DOWN MY LANE

Down my lane

there are no strings

there are no 'musts'

it's your space

to be who you are - 

uncompromising

and uncompromised,

you breathe deeply

taking in freedom

with every breath.

Down my lane

there is secularism

where your chants and mantras

sit amicably by my rosaries

and I will not judge you

for  who you are

but seek to understand

what is it you need

what is it you're trying to say

'cause down my lane

is a life 

where there is only you

and your dreams.

PERFECT BLEND

my eyes meet yours 

in a perfect fit

my breathing in 

your breathing out

balanced in your warmth

my cold

my convexes

to your concaves

our four feet in one direction

synchronized disagreements

our smiles stretch

and go full circles

my entangled curls

around your face

and I wonder

where do you begin

and I end?

MARITAL DISBLISS

A seven-year itch

Has set in our marriage

Unable to tolerate each other

A cry for breathing space.

Love gone stale?

Like withered leaves

That fall off strong branches

With strength and resource in them to rejuvenate

A colourful spring

Hidden beauty of our brown Earth

Where all colours come from.

I would like to go to Moonar

On a honeymoon all by myself

With my poetry along for company

And think longingly of my husband at home

And miss him, and cry for him, and crave for him

So when I return, I will be a good wife

Noncrabby, nonnagging, nonnasty

Sobered and steady and ready to appreciate

And listen as he speaks of football matches and Governmental statistics.

MY POETRY CHAIN

I pick the ripple off the rivulet

The hope from birds’ eggs

The lush green off the forest firs

The speed off horses’ legs

The scent off the dewy rose

The blueness off the skies

The velvet off a puppy’s nose

The colors off butterflies

I pick the majesty off the mountain

The fire off the Sun

The wetness off the monsoon rain

The silver off the Moon

The warmth off a friendship

The core off a heart in love

The mother’s cloak of protection

The Saint’s reverence for God above

I pick the sweat off workers’ brows

Those beads of daily gain

And string them all into my verse

To make my Poetry Chain!

IN A CROWD

The cars sped,
traffic policeman
screams, screeches, halts
ragamuffin pestering me to buy flowers
mother tugs at my arm
come on! let's go!
the street lights are on
the guffaw of chai-drinking men
sounding bawdy jokes
the strange sense of deja vu prevails...
have I been here before?
same place, same people
 I turn in your direction
looking up to where you stand
devouring me with your eyes...

NARCISSUS

Everything is unto me. 

Even the eclipse. 

It could have come to predict my own predicament. 

If I don't have one, I will create one - just for the eclipse. 

And you know, those people in the corner shop? 

They're talking only about me. 

And that man, oh...I think he's going to say, "I love you!" 

If he isn't thinking that why is he looking at me that way.?

Why is he commenting like that on facebook? 

Ooooohhh!! 

Everything is about me. 

Yes, even the tides. 

Did you know the tide that went out took my happiness with it?

Yes! It came only for that. 

The stars, the moon, the sky, 

- and my boss.

Did you know he singled me out? 

He singled me out to find faults. 

What does that tell you? 

He likes singling me out. 

I tell you, everything is rigged. 

Everything is about me.

THE EMPTY BOX

It's an Empty Box.

We emptied it

Carefully

Because it’s time

We moved on with our lives

And there's no place in that

For a 'you and I'.

So, slowly there were

No tea times together

No talk times

No returned calls

No messages

No visits

No friendly handshakes

No shared laughter.

Heaped insults instead

And refusals

And deliberate misunderstandings

And scorn.

Till a day came

When we both knew

That the box was empty.

So empty

That we should have felt no qualms

When we sealed it tight

And decided to throw it away

Once and for all.

But then we looked at each other

Eyes bright with unshed tears

pleading

"Just a little while more"

And the box remains

Not empty at all...