Category: Poetry

28 Jun 2011

The Bell

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 8:07pm


at break of dawn
it rang loud
the temple bell
every day it did
when, as a boy,
i slept under
the shade of neem

it rang loud, too,
when, firm in feet,
in the fields i ran
and hit the bark
drunk with the pride
that of youth
to music i danced

when time, as a hawk,
flew, hovered, and flew
in days and years
the bell, still atop
the hamlet's temple
talked to my ears
deaf to its sound

the neem is dead
frail are my feet 
walls have crumbled
in ruins, the temple 
long for that sound i do
but even a faint note
the bell rings no more

22 Mar 2011

Road

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 2:36pm


walking on the tarmac
i spotted a dead rat,
still, quiet and dead,
and walked on
as if i noticed nothing

lying on the tarmac
the dead rat, still,
quiet and dead, spotted me
and slept on
as if he noticed nothing

an evening, sombre
a dark road, burning
a brief encounter
one was dead -
the dead rat or i?

14 Nov 2010

A.byss

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 7:31pm


as the deep, unruly
casts me deep
into the depthless

swimming, barely
in bare waters
bearing the tumult

who will reach
the placid shore
i.alive or i.dead?

20 Aug 2010

...of Being*

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 8:21am


as the first rays
of the mighty
the malevolent sun
wooed the day
(yet another day)
darkness gave way
to light that would
flirt till dusk

yet, from beatific light
to blinding darkness
life, for him, moved
in a mean moment
(terse as silence)
the restless heart
ran behind her
to woo, to stop

and as she went
she took his all
he stood still, light
as a feather, for
he went with her
(yet, he stood alone)
feeling crushed under
the unbearable lightness...

(abridged)

(*thanks to Milan Kundera)

9 Apr 2010

The Mirror of Time. In Future

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 12:02pm


stiff and young
the pillars
huge and august
rising into the sky
adorned the corridor
and, as i walked,
light and swift,
smiled along

dance in my step
song in my heart
i walked past
the pillars
as beside walked
she, my world,
in hues stunning
black, red and white

dancing tresses, dark
music in laughter
whispers sweet
and joy of heavens
in her eyes, beautiful
hand, tender and loving,
in mine, seeking,
hasty and blithe

dance in my step
song in my heart
did i walk
past the pillars
that, with years,
aged, as i did,
into stones
weary and stoic

at the dusk of life, now
jaded and sullen
as i walk past
the pillars grim
i walk alone, musing
of memories unparted
precious as love
and of dreams undone

i walk past
the pillars sombre
and a life done
walking ahead in space
but i wish to
walk back, once,
back in time!
oh! if only!

languid and old
the pillars
dull and defaced
sinking into the floor
saddle the corridor
and wring my heart
with echoes, unfading,
of times, dear and distant

31 Mar 2010

A Drop of Rain

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 4:43pm


Splash it does
On the window
As you stare
Frozen and blank

It slides, fleets
And dissolves
As time and life
Fritter away

Splash it does
On the window
As you stare
And blink not

At times gentle
Balmy and candid
As the smile
Of a baby

At times violent
Devoid of mercy
As the fire
Of wrath

At times quiet
Stealthy as whisper
Armed with calm
Of the woods

At times dreary
Cold as death
And dark as
Depth of gloom

Falling from heavens
Where your dreams fly
On to this Earth
Where you belong

Splash it does
On sand and rocks
On flowers and grass
On glass and faces

Splash it does
On the window
As you stare
Frozen and blank

With dabs tender
Reveries it stirs
It spares the glass
But breaks your heart

And it slides, fleets
And dissolves
As time and life
Fritter away

21 Jan 2010

Elsewhere

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 4:28pm


A flight, more aimless, never was
As hopeless nothing ever seemed
Stricken by endless pain
The bird had to fly, nonetheless

Lifeless, what else life is
When reduced to a pointless run
Gazed by the heartless grief
And clasped by faceless fetters

Flying here, yet not here
Heart and soul elsewhere
Heaven, this quite is not
Better is hell than this

Strangled tight by listless days
Cursed to a reckless fall
Tormented by sleepless nights
Sucked into a bog, depthless

A wordless quiet overwhelms
A flawless exit, happiness makes
And then, the colorless dusk
Fades into a moonless night

Flying here, yet not here
Heart and soul elsewhere
Heaven, this quite is not
Better is hell than this

Languid and sapless its wings
Deliverance, a useless pursuit
Wringed by anguish, ceaseless
As mirthless moments mock

Awaits the ruthless world 
To kill the fateless bird
As it is rendered helpless
By destiny most merciless

Flying here, yet not here
Heart and soul elsewhere
Heaven, this quite is not
Better is hell than this

1 Dec 2009

Garden of Dreams

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 6:39pm


on this path
strewn with his dreams
her nimble feet danced
with steps soft

deluge of joy
rained from the heaven
soaking the lonely heart
in boundless love

rapt with glee
the soul heard life speak
the promise of bliss
in whispers mute

clasp of hands
was a walk on clouds
a life so rich before
never he felt

eyes so serene
and face most beautiful
no music more melodious
than her laughter

soul a fragment
blessed by her glances
and her silken touch
made now complete

the ecstatic soul
drunk to absolute brim
with her words most sweet
indeed, most sweet

lush with blooms
was the garden of dreams
and he knew no world
else than her

odes to love
that defied the world
sang the fleeting time
and ceased quite

fate most vile
and a god utterly mean
alas! helpless he watched
plunder of dreams

tears in eyes
agony in the broken heart
pain extreme shall haunt
every moment hence

who would believe
here was a precious garden
that now is barren dust
with memories yet

hapless the soul
longing for hers, with
pangs of the aching heart
aflame in love

16 Oct 2009

The Painting

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 1:40am


The land barren
Baked dry in summer heat

The solitary tree
Unseen by rain in ages

The forlorn bird
In the middle of flight

The empty nest
A home reduced to ruins

The blistering Sun
On the edge of the horizon

The cloudless sky
Gloomy in hues of dusk

The singular path
Untrodden then, now and hence

The fallen leaf
Bare to the trampling step

The red of Sun, the blue of sky
The brown of land, the green of leaf
All of them on the canvas together
And yet each of them numb and alone

Riot of color on the canvas white
But none has seen the missing hues
Save the painter, young and dreary,
Whose heart beats at uneasy pace

12 Oct 2009

Desert Sand

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 2:22pm


Grain by grain
Slips the sand quick
Beneath the feet
That, jaded and adrift,
Walk to nowhere

With each step
Deeper the feet sink
Into the sand
That, eager and mean,
Yields sans care

Fervid like fire
Blows the blazing heat
From the Sun
That, fiery and aloof,
Derides the fare

Rugged and grim
Rests the stolid tread
With the grit
That, hard and biting,
Does the feet pare

The aimless path
Desert sand without pity
Spur the fetters
That, hungry and candid,
Stifle to tear

Grain by grain
Slips the sand quick
Beneath the feet
That, pale and cracked,
Walk to where?

8 Oct 2009

By the Brook

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 6:07pm


There's a brook that I sit by
Its waters flow in glee
They greet in rush and run past
And before I wish back, flee

They smile, they tease, they beckon
To the blue expanse of the ocean
They say they will take me
Where they can play for good

I sit, I stare, I watch
In silence, somber and unamused
At an hour beyond cheer and gloom
I only see them come and go

All is quiet in the eastern sky
The western is all but quiet
Unquiet are the birds and the woods
And quite unquiet is my heart

And at the stroke of dusk
We drift - the waters and I
The waters that never become still
And the heart that cannot be stilled

17 Aug 2009

UNrest

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 4:21pm


Solitary wanderer am I
On an aimless stroll
In the lonely woods
Dark as night
Shimmering in the light
Of my precious love

Hapless soul
Rendered helpless
By an infallible stroke
Of the sword of life
Unfailing precision
Precise my failure

Merciless look
Expressionless
Staid face of fate
I wonder. I ponder
Would I be
(Un)forgiven?

A surfeit of feelings
Wary of words
A deluge of questions
With answers none
Sink my soul
And wring my heart

Who has heard
The wailings
Of a pining heart?
The wailings
Of a pining heart
Who has heard?

Alone my soul is not, though
For, she walks along
She. My soul-mate
My life, my love
And yet,
Yet I seek her

Ironical it is
The mind says
The thinking mind
Beyond irony it is
The heart says
The feeling heart

Unrest becomes me
Moonless, the night
Joyless, the tread
And I remain
Restless. Listless
Aimless. Lifeless

O, who has heard
The wailings
Of a pining heart?
The pining heart
And its wailings
(Un)heard

9 Jul 2009

Song of the Soul

Posted by Oblivion in Poetry | 7:43pm


The patter of rain
Battering my heart wild
Laughs and reminds me
Of your words sweet
 
The black of the sky
Enveloped in melancholy
Teases and reminds me
Of your tresses dark
 
The fleeting clouds
Moving to the worlds afar
Beckon and remind me
Of your tread gentle
 
The fair lonely star
Shining in all its splendour
Smiles and reminds me
Of your glance gleeful
 
The resplendent full-moon
Playing hide and seek
Chides and reminds me
Of your smile beautiful
 
The quiet of the night
Bathed in faint moonlight
Whispers and reminds me
Of your presence silent
 
I hanker for your love
Give me your hand
I long to see you
Gift me your glance
At this very hour
For, nothing else matters
 
Tender is the breeze
Impatient is my being
As I whisper loud,
"Give up everything
wait no more
and come to me, my love"
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