A Prayer

Heavens above, break your dam,

Let it flood, let all drown,

Bleed your veins, let the nostrum flow,

Bow down to us, so you can be crowned.

Feel the heat of the sinews,

As the arms move,

To tear the fields, to pull the fruits.

Feel the rush of blood, as the heart thuds,

As the poet writes,

The first lines of his muse.

Tiny raindrops, draw an arc,

Divide two worlds,

From which none can go back.

The seeds of sorrow, reap flowers of glory,

Some shine on,

Some remain blurry.

Hear, what we say,

Look down, you’ll hear more,

Our pity, our woes are lullabies for all,

Don’t let us disintegrate,

To a half recalled lore.

Mystics and pashas, where are you now?

Come. Be the patrons of our joy.

We are the dreamers who built your city,

We are the craftsmen who gave your son toys.

Wake up for once,

Don’t you hear our cries?

It’s darkness now, the matchstick burns,

The future awaits for dawn’s soft light.

For the Sweet Unwanted

It’s 5 o’clock, and the crows are singing,

The sun is yet to shine

The movie just finished, credits rolling,

It’s now my sweet bed time.

The pillows smell of last night’s sweat

The sheets haven’t yet been changed

But once I lie, sleep comes by,

Dreams whisper in my ear,

No more nightmares I fear,

I sleep perfect without you here,

My sweet unwanted dear.

Waking up late, with the afternoon tea,

Grouchy eyes on the screen,

Browse through the pages, there is nothing to see,

I yawn, the bed looks inviting.

Last night’s rumpled and wrinkled sheet,

Life is simple as it is,

Philosophy; sounds better with some biscuits.

I smile as I check the inbox,

And wonder about affections gained and lost,

I grin as I read through,

Another day down, happily without you

Ajo achi.

Ajo achi,

Megher gorjone, shaliker dake,

Chhoto shishur misti abdare.

Ajo pabe amay,

Ful ar kurir majhe,

Kono bhule jawa gaye,

Tulshi tolae diper alo jokhon jege othe sanje.

Ami thakbo.

Bhulbe ki amay tumi?

Rekhona amay onno smritir arale,

Amar ostitter shakkhi hoe theko tumi,

Ami je asbo abar, shurjer kiron hoe,

Tomar kono ek ses sokale.

Untitled

What are the things that make us cry,

And what are your truths and my lies?

You say there is only black and white,

Dawn warms us from the cold of the night.

Let me cry for my fears,

I want to sleep with my woes,

We are fools to think we’ve lost what was dear.

And all my beliefs proved to be untrue.

Wake up my sweet, light up the world now,

Rise from slumber and see,

How the world changed in the blink of your eye,

Slowly fading towards eternity.

Confessions of Franky's Pet

What if I start to say, that forgetting you, is hard anyway.

So why don’t I start loving you again, and don’t care if anybody calls me insane.

I learnt what it is to live without love, rather how it is to live without you,

Stupid things I tried, when I know why, I cant be like what I used to.

Singing songs in rain, dancing. (Am I mad?)

When deep inside me, I am broken and sad.

But just for the sake of it, just for the people,

I ignore the waves of sadness, and also the ripples.

Damn! Now I hate you so much,

Yet I crave and still miss your touch.

And whatever everyone does, and whatever they say,

Can’t make me think of love the same way;

Incompleteness, yeah, that’s what I feel,

Everyday matters, seem so hard to deal.

Devoid of passion, I have no compassion,

This is the truth, this is me, your creation.

Frankenstein’s monster, that’s who I am

I live a lie, and I don’t give a damn.

The Last Chapter

Lets see where I left off, where’s the end of the last chapter,

Where do the rest of the words go, this has to end in shards of laughter.

If there was a story you wanted to be told,

A part of your life, which would be remembered always.

How can u choose to give glory to pain?

Love, after all, makes us live our days.

The road to heaven was wet with the rain,

The grass roots heaving a sigh,

The street lamps stand tall and blind,

And I see a girl in the arms of a guy.

Loves stories around the world,

Take a breather, and look hither,

May be u will find respite from your doomed lives,

A lasting memory, before u die and wither.

See how the girl smiles, see her blush in the moonless night.

I am dazzled by what I see

A distant bird cries out in flight.

Look at the man, bare, like a boy, walks with the girl, holding hands.

He feels the magic, of the loveliest blunder,

He reads a silent grace, for the holy man.

Looking around, I see everything.

The raindrops each with a tiny rainbow,

The trees, the dogs, the people passing,

Each in their own world, feeling high, feeling low.

A turn or two later,

A few I love you’s that mattered,

I see them walk towards the end of their road.

There was no you, there was no I,

There was no we to divide,

Just a song remained, never sung, never told.

And here I end my story of laughter

No laughs were heard,

But memories remembered.

20 Questions

I looked at you and smiled. We were sitting cross-legged; holding hands tightly, on the stone floors of a deserted house; far away. I heard the roar of a thousand seas and noticed how you winced, almost imperceptibly. Almost. I always noticed everything about you. I smiled to myself and pulled your hands. You looked at me, your face a strange mask of anxiety, and love. You had always loved me, even when I hadn’t.

“So tell me this then, who has the highest batting average in test matches?” I asked. You didn’t answer, but grimaced and rolled your eyes, stubbornly refusing to reply. I shook our clasped hands, “Come on, you know, I have told you this before.” I insisted. “This is not funny, stop this. You know I am scared. This DOESN’T help” you yelled back and looked away. I felt your hold tighten on my hands.

“Okay easier one this time,” I went on, ”who invented safety pin?” I said with a big grin. You looked at me with deep annoyance and parted those lips to say something, but didn’t. You rolled your eyes and looked away again. I laughed and continued, “Umm.. okay, at least tell me who is the best cat in the world?” I heard your laughter even before it started. And I wondered how I had wasted all those years listening to stupid rock concerts. “Garfield. Okay? Happy? Now stop.” You replied, and smiled. The way u looked, that deep gaze, I felt as if you knew everything and still so innocent about everything else.

“Okay last one”, I said, “gear up ‘cause this is the biggie”. I took a deep breath, proposals had never been easy, and I remembered time wasn’t on my side.

Another deep breath. “Tell me, will you marry me?” I saw with a pang of sadness, how your smiling eyes changed, they became filled with tears of anguish in a matter of moments. You hung your head. I couldn’t hold you because you still hadn’t let go of my hands. I heard a faint murmur, you whispered, “yes”. You looked at me. The smile back, the tears still present. You pulled me close and our lips met. The softness of your lips filled me with pure and complete joy. I could taste the salty tears and I knew whatever came, we would be together now. I didn’t hear anything else, didn’t feel or remember anything beyond that moment. We were in our own little “love bubble”, as you used to call it, and forgot the whole world. I knew you did too. There were no more regrets. I knew neither had you. I knew there was a better world ahead for us. I believed this. And you did too.

The distant roar wasn’t that distant anymore. The huge wave, matching a thousand seas, came crashing on the little house. In a moment, it conquered and destroyed, and left nothing for time to preserve. It moved on for its next triumph, leaving behind a sea of desolation and plunder, leaving behind nothing but just an ocean. It roared again, as it raged ahead for its next target.