A Mirror For The Lady

A woman doesn't look

In the same mirrors you do.

Her mirrors are slaves

To the kingdom of insecurities..

And with her tears they pay their dues.

When age was just a digit,

Her face, it seemed right.

But one day she just forgot

And looked around for admiring eyes..

As ideas of beauty stood defiled overnight.

She can win outside , but within no more.

'Cause every time she stops inner censure,

The voices outside sound a battle cry..

Yet again, uprooting her worth -

Making her imperfections too cruel to endure.

So listen, and listen hard:

These words I say as every woman you meet

If you are the comment meant to make her feel "fat"

If you are the mirth that she wilts before

Leave, for you simply do not see how lovely she is.

Leave, because her own voice is enough

To make her mind too blurry for truth,

To fool her into worshipping convention.

Leave, if you have a sharp eye for flaws..

Know that she can't look "perfect"; and neither can you.

Planting Trees

‘Trees will heal the world’,

They tell the kids,

‘They will breathe fresh life

Into our midst.’

But you know how kids

Think silly, simple things?

So when I see a broken heart,

A soul with just one wing –

The child in me,

Wants to plant trees

With a nurturing soil

And a few hopeful seeds.

Let trees heal our wounds

For are we not worlds in our own?

Circling the suns of desire

Sometimes together, at times alone. 

How amusing would we seem!

All flowers and bird nests,

Shattered vessels turned to meadows,

Flaunting scars, looking like a beautiful mess.

Journey

Somewhere ahead, there's a verdant scene

The most wonderful place you've ever been.

So I flap my wings, flying in and out o' the black

Cause my ma once told me to never look back.

Oh I'll perch atop that mighty peak, you'll see
And as I whistle with the wind, happy I'll be.
Been my dream it has, to dive into the mists of high
Broke my heart to let go and bid the past goodbye..

As I sailed the sky, from the known to the new;
The thrill became denser, and friends became few
I've been oft lonely, and I've thought of going home.
Dreaming of sights yonder, I sleep through every gloam

For what are we, without our wistful dreams?
Running in circles in a world with seams.
I know I'm no fierce dragon; I'm just a small bird
But I have the will and I will rummage the world

When this journey's done, I'll make a mighty smile
Bask in the bitter-sweet memories, gloat for a while
And soon, I shall wake up with another joyous whim
I’ll dive against the winds to find a new sky to skim.

Farewell

(Wrote this during the last moments of being in college. Those wonderful four years ! Love you, VJTI.)

We're always in the need

Of something,

You and I;

Money, happiness, luck…

Over and again

But now I need time.



I watch memories

Whirl up around me.

Each moment, as I look on,

Rises up and floats away into the past.

If only I could catch these

Beautiful days.



If only I could steal

These smiles and laughs

And tears and sighs..

Trick them into a jar

And live them again

Whenever, anytime.



I want to hold

These people I love

In a time-proof hug.

People, so different

Yet alike in their bond

With this place that's more



This place that's been home

To a thousand dreams

And a skyful of joy.

And it's the friends

Who made this home

So hard to leave.



Friends -

Cheerleaders, teachers,

Soulmates and parents.

Beautified my flaws for me

And dreamed alongside.

Friends..



Soon, we'll be gone

Our different ways

But our hearts will wander

These loved spaces;

And then, in our minds,

We'll be together again.

Love story?

The soulful melodies of Rain at night..

As he breaks free from the stifling prison of cloud;

Like the warrior sent home after turbulent battles

He rushes to meet his love - unbounded, persistent.

The air drinks up the dew in his wake

And soaks in the mesmerizing fragrance that is born

When Rain falls into his Earth's embrace.

BLANKET FOR YOUR SOUL

The odd duckling knew not, till it saw itself in the pond's light…

That it was a kingly bird, one of beauty on water and in flight.

You stand, shoulders hunched, face in the shadows;

Knowing you were somebody, yet not sure who.

I can't make you look through my eyes,

But something I have to say to you:

If only you believed that you were the swan

If only you set your fears aside and broke free…

Your dreams, they'd come true.

I know it hurts to not know what person wears your face

And it doesn't help to be thrown in youth's imminent race…

He may have an easier route and she may be closer to the finish;

Your journey might seem daunting and long…

But doesn't every road have an end?

I'm sure, in the end, nothing would be wrong.

Fall into a chasm, but quit you must not.

Rise up from the fathoms, give it all that you've got.

Remember courage is facing what you've been running from.

Know that I am right behind, not to follow your tracks;

But to keep you from stopping or turning back

I won't judge you by decisions or frown if you lag.

I'll maybe just smile as you edge near your goal.

I am but human - not a guardian angel;

So don't take me for granted, just take me as your own.

Make me the mirror of your heart.

In victories, big and small, I'll be the song that cheers you on.

And if the future's misty and the present cold, I'll be the blanket for your soul.

Near yet far

Everything is an illusion,

They keep saying.

What you see, have, feel, know today;

Is bound to change.

So am I wrong to expect?

Am I wrong to hold on..

To the truth I knew yesterday,

Is it already long gone?

These saints, they baffle me

They are an ocean of calm.

I? I am like a turbulent sea;

Lashing at the shore, whirling within.

Solitude is my friend

That benign presence of absence;

But sometimes a tap on the arm

I wouldn't mind.

Yes, the people I have now

Will go or change.

Yet let me share a moment,

Tell them to spare a moment.

For their lives, they are crowded.

In appointments and deadlines;

The pursuit for happiness shrouded.

So caught up are they to reach out

Far to the people of the World

Those at an arm's reach,

Well, look like a blur.

We're invisible to each other

Thanks to that AMOLED screen.

Thanks to those mind-numbing headphones

Too deaf to hear a helpless scream.

Man I envy those Sadhus.

Bereft of desires and needs.

In love with the World

Yet aloof from its clawing charms..

Words halt indecisively

As I try to catch her eye

Should I bluntly admonish,

Or sweetly rebuke?

To get her to see me

And make her realise:

I'm here like a lilting melody

That fades away into the chaos;

If only she sang along,

We wouldn't have to be

So out of tune.