Another day

A sad song on his lips as he rowed his boat

sailing away from the shore,

a struggle within not to look back

towards a dim shadow closing the door.

Braving the cold winds in his thin coat

He gazed the abyss that lay,

Sore vessel grappling to stay afloat,

from the stalwart ground he sailed away. 

He lost his way, I heard them say, 

wrecked where he did not belong,

but he sailed away to another day.

found a new shore, a new song.

Trapped

What follows is inspired by a work of a close friend. 

Shloke Lal, thanks for asking me to write on this subject.

Sadness weaves the threads of this tale

When she opens her eyes fragile and pale,

Mourning fills the air there’s no joy

Oh why, why is she not a boy?

He cursed the fate for its tragic plan

He is not yet a father, he is just a man,

A man whose name will fade away

What sadness befell on this day!

As dreams are dashed, frayed and torn

He prays to god she was never born,

Blind to the tears of her mother who cries

Afraid of his wrath, guilt in her eyes.

He looks in her eyes with lingering sorrow

Afraid of what lies ahead in tomorrow?

A ray of hope is the birth of a son

What bliss at last he is blessed with one.

In his father’s warmth the son is wrapped,

The girl is shackled, forever trapped.

Unfolds before my eyes

I see warmth that was

once in a heart turned cold,

I see through the glass

 that’s broken now and old,

I see joy that played

on lips wrinkled and old

I see beauty before my eyes unfold.

I hear songs echoing

in a hut that once was home,

i hear  laughter ring

through the walls that stand alone,

i hear stories whispered

near hearth against the cold

i hear rhythm of paeans unsung untold.

I live in my dreams

Above the mountains i fly

Look, I’m one with the sky

With birds I dream along

On my lips a gentle song.

I see what seems surreal

a healing warmth spreads I feel,

I am chasing the setting sun

no ground for me on rays I run.

I swim in sea, puckish waves

I ride in search of yawning caves

I paint my dreams in coral hue

My canvas lies in ocean blue.

My dream, surreal it seems;

Don’t wake me up, I live in my dreams.

I hear you

The rustling of leaves

Caressed by playful breeze,

The chirping of birds

At dusk in the trees,

The patter of rain

As they fall on my window

the whistles of trains

 on unsaid journey they go.

The cries of an orphan

without hopes of being heard,

the callings to its flock

of a lost white bird,

the silence that echoes

through the walls of a room,

prayers whispered by her

kneeling next to a tomb.

 These and many sounds the west wind blew

And I said to them, I hear you, I hear you..

A path to amble alone

Before me unwinds a lonely road

Takes me by my hand,

careless of what lies ahead, i follow

comforted by the muddied sand.

I feel an urge to turn back and see

Someone’s calling afar and low.

Who is he, oh could it be

An anxious friend or a faceless foe?

O wind, who bends the strongest tree

 Its just a play for you

Blow the sands on the path i leave

Erase that i’ve been here too.

On this lonely road, I will follow the unknown

With no foes or friends beside, some paths are ambled alone.

Fly Away

Spread my wings to a world unknown,

fear of falling, falling alone

When from the great heights I looked below,

a great void lay, all was stone.

I wondered, why i spread my wings,

bared, fragile for cold wind’s stings?

In hopes of love, when I did know

winter I’ll find, no seasons of springs.

And still, I spread my wings to fly alone

a hope in void, of melting of stone

Though distanced from the world below,

my shadow touches the ground, I mourn.

Sunshine will glow on my wings some day, 

in search of that warmth, i am flying away.

What Ails Me

A yearning to see in darkness

A longing to hear in a room of silence

A pining to touch the waning mist

To chase a dream that does not exist.

A song to please who cannot hear

A wish to see a smile in mirror

A hope to speak what words can’t say

To find the end when lost the way.

A veil to mask what is known

A cage to hold the bird that’s flown

A smile to muffle the deafening sigh

To see the truth, only to deny.

And as all the burdens pile into one

Tired, the soul has nowhere to run.