WHAT MAKES YOU TICK?

now that i like you,
let me rip you apart
and see what makes you tick.
are you a freak
that you go to maniacal levels
to do something?
(what makes you tick?)
or are you ambitious
that you want to rule the world?
(what makes you tick?)
do you love me?
if you did, wouldn't you...
(what makes you tick?)
if you don't love me,
are you playing games
with my heart,
you nasty little...!!! # ** 
(what makes you tick?)
look, suppose i make a bargain
will you change your ways?
(what makes you tick?)
you're a woman
and all women are...
(what makes you tick?)
let me give you a bone
and see if you will take it
(what makes you tick?)
if i looked at another woman, then perhaps??
(what makes you tick?)
it's important that i know
what makes you tick
cause i have to dismantle you
and throw you away.

WHERE EVEN EAGLES DON'T DARE

In the silent place in my mind -
you don't exist

your narrow, four-lined
square, boxed
suffocating point of view 
does not exist

your inability to comprehend 
any world beyond that
does not exist

your funny little 
self-righteous speeches
from there
don't exist

your rigid rules
of shoulds and should nots
don't exist

your presumptuous
misnomer
as grandeur
your pomposity 
does not exist

your crooked sadistic jokes
that thankfully 
I don't get
don't exist

your unquenchable wrath
at my freed soul
flying high.......high!!!
and your helpless inability to control 
me
does not exist

'Cause in that little space in my mind
is a laugh
of unbridled mirth
at your childish 
and futile efforts
to chase shadows
and try to conquer
the UNCONQUERABLE.

CHERRY BLOSSOM

For a moment,

Let me step out of my mask

and intellectual cap

and allow

those insecurities

and vulnerabilities

to show in my eyes.

For once

let me be myself -

a child-woman

as tender

as a petal

of cherry blossom.

made for love

before

I don my mask

and intellectual cap

and brace myself

to face the world.

MAYA

Thank you
For welcoming me into your world
That will never be mine -
For that glimpse of a Heaven
Ruled by a different Sun.

I've tried to so hard 
To splinter my brain
In twos and threes
To help hallucinate 
A reality
Even striving foolishly
To preserve and treasure
The stagnant waters 
Of your precious misquotes.
Collecting gratefully
Your impersonally distributed
Bits of happiness
And calling them my own.

My mind has sought
To reflect yours
In silhouettes of 
Considered possibilities.

Wheels move after wheels
And some more wheels follow
On parallel lines of different destinations - 
And yet
We still persist in following
Step by step
Step by step
This confusing math
Of miscalculations.

SEDUCTION

Leave it.
The game of love burns!
In the encroaching space
Of that hut
A storm within and without
The wick turned low
Casting ominous shadows

Deceptive
The tongues of flame
Disguised as they are
As your lily-white purity
Your pristine virginity
Your baffling innocence.
Your eyes so dark
And all too big for your face.

I keep against the wall
Against the dancing shadows
Just out of reach
Of those flicking arrows -
But your freed soul
Is a forest fire
Burning all
Only aware of your own desire -
Child-like, reaching out
Enveloping, engulfing.

I cannot escape.
 Hovering now on the brink
Of Life and Death
A bright light beckons
Light without heat
Benign, well-known shadows
Welcome.  I smile
A gentle smile and give up.
And give in
To the all-consuming lethargy.
The flame flickers
One last time
And dies……..

Forever.

My soul, a thread of white smoke.
The Sunrise now
The Hand
That lights my pyre.

MARIGOLDS!

(Dedicated to Marigolds - my favourite flowers)

when I die

look at the sky

in a fluffy white cloud

i'll be passing by

when i die

the trees will bend

and i'll be the whisper

that blows the wind

when i die

a lark will sing

my soul in rapture

of eternal spring

when i die

a panorama unfolds

as far as eye can see

Marigolds!!

GOOD MORNING!

The mountain frowned 
Into the dark
"I wonder how long he'll take?"

"He'll come!  He'll come!
'fore the turn of clock"
Assured the tranquil lake.

The little birds chirped
"Who else do we ask
If he appearance does not make?"

'No one else can do his task"
Replied the loyal lake.

The trees worried
"How do we cook
If he decides to forsake?"

"Oh, he'll be here
By hook or crook"
Replied the soothing lake.

The mountain said,
Yours no loss of gains
By his little mistake."

"That's not true - 
I make the rains"
Replied the patient lake.

"Hello there!"
And the Sun rose up
Rays disbanding in the sky
Gorgeous splashes 
Of colour lit up
The world
And the mountain high.

And the happy lake
Reflected all
While the others hurried to explain
"Twas the mountain's fault -
He gave the call
But we'll never mistake again!"

"Why blackguards you!
You cheating lot!"
The angry mountain cried.

But the birds twittered
The lake rippled
And the Sun
Quite sunnily smiled.

...HE LOVED HER ALL THE MORE!

Rocked by a love so strong and yet so tender,
He gazed and gazed in the most lovesick fashion.
But she knew that if she had to give him back to her,
Must gently and yet firmly thwart all his passion.

And with such pain in her love-filled heart,
She turned away, to make for the door,
His gaze filled the distance from each other apart,
Pleading that he could bear his love for her no more.

But with some strength from God within her growing,
Turned firmly away from his warm cocoon’s lure,
Never to walk down his route ever again, yet knowing
That he loved her all the more!

THE MAIDEN AND HER LYRE

Golden gates! A wanderer's prayer

And as I went beyond

Hardly expecting the sight before me –

The most wondrous lawn!

Flowers and fruit trees abounded

Spring was eternally there,

And besides a fountain, playing

On her lyre, a maiden fair.

Unruly hair struggling against

Coiled knot so tight,

While escaped tendrils laughed

All round her face in delight.

Brows against forehead –

Dark arches of _expression.

In speechless conversation

A most comprehensive lesson.

Doe-like eyes,

Lurking fear their loyal guard,

Yet that truant hint of friendship,

To contain he finds so hard!

God fell short of perfection

For the nose that he would need

Threw down chisel, frustrated,

From the scene to recede.

Lay himself down and rested

And dreamt the perfection

Refreshed, skill reaffirmed,

Went back to it once again!

A thousand blossoms on deceiving lips,

As they sat upon the chin

For well they distracted unsuspecting mind

From the string of pearls within.

And innocent beauty sat there,

Of her effect quite unaware,

And music left her subtle fingers,

And slipped into the lyre.

And Sun forgot he was due west,

And the winds forgot the clouds

Squirrels forgot to collect their nuts,

And flowers in blooming paused.

Birds ignored angry open mouths,

And trees, their leaves in delight danced,

The water sang a gurgling song

And deers – in joy they pranced.

No clocks to harness their harmony,

No mundane needs to meet,

No omens of impending disaster

For no disaster down their street.

I wish that I had stayed there

My strung up soul to unwind

But though Heaven's gates are still far away,

There's eternity on my mind.