His Slender tender shoulders
Shoulder the responsibility of his family
Vibrant orange cartoon print shirt
A mere reminder of his childhood
The jute sheet he owns
A spread of colours and shapes
Of many vegetables
He sells every morning
To add to the earnings
He has learned the trade young
Captivating, his innocence

Unleash the words
Truthful and mindful
But causing hurt
As you sow, so shall you reap
The fruits borne, instantaneously
To be consumed alone
Never left for posterity
A pact with the divine, as a child sealed
To be at peace

🌿✨✨🌿

Anger and grief
Lethal the combination
Can either run you down
Or can bring down everything around
To be able to rightly express
and be understood, the same
Everyone needs
To be free from
From anger and grief

I am afraid to share my thoughts
I am scared to lose them all
I am afraid to think, as that will make me want to write
I am scared to write
In anticipation of loss
Why do they, these thoughts, bother me
I know, not right

But I think, I will listen to my thoughts
As they have helped me write
And lighten my heart
Even if no one listens
Never Reads
Forgotten
Hidden from light
I know I have a place to keep them safe
In drafts
For another time

Sometimes
The thought of thinking
Is the last thought on your mind
And thoughtlessly
You are thinking
Of thoughts
That take away all your time

There’s more to it, than what meets the eye
There’s more to it, if you know why
Thoughts have feelings, they are alive
Words have meanings, they know how to fly
There is always a reason for every known, why??
If only, it could be known to every eye

Every thought
A puddle that clouds your mind
To roll in like a playful child
Sometimes long enough
You mull
To be shrouded by
Sooner or later you dust it off
And lay it down
To be puddled by new
Growths of green
Colour of a faded lime
Not long enough
A forest never enough
There is winters and summers
Seasons of all
There is always, spring
To fall upon

Your presence is daunting
Mandatory it’s to wear a mask
Breathless my thoughts within
Upending, life saving task

To watch and keep our distance
Untouchable, it makes one feel
You have arrived, for a reason
Beyond our comprehension it is

Taking away the loved ones
Closely, I have witnessed, few
Our loved ones, you caught them too
By the grace of god, they were set free

Every single day
Your presence somewhere out
Is known, not seen
To me you have taught to be stronger within

To be freer than yesterday
yet not claim someone else’s freedom
Love and compassion, in heart
Keywords of this blessed life

I have been inspired
Not yet, to write
Happy thoughts begin
But  don’t end in words

Shimmy and shimmer
A wedding in the family
Reasons to smile, asunder
All that brings us together

Band Bajaa Baraat, and the celebrations unfold
Rituals followed through the midnight
Vows taken around the sacrosanct fire
Rose petals and blessings showered on the newly weds

Our boy, brings home his pretty wife
Happy thoughts
And new beginnings
Words don’t justify

Gentle genuineness
Gentleness of words
Genuinely felt by gentle hearts

Flippant  persuasiveness
The words, persuade
Upheavals, irregular, pulse of the heart

Experiences
Vicarious or the ones lived
Leave a mark, indelible

The teacher said
Stretch your limits to the maximum
It might surprise you

Little surprises
Bring a delight
Some are off limits

Every drop that falls
Is part of an echo
Distanced by the valley
Surrounded by the mountains
Carried by the winds
Silenced by the rain
Joining the million
On an untraveled path
Into little streams
To make a waterfall

Distanced by the valleys
Carried by the winds
Since ancient times
Absorbed by the roots
Nourishing the soul
Of Mother Earth

A drop into eternity
Journey it takes, joyfully
Joined by a million
To be
A part of the whole
Eternally

The doors, open
The home somewhat broken

By the stream
The poems we read

Missing from the home street
By the stream, meet

Read many, some new
Some you always knew

Time forsaken
Doors open, somewhat broken

Missing from the home street
Lost, maybe found

By the stream
The poems we read

Do not suggest me
On what to follow
You have eaten the cookie
Better clean up the mess
No crumbs on my floor
Suggest me not
Leave no trace
I’ll hide and remove unnecessary suggestions
I know what I want
And can take my own decisions

✨

Every new thought that comes to my mind  

The words warn me with a sign of exhaustion of the mines

“Do not deplete our resources
Please keep in check your carbon footprints”

👣

Sea waves soar
Gulls dive in for a treat
Triumphant
slowly they flap their wings
Sun at the horizon, its job for the day done
There’s a secret untold
The moon to unfold the stories of the day
In its own light

Hypocrisy is for real
Fake, it cant
Truth withstand
Ever evolving the virus
Some minds can never
Be vaccinated against

Hesitant
Overloaded
Bored
Which of these
Or
All of them
Will Hp ever let us know
The way it feels with / of
All the words

Truth is true
You believe in it, as you believe it is

Lies
You believe it is, as you don’t believe in it

Perception
You have your own and believe in it

Untruths
Hurt, as some truths do too

As
Truth is true
You believe in it, as you believe it is

The woman on the street
Up and early, she sweeps
The litter off the concrete
A job to keep

Through the window
A world slows down, not sleeps
No traffic snarls, on the highways
The signal silently beeps

World at the moment, changing
Good and bad, the exposed pieces
In Unity and humanity, there is hope
Together, for the world to live in peace

The places I’ve visited and then left
Only to revisit to know more
The experience of the untouched untapped resource

For some it comes easy
Some struggle the ****
Pushing and pulling, the invisible doors

Then on a rainy day
Wait for the clouds while they pour
Filled with dreams of paddy fields
An experience of abundance
And some more

You are being fed
As you please
Don’t forget
They store cookies

The beat of every heart
Felt same
Hurting
Crying
Smiling
Trying
Again

Meditation for the mind
Inhale the essence of nature
Feel it in every vein, relax
Exhale
Don’t forget
Try again
Rejuvenate

🌿🌿

The rose, red in sun
At prime poised and posed in pots
Fragrant potpourri

🌹

A mask for all, to live
A means of livelihood for some

Smiling eyes behind the mask
Unrecognised face, keeping distance

Parks in the neighbourhood closed
Odd hours for a walk in the neighbourhood, unmasked

Work from home, not for all
Economy at risk, lives eclipsed

The sacred fire stands witness to the 7 vows taken, a marriage solemnised
Designer masks unveiled

Paranoia may ****
Purity still protects, wins
Here’s to mask an unprecedented year

Unmasking realism
Nature’s green, truthful and clean
Heals every being

Dispassionately detached
The flower from the stem falls
Its fragrance lingers
in the last moments
A life devoted to its deed
In time, with revered passion fulfilled
🥀

Little footprints

Up and down, the slide

Merry, they go around

In the park

Swinging

See-Saw, they play

From the corner of the eye
He peeked out for the teacher in the corridors
None in a close sight
He signalled to the peers
While one of them mimicked the teacher
Adjusted her glasses as the teacher did
Before and after the children greeted her
Amidst giggles and hushed tones
The children and their little fun
Between the classes, lost
Locked doors now stare
At the empty corridors

Awaits

Fiery red,  rage free

Greens have gone into slumber

Hope and peace awaits

If only, he had someone in his weaker moments to hold him and assure him that how much he is loved..

Depression can be faced by anyone and the times today are challenging enough for the sanest

Film industry, looks all glamorous to the outside world, and within, these actors / actresses are living multiple lives except their own

He was well educated and had faced challenges enough to have made a place for himself

If only he had help in his weaker moments

Yes deeply saddened by a life so beautiful and young snuffed out too soon

A long story
short

Keeps
My attention

Short

Scent of the flowers
Crisp words, and sepia pages
Vivid memories

Two rows of seeds
Gift wrapped in ***** of mud
Two I had planted in pots
In a month’s time, I remember
I plucked a few lady’s fingers
Lovely the produce
Soon they faded
Gardening and growing vegetables not my forte
Love plants, but tending to them and nurture
Not what I can do
So I further gift those seeds
Where they are nurtured and nourished
And the fruits and vegetables
Well produced

You only want to share your innermost thoughts with people who have a heart to listen

Butterflies
Shades of blue, grey, too true
Dancing ferns, irregular patterns
Shade and sun
mellow winter sky
Earthy pearls, flowers and petals
Stories of innocence and fun
Wherever you may go
it lingers
In shapes and forms, distant
Yet evergreen
Under the vibrant sun
Of good old days
fragrant memories

🌿🌿

Moments of simplicity wasted not

To make hours of happiness

A lesser known place
A quieter pace
A better known place
Rigours of life
Peace or quiet
Choose or leave
What can be the choice
Never can be known by any of the two
It’s all about the drive
Within, or the road
That you chose
Time flies like the buzz of the bee
What is your choice
The quiet or peace
Who is to claim
The better known place
A lesser known place
Geographically placed
Distance and miles

Mossy green, old concrete roof

The rains had drilled and trilled in holes

A lone green made its way up

Canopying the place, its home

To live
Learn to live without

Desires and wishes
You have to think beyond

The fear that you have lived with
Within, you ought to give up on
No, it’s not a cake walk song

Losing an ego
Doesn’t make you any weak
You have won hearts, after all

For once and all
You ought to be strong

To live
Learn to live without

I refuse to give in or
give up
Yet, surrender to love, every breath
Mortal this life, the soul one with the infinite

The year of unknown, unthinkable experiences
Tough they were to make you tougher
To suffer not the insufferable

Achievements and success
Showed up at the door
Glorious moments, virtual celebrations
Home, the dance floor

Health, always the prime wealth
Learning it the hard way
Biding time in quarantine
Writing it all
Exhale and inhale, good health

Some troubles came, beautifully gift wrapped
Framed
Unwrapping them and setting right
Will take a little while
All set for the fight

This year 2020 has been a roller coaster ride
Trying to gain the safe ground and smooth ride into 2021

My wishes to all in the world
Happy New Year

🌿🌿

Metaphors are mean
They mean a lot
In words
Earn means for the thoughts

The cherry hued sky
Iridescent blue bird sings
Lush mulberry bush

To write what the heart feels

Every heart a face

Ever face a heart

To feel

To face

To embrace

Every thought

The faceless