Horses and Dreams

When they discovered the path was rough

The surface stony and the ride uphill

They dismounted their steeds

Unleashed their reigns

and left them in their stables

and on they went with their journey.

They were sons of their parents

Brothers of their sisters and the loved ones

Of their brides to be, whom they assigned

The task of weaving dreams into fabric

Of their lives. There they went

As they wanted to surf the winds

And ride the waves and taste the whiff

Of flash in the dark. Restive they were

And I saw them rising, high on the cliff

Up and down and upside down

They screamed aloud when they saw
the bolts of flashes, the silver rain

And golden rivers all brimful

Ever flowing. Disillusioned as they were

They lost in the sound of jewels in stones

Pearls in sand and rovers on the land

Hands they lost that picked the dust

Of shooting stars, and left with their only arms

Hence they were lost amid the sea of crowds

Headless they worked like bees in the hive

Till their body and soul were alive.

Hearts they lost, they lost their dreams

They lost their horses that lost their screams

They lost their loves they lost their grief

And left with the banknote all in a sheaf.

Ride your horses with your dreams and aspirations

They need be led to the end they desire.

Leave them not till you are able

Keep your horses under you and not in stable.

Under the Greenwood Tree

Under that greenwood tree

Where shadows grow thicker

Than the shades and the colours,

Cooler than the breeze of easterly winds

The seeds of musky flowers

Tend and groom themselves to grow

Through the weedy thicket of woody grove

And greet the birds and bees alike

Under that greenwood tree

Wind that rushed to me from you

Carrying the first whif of fragrance

To make me fall in love with you

Spellbound I fell into the trance of sleep

To see you come in my dreams in the rob

Of finest silk that slipped your ankle

To give me a glimpse of you tiny feet

Beautiful as it seemed with all the

Jewels that went to adorned the steps

You take on the stony street, the tapping

Of the heel that tapped my heart and

In the throbs I hear the name you bore

In my mind scribbled to last.

The shellac coloured hair that fall

In tresses and curls and waves and all

Strands of which always struggle

To disentangle from the weaves of silk

Vie with each other to protect the dignity

And modesty you carry as you walk

Ever young ever fresh as new stalk

The kiss of time on my hand

The sands of time hold you fast

Keep you alive in your footprints

That you left on the sand behind

The time and tide were all there

To wash you into oblivion.

Under the greenwood tree I nourished

Desires and dreams to see them flourished

I tied them all one by one to the leaves

And have them hung to see them grow

With the greenwood tree of life

All my dreams, all my desires

Remained there all clung to the dry twig

That had died long ago and waiting for

To fall this autumn, the tree outgrew

My dreams and desires and with the tree

There I was a cobweb shaped old man

With the strands of grey hair.

Under the greenwood tree, I will come

To sit for while and reflect on my past

To count the air and breathe my last.

Believe it or not

Believe it or not

Who told you,
When you were born
about the God?

You were born
brought into this world
as free spirit
to fight with fists
and move with your tiny footsteps
to feel the rough surface
under your soles.

Rudderless was your boat
which was ready to surf
along the waves
of ocean unbounded
to taste the winds of the thunder.

Who kidnapped you
and your mind
was made to believe
to look for a black cat
in a dark room
where it was not.

Your entire life was gone
in defending what is not there
first they made your boat to capsize
then they brought you up
to believe
every thing they wanted
the others to believe.

Believe it or not.

Whose is it?

Whose is it?

Whose is it and who are those

Who own as they chose

To be the masters of the land

The water, river and the sand

Homeless they make me as they leave

Bereft of everything they tease

They do as they please

Hearing not you and me

You are you and I am me.

Whose is it and what is there?

Not mine, as I stare

They need me to watch

As they sleep,

Peacefully with their lavish dreams

They live, they drink and they dine

Telling everybody, ‘I’m fine’

To myself, I am alone and shy

Ashamed I am as I cry

Whose is it? If not mine

It is thine, it is thine so it is fine

Silverstruck all I need

Some jingles of coins the sound of which

I feed, my father mother and baby dear

With the gun I stand on the lines near

Full of venom of enmity

You for enormity, me for petty. 

One

One

Wondering at the wonderful

My amazement knows no bounds

Such is the vast scale

At which you lie

Not motionless

But agog with a going

Moving towards unknown

From unknown to another unknown

It leaves bewildered

Amazed

Astounded

Patient

With a silent music

The rhythm that tones with time

Rhymes with the whole

That cannot be perceived

Beyond all concepts

Still going

On and on

From onward to onward

Here and there

My tiny hands want to touch you

Want to feel you

Want to hear you

So big,

So wonderful

So huge

My longest word will fail to catch

My cleverest phrase will fail to reach

My shrewd intelligence fails

I hold my breath

To close my eyes

And watch you all in one

A single whole

I feel you

And with my open arms

I clasps you

I holds you so near

To the my bosom

You become one with me

Me with you and

All one

Simply one

How solitary we are

As one.

Hero

Hero

I work like you
just as you till the land
dig the sand
break stones
clear the hills
cut the wood
or the trees
or the hit the hammer
hard on the anvil
to soften the iron sheet
or take the bricks
from the cast
and fire them for the street
I work like you
all for money
the money that will warm the hearth
back at home
the money that will buy
milk for the toddler
ration for the kitchen
that will pay the school fee
and the carriage
that takes my child to school
or the power bills
that keep my house lit in the dark
I work like you
all for money
you at your place
me at my place
they call me soldier
in camouflage
the country
the nation
the patriot
all come later
first comes the face of my child
then her mother
and then my mother
whom I left worried
back at home

They say I guard the country
they say, I serve the nation
they say, the nation is proud of me
they say, I am hero
they say I am great
these things sound better
for the applause
or for the books
misnomers they are
But I know
I serve the orders
obey the commands
as demanded by commander
I hear the words ‘fire’
and I don’t know what it is
my benumbed finger becomes hard
on the trigger
I don’t know what happens
I work and I know
I have to work
there is no other way
except to work.

2013

The Year 2012

Ticking its way
Tick tock tick

The watch on wall

watched it all

to make it happen

the year in months

and days and hours

second by second

it allowed to pass

slipping it down

in the history

where the mysteries

of all time

remains at the bottom

of  the abyss

The year 2012 is going

with all its fears

that threatened the peace

and pace of mankind

that raised a dust of fear

making it terrible for all

with the prediction of fall

of doom and death

that lurched the minds of many

on the earth

the year is going to be

bygone for all.

Hopes survived it all

not perished still

waiting for the sun

to rise on the dark horizon

to bring a shimmering light

Ring in 2013

a little cute

all pink and rosy

the beautiful lamb

that grows the wool

that allows you

to weave

dreams and desires

in the fabric of hope

The star spangled

sky of the previous night

sang for it

The sang the song of New Year.