his 'enlightenment syndrome'
And that's how Glory came to be living in the Buddha.

Glory

WITH YOU

 

He wove dreams with me and around me

I will take you to the river 

And make you a raft

You can lie there and float 

With the current

I'll lift you up by a rope to our own tree house

we will watch the blue moon together 

and hear the owl hoot

I will send you love letters on lotus leaves 

down the river

I will weave you flower garlands made of buttercups

There are open spaces in the forest 

where the bamboo bloomed and died

We will go to the stream where the wild animals drink. 

I will show you how the cheetah's eyes 

shine in the dark jungle

I will show you how to make baskets 

out of palm leaves

And I will make love to you 

among the flowers in the hillside 

where the birds sing