Saturday, 31 December 2016

Poem #11: A Storm That's Passing



The door is closed
The room, so small
You can't breathe
But you hear the rumbling of the winds
Pounding the door
He wants to get in
But you want out
You exchange vows at the doorknob
You turn to the wild
Away from the calm

The walls protect
It's safe behind the doors
But you don't live there anymore
It was once a sanctuary
Now it's a keeper of the past
Of untold stories, of silence

You think the wind will blow you away
You give yourself to it
But in the end, the wind takes no passengers
It leaves a trail of dirt on your face, your body shaken
Wondering, if this is after all where you belong.

(27 February 2015)

Monday, 26 December 2016

Poem #10: Songs of an island


Sounds, screeches, screams
shouts, songs, speeches
stories, spell-binding superstitions
soulful sojourns
sewing machines and stained glass
sopranos, soliloquies, stages
stars, streets full of sellers
seers, school children and sarees
sex work, security post, spoilers
stretching out to sea
sinking in the skyscrapers
soaking in the sacred sites
stranded in sin
stoned and stinking
spoilt and superficial
splendid, sickening
stop it, spit it out, swallow
sail away, slide back
sleep. subdued. silence.

(17 October 2015)

Poem #9: Untitled



The unconsciousness of being awake
Like droplets from the sky
At the edge, not yet falling
Like the lure of the sublime
I press it down to ease the pain
Multitudes of layers, I peel them off
Who promised me an oasis of calm
Oh! sweet whisperings
That seduce the edges of my heart
Be still, for I am no longer strong
For what is awakened has no time for sleep
Stoking the desire of the conscious
Who will cremate what I've exhaled
And take me across to the red sun.

(13 December 2016)