Finding you

Many seasons have passed
Earth and sky changed hue
But my story remains same
Is it destiny or coincidence?

There comes a moment
I'm breaking in turmoil
Standing at the edge of
The cliff and slipping...

Moments from being
Wiped out for eternity
And then suddenly you
Arrive from nowhere

I know thy presence
As bees know nectar
And I pull myself up
From the jagged edge

But a strange flower
You are truly indeed
Fragrance and grace
But never to be found

By me I mean
Of course your
Countless lovers
Block your way

I realize this as soon 
As I dust off my rags
I'm not fit to meet you
Cliff too is off bounds

Anyone who crossed
The cliff edge knows
One can't edge it again
It is just way too lame

But your scent put me
Back on the track for
A higher cliff to jump
A winding road ahead

I know

It's not that I don't know
The truth that was hidden
But I lied and pretended
Because I waited for you

But now that facts are out
No lies are left to hold on
I can let go and choose
Finally find my true self

Of course it's better this way
Things are slowly sorting out
The change within is so abrupt
But a quantum leap is needed

Being a lone pair electron
Makes it so much easier
The unbalanced charge
Shifts in state a lot easily

Saying Goodbye

It's such a relief
To say goodbye
To all that's there

A past I don't relate
Present hard to grasp
And a future so dark

The bruises have bled
Blood clotted to black
Red is now no more

Cold and blue creeps
Like the night ocean
Engulfs what remains

Not that it worries me
Phases in life come go
Now change permanent

I swam way too long
In the shallow waters
Its time to dive in deep

Open Endings

Its just a story isn't it?
Like usual Bollywood
Poor boy meets rich girl
Much melodrama ensues

But it's not totally true
The tiny grain of truth
Upon this haywire plot
Still pinches me now...

But in Bollywood always
The stranded lovers meet
My ending is somewhat
Realistic in some sense

It's often said that fact is 
Much stranger than fiction
So is reality more romantic
Compared to the best poems

So the tragic hero battles
His inner demons and past
Heroine is freed from him
And chooses independence

And so the story reaches
Its epic finale - the climax
A Bollywood plot turned 
Into an art house cinema

The audience feels letdown
Where's all the fireworks? 
And item music and dance?
It bombed at the box office

No one likes open endings
Will the hero kill his demons?
Will the heroine succeed alone?
Script writer refused to answer

Dark Room

Thought I found myself
I then felt so near to you
But what I really found
Was my room, pitch dark

A void so deep, unending
That I can get lost anytime
Where I can access unknown
Creativity mere state of mind

But voices arising from there
Are often far from being sweet
They just scream, cry and bleed
And I see ghosts from my past

Ask me how they look and feel?
Shadowy mist which scents decay
Deep sleep paralysis I can't move
Doors creak and my chimes tinkle

Then I force myself to wake
Ghost tries to make amends
And again I'm lulled to sleep
Mind elaborates lies to rest

I wake up its late morning
Another rush to get to work
Everything is normal again
Till past midnight and then...

Any point

Is there any point
Of writing poetry
Making paintings
Is there purpose?

But purpose needed
Only when you want
Something or other...
All wants temporary

There's a world there
Beyond petty desires
And the trifle conflicts
Occupying our minds

Another dimension
A parallel universe
But that's the source
Of all creative urges

Wind

Hey wind! Oh wind!
Did you call my name
I heard a faint whisper
In the buzz of the day

But what's the point?
You better talk to rocks
We humans are so deaf
To your mellow voice

An insignificant plant
In some lost corner
Sat still under the sun
Rejoiced your arrival

The tiny green leaves
Danced to your tune
Said bye with stillness
When wind, you left

Hey wind! Oh wind!
Did you call my name
I heard a faint whisper
But fail to recall now

The buzz of the day
Drowned me now
And whatever is left is
Faint shadow of mine

Hey wind! Oh wind!
Call my name again
Even if I'm deaf I'll try
Imagining your voice

May be

May be its not meant to be
Yet again I'm falling down

I'd really been through a lot
Rejected, dejected and torn

My fate remained the same
And then I found you now

But you are beyond me
So gloriously beautiful

I find it so hard to believe
When you are next to me

That its even possible
You are speaking now

But it is then I truly find
Fleeting moments are all

Then I feel hope within
Maybe God'll understand

And free me completely
From a world I'm trapped

Fulfillment comes to few
But God grant me peace

So I can peacefully subside
Dreaming of you as you are

To the deepest dark abyss
Where all lost things found

The land of total dissolution
From where I'll never return

My Pet

Since childhood I wanted a nice pet

But luck never favoured me much

As a kid I played with uncle's dog

A huge Alsatian but it was gentle

The poor creature with glorious fur

Kolkata heat killed it way too soon

My aunt used to have a lovely white cat

It was abandoned - when her baby born

Later my friend Geetu saved two squirrels

We nurtured with care, but they withered

Sad was the day we dug their tiny graves

And forsake them to mother earth's care

Years later I started staying on my own

A little white kitten had come to my door

I was too nervous to let it in my home

Not sure if I could care for it enough

The little kitten bit my toe and then left

For days I searched never found again

Now I feed biscuits to a dog near my office

It wags its tail, but my guilt just never fades

But the only pet I have been successful with

Is the bonsai bamboo plant in a glass bowl

Sunlight and water is all it demands

It's grown greener even while I forget

I never cared to give the plant any name

Why would a plant care for such identity

It could have been much different a lifetime ago

Was it a tree and I, a bird sheltered in branches?

Struggle

We all struggled

Some point in life

When grapes are

Too high to reach

Most say grapes

Are just too sour

But the diligent

Create ladders

If the ladder frail

It breaks mid way

One falls and hurts

Strong don't give up

Ladder reinforced

With grit of steel

The hero now can

Reach high branches

But ouch! All this

Time had passed

Old vines no longer

Produces any grapes

Hero sheds a tear

In profound silence

And he/she smiles

For goal is reached

With a kind heart

Keeps the ladder

For generations to

Save bitter struggle