One Small Latch

On that cold winter night
They slept sound with blanket and shawl
With no any reason for fright,
Knowing little the night would change all.

The winds blew cold and dry
And night held the silence dark.
Yet the dacoits entered the villa with an easy try
Hushing up the labrador before it even barked.

Daughter and mother were woken by a fray
Only to note what was being stolen
And to watch all being carried away
Calmly and peacefully at just a point of gun.

Gulped a bandit the fire rampant
Burning his conscience, compassion and fears.
The blaze spread further violent
That'd be quenched only by the daughter's tears.

The brigands dragged her to a room
Leaving mother in shock and fright.
They were trampling a flower yet to bloom
And were sabotaging a figure slight.

They savagely hit her, bit her, gagged her
And on her their lechery was descending.
They pushed her, pulled her, strangled her,
Fouled her as if to mar a pleasing painting.

Mother out gathered all the shattered emotions
And rushed to the latched door.
She knocked, thumped, hammered
And tried to ram the door.
Then for pity did she plead
But all in vain for the mother poor.

Mother unified all courage, ire and grit
Though she was none their match.
She wanted to squelch them under feet,
But alas! all was locked by one small latch.

A Quagmire

'I see you sinking
As the earth gulps you in with mercy less,
But none help can I bring
For alone we both seem at this place.

'Eluding me you ran to the mire
Whilst I watched and stood frail.
'You perhaps were appealed by the delusive attire
Or to hold you firm I did fail.'

Lamented more one half, 'This quagmire
Thrilled you amid placid beauty
Which beneath water bears ravaging fire
That drowns all with none pity.'

The other half puled, 'The cold in here chills my blood,
Marching through veins softly annexes my mind
And locks the feet deep in mud,
Further which enfeebles and turns me blind.

'To get off I have will no less;
I push, I try but all in vain.
'Fate alas, whatever I face,
I'll be with you albeit as stain.'

An Unstable Mind

Just a moment ago it was far there
And now, well, it's in the poem here.
It tramped with Tagore for a moment

And now with the onus of Donne is it bent.

Just now it was bathing in the sun,

Then it strolled on mountains at horizon

Where from it dived in river and swimming,

It's back here at window, peeping.

Just a while ago counting stars was  blithe

And now it's slept caring none for sheath.

Ah! it was in dreams of fame,

How then does it wake so lame?

Sometimes it does want relation

And at other it prefers isolation.

Sometimes evil it hosts

And at other the benevolence it boasts.

A moment ago it was gripped by fears

And now look what courage it bears.

Just a while ago did it seem to think

And now it does in vacuum sink.

Then it backed Marx with support grand

And now behind Locke it does stand.

Then it rode on the eagle in sky

And now it flies the dove high.

At a moment it does hound

And at the other it finds around.

But alas, it only appears to have been found,

For to so clusters is it bound.

Just a moment ago it held the reins firmly

And now it is set loose and free.

How can  such unstable mind so simply

Yearn Nirvana, enlightenment and epiphany?

Sound and stable should mind be,

For it wanders even under the Bodhi.

Void Roars

Dark clouds only gather
But they do not pour
For they are afraid rather
Of the deluge that'll fore.

The chatak hovers hoping for drops,

The scorched land longs for a embrace,
The dried trunks ask mortgaged green robes.
None as well wants nothing less.

But Lord Indra stultifies them all
For he ostentatiously holds the anchors
Commanding clouds not to fall
And thus they fear his wrath.

Dark clouds indeed when pour
Have the might to break all wrath

And ouster all with reign no more, 

But perhaps they fear the bitter aftermath.

Sympathizers

Coming to you, your compassion they shake
And spread their lives to beg.

Twitching them but you leave,

Because sympathy is what we can give.

You see her ruled, you see her raped;

You see her weep with fear gaped.

She asks her place where humans live,
But sympathy is what we can give.

You scoff at them as to you they amuse;
You know hijras only upto an abuse.

Hoping equal eyes they look at you,

But sympathy is what we can give.

You look at all with counter disgust,

Bearing lorn despair none you trust.

You hope reform but a step not you heave

Because sympathy is what we can give.

At The Lack Of Words

When I wake on the hands of dawn

And hear the twitters of birds

On the nest gleaming in the golden streaks spread on lawn,

O dear poem, I am at the lack of words.

When the rainbow colours the sky

As the sun peeps through dark clouds,

On the colours seven does this soul fly

Setting the words of you, sweet poem, in bounds.

When I see the rove of butterflies

Borrowing colours from buds

And flying in the noon sun to entice

Then good poem, I am at the lack of words.

When I see the might of flaunty water

And watch all flush in the sabotaging floods.

When I see the plight of all that scatter

My mind sobs leaving me at the lack of words.

Amongst this when my heart leaves

And with voids my mind muds;

When seeking towards ultimacy it heaves,

O dear poem, I am at the lack of words.

The Artist?

How kind must He be
To bestow upon us the passion of art
That occurs so rare and scarce plainly
For all of it burgeons from heart.

My art lets me wear the person,
Bear the emotions that he carry.
It lets many a mind abode in one
All of which beatify me.

Reigning the stage steps fear
Ceases all before a start,
Filling then the soul it does tear
Vehemently and kill my art.

Dreaming I climb up on the stage
And I act caring none the fall.
To the climax we edge
Then I raise the hand and feel the applause.

Lost

I curse that fateful night
When I was hit on the head
By some psychopaths spreading fright
And looted me to make the bread.

I woke at a place in a wondering fold
Asking what I was and how that pain.
A mortal cool in white coat told
That for mere span short the memory can I regain.

Ever since then I feel the escape from mind
Of the thoughts, the people, the memories and the rhyme
And the rove for a better mind if they find
To leave me as the one lost in time.

I am a lost bird with a wing
Having flight hedged by a fence.
I can sense the knowledge deserting
But I hope at home the wisdom remains.

Here now, dears, I bid farewell
And allow me to be across.
For now I retrieved without fail
To pen a poem that recites my loss.

The Deserted Block

On sunny sunday morning in hostel
Absent was water and all unwell.
I cursed whole world as I woke from bed
With some livid, lorn faces made.

So as to complete the inevitable morning chores
A friend and I searched other blocks
For the traces if any we get
And landed at a block where search did abate.

The block was indeed water laden
And mere thought of bath made us insane.
Unfortunately but we had only one bucket
So I looked around another if I get.

To abutting room I went and knocked,
The door flung open as was unlocked.
The room was dark with only a candle lit
Where I saw a boy scribbling on a paper sheet.

I asked, 'May I borrow your bucket?';
'Yes sure', he said, 'but to return don't you forget.'
He looked not back whilst he talked,
Silently then closing the door out I walked.

I finished the bath while the friend kept on,
Waterless period was then long gone.
'Finish it off', I said, 'till I return the pail
'To the same boy who looked frail.'

'What pail, what boy?', he asked coming out
With his face evincing grave doubt.
'I got this pail', I replied, 'in the next room
'From the boy writing in the gloom.'

'My goodness! So what I hear is true', said friend,
'The story thus has no end.
'Many years ago the boy you saw was stabbed in lone
'By the reasons and culprits unknown.'

'The boy was seen a year later.
'So to desert the block they predicted better.
'Hitherto, I disbelieved them
'For the stories made were idle and lame.'

My body shuddered and numb went the mind,
Unknowingly I prayed God to be kind.
The friend then hastily did trail
As I hied out alongwith the pail.

A Journey

Look how Sun and dark clouds play for realm
How the soft moist breeze kisses the cheek.
Look how pleasance does whelm.
Come, let us bathe in the drizzle sleek.

Let us get to a place where
Valleys are lost in the mist,
From where the echoes of mountains blare,
Where the winds roar and trees brandish.

Let us adorn our ears
With the tinkles of the gentle water flowing.
Let us fill our minds with fears
Of the rush of mighty water falling.

Let us get lost in thick deep haze
To let birds' whistles pave the way.
Let us then climb more to hold dark clouds in an embrace.
Then on that peak insouciantly we'll lay.

Let the rain slap our face,
Let in it drenched our hearts be,
Let in us the cold incur with all it's grace.
Then we'll sip in some hot tea.

Far from our daily mundanity

Let us make a journey,
The joy of which lies in the arrival
To hear the taps of same rain on our roofs.

A Bond

When our bond bears freedom
Of the ways I choose to become.
When my mind feels light
In opening my heart without fright.
When we speak through silence
And the words true and dense.
When I have nothing to prove
Out of the good and bad I do.
When I laugh with you; when I cry with you 
Albeit miles away I live.
When my heart bears no envy
And unfeignedly it dances to your song merry.

When we grow strong as our sands slip
Then, my friend, there blooms friendship.

Benediction

When my voice sprouts from the honest fields
And has no covers of untrue shields;
When it bears the melodies polite
That shed the ire from the roots right.

When my words arise from the mind fearless
And form the unostentatious, true phrase
That care none for applause
Of the ones close or across.

When my thoughts are moulded by gradual reason
That have no mantle of egotism.
When they are sacred adorned with peace
Like a dew on the moist cool breeze.

When my touch desires nothing
And without envy does it cling.
When it is capable to heal
And turn into good my ill.

Only then, my Lord, I'll worship my poems to thee.

Remembrance

I may forget her joy to carry me light
And the pain she pulled to push me in life;
And that first kiss on my forehead bright;
And the taste of her milk that made me ripe.

I may forget on the wounds her tender blowing
That made agonies soft as silk;
And her vehement scolding
Towards the conscience that made me tilt.

I may forget her worry laden sighs
That watched me safe with utmost care.
And her sweet voice adorned with enthralling lullabies
That voyaged me in the world of fairies fair.

I may forget the pride in her eyes when I was set to fly;
And the fear that gripped her perhaps I might never return to nest.
As well I may even forget my absence in high
Took away her earlier vigour and zest.

I may forget her euphoric heart that blessed my mirth
And her lugubrious heart that wept for my grief;
And the gentle loving touch that exalted from birth,
All of which made me stand stiff.

I may forget her face charming
With all the love she showered on me;
And the feel of her amorous embracing
That bound even so let me free.

But tell me O Lord, how do I forget
Those two drops streamed from her melancholic eyes
That quenched my burning pyre
And sent the past fumes in the infinite skies.

All For Me

Emerging fresh; sounding hoarse
Steadily, mightily, gently the rivers glide.
They make all pure along the course;
I feel complete standing beside.

The Oceans hold a great store
Of strange life and blue magnificence.
When I glimpse the tides hitting shore,
I sense the enigmatic peace and tumult in its presence.

The deer runs for life in the forest wild;
The tiger chases for life and feasts on the meat.
One kills the other solely to exist.
Here, that's the way is it.

From nowhere sprouts a bud unknowing,
That is brought up under the sun's gaze.
Suddenly it blooms into beauty charming,
And spreads the fragrance in all the space.

The mountains, the valleys, the lakes, the trees;
The hyenas, the langoors, the owls eagerly peep.
A sweet chirp wakes to the dawn of peace
And the cool breeze mildly kisses my cheek.

The heaven and the earth greet
With dark dark clouds and frightening thunder,
Which fills the sky and down the drops fleet.
How my drenched soul feels God standing under!

These are all but in Your hands the puppets of some kind;
So complete, so serene, so pure that play so fine.
The body, the soul, the mind,
All's yours, O Giver, yet all's mine.

Memories

Thou knock at the door when time's passed
And with thine tender arms embracing

Take me in the regions untrod

And then mesmerising me thou sing.

And in thy halcyon song

I find ecstasy for reminiscences of those

To whom thy songs belong

And to whom thou art close.

Thou hold my hand when everyone's far away;

Thou stand with me when everything's lost.

Thine fond arms grow every passing day,
Bosoming amorously and leaving me not.

But from past when in present thou peep

Always, O memories, thou make me weep.

Let Your Heart Be Free

Let your heart be free,
Let it take the height of tree,
Let it laugh free; let it cry free,
Bind it not, let it be.

Let your mind be without fear,
Let it drown in the waters fair.
Let it reign the realm of peace,
Let it soar free but behold the ties.

Let your head be held high,
Across all beauty let it pass by.
Let it not accede in the times worst
But let it bow before your shrines first.

Let be it the same now,
Hope same as you grow old.

For never it's known when and how

One's gripped by the sleep cold.

Free Soul

Let your heart be free,
Let it take the height of tree,
Let it laugh free; let it cry free,
Bind it not, let it be.

Let your mind be without fear,
Let it drown in the waters fair.
Let it reign the realm of peace,
Let it soar free but behold the ties.

Let your head be held high,
Across all beauty let it pass by.
Let it not accede in the times worst
But let it bow before your shrines first.

Who feel His presence are yet quite few,
You do, let freely the soul live.

The Cage

'What fall brings you in here, dear pal?', inquired the mate.
'This game', retorted prisoner, 'of destiny and fate.
This immoral world of modest and decent
Ostracised me, the insane, and here they sent.'

Added the mate, 'But you don't look insane.'
'We are always mislead, my friend,
'By what it seems and what it really is,
'You keep in mind forever this.'

'Yet, to me, you are not as crazy as the world out say
So truly I suggest you do not servile stay.
'Be not here by choice and curse your fate,
'You belong not here', burst the mate.

Replied the prisoner, 'You speak, my friend, so true,
But I cannot just that simply break through.
'Because I am bowed down by the surroundings' propriety.
With my own wings in my own sky I cannot surge freely.'

'There was a period', reminded mate, 'when you used to be me
And we as one used to crawl free.
'We then cared little of the onus
To our own horizon we soared thus.'

'True you are', responded the prisoner, 'but here I must lay,
'Because here I please all though am not gay.
'So here I'll be all through my age,
'For now I have started loving the cage.'

You Have To Walk Alone

When none responds to your call,
None gives a hand to pick you from fall;
When none respect your hard moan,
On those deaf paths, you have to walk alone.

When your heart is tumultuous,
When your thoughts are ferocious
And your mind bears a fierce cyclone,
To ignite tranquility, you have to walk alone.

When they distrust your stand;
Even little faith when none grant.
When there's no respect for past mark shown,
To reinstate, you have to walk alone.

When thyself they make you forget
And vex your serene state;
Yet you believe to overstep are you prone,
Then for self you have to walk alone.

Respect Me

Showered as a blessing over the mankind,
Devotees wholeheartedly come to me
And in the world of only two they flee,

In me calm peace they find.

Generously and lovingly they worship,

Softly then I embrace
And help them realize the heaven's gaze

In which the divine pleasure they seek.

Now always I cry aloud alone,

But there's none to listen.

Used only as a means of fun

And into the filthy dark I am viciously thrown.

Still to redeem little hope I see,

I make a plea, O humans, respect me.

Rain, Make Me Clean

You come amidst despair and from the dark clouds pour,
All the heat and scorches then exist no more.
You fill the hearts with the beauty green,
Flows down your water and make everything clean.

The sound of your coming is mesmerising,
Grips the fear with thunder lightning.
Laden with water the rivers flow,
Breaking the bounds, free they go.

From nothing a sprout then grows,
And makes its way to the sheeny goals.
An exciting energy drenches all,
With wet delights the hearts enthrall.

That one drop falls on my face wiping off all the pain,
I want to be clean, O rain, you please come again.