Hands

She sat on the steps,
Of the much loved childhood hang-out spot.
The crowd around seemed to fade out,
The noise around - suddenly evaporated.
She sat, her chin on her hands,
Hunched shoulders bearing the
Burden of the present.
Her hair fell about in ringlets,
Crowning her face,
Covering her red eyes.
She let her mind wander,
Through the alleys of the nervous memories.
Relenting finally,
Her strong hold
That she had kept tight on herself.
The images came
Gushing out unbidden.
The ache in her now -
Carelessly un-hidden.
She remembered the lost love
And the same love,
She'd deliberately walked away from.
The hand that rocked the cradle,
Now seemed monstrous.
The hand that stroked her hair once,
Now seemed to stoke her fire out.
She remembered his hand,
Raised to hit her once.
The hand she had held so lovingly,
Blindly being led to a formless future,
Now, was raised to lash out,
Hurt and destroy.
She closed her eyes, as she sat,
Tears rolled down -
Tears, which so far,
Had been tightly locked behind the
Stricken eye-lashes.
She felt nothing but sadness,
At this moment.
Nothing but grief
That impaled her.
At the lost bond,
That was impaired, forever.

O Stranger!

We stood,

Two strangers - 

Never have had uttered words
To each other.
Yet in silence,
Lay the magic.
In that moment alone,
I felt I knew you -
The sailor from the land afar,
Charting out new maps,
Exploring the forbidden roads.
Kinship was what weaved us in,
Right then and there-
As we stood,
Like two strangers -
Tied by the mystique.
I lay my trust in you -
Knew it as certain as the
North Wind -
That you would carry me through.
You're a friend of mine -
Someone who came unannounced,
Yet stood by me,
When all chips were down.
I'm grateful
That you helped me put some back-
To create a new meaning.
And look forward to a glorious
Day ahead.
I thank you,
O stranger -
For giving me my newfound
Shimmer of happiness and hope.

Brown eyes

Brown doe eyes stared back

At mine - 

Aghast at how the shambles 

Her life seemed to be etching out. 

She - of the perfect love story - 

Now stared at the possibility of parting. 

The child lay tight against her bosom-

Occasionally bobbing his head- 

Up and down - 

Looking at me with interest,
As I gazed at both.
How peculiar this tale -
That trespasses the familiar roads of Doom.
He, with his wild horse untamed -
She- damned and dame-d.
And as I stood, silent...speculative -
I wondered about the story of my own.
That too in shards -
Glass heart broken as the bubble burst
All around us.
Life..they said.
Moves on.
And the show must go on.

Raw

Would you search for me,
As I did for you?
Hunting out the traces,
Nuances that only the Curious-
Could find?
Would you be thinking
Of me, the way I did?
Would you be reflecting at all-
On the conversation
And the sudden connect we had;
Lost in the moment-
When the rawness in our eyes had met?
But maybe-
It was a play all along.
The objective laden
Cunning march to con on-
Whilst the folly laid bare-
Right before your gaze.

Free

Free as a bird - finally.
From the trappings of the past
Or the makings of the future.
Lighter than a feather-
My heart flies carefree now.
The black pools have not yet vanished-
Yet there is hope once more.
I have finally found me-
Amidst the chaos and the uncertainty.
You left my life with scars and pettiness -
Turned me into someone I am not-
Till I forgot-
Who or what was me.
Maybe its not yet over -
Maybe the times are yet to
Foretell more misery.
Yet placid and placated be I,
Thinking about my sanity now-
To love me and not look at being loved. 

A New Day..

I haven’t ever believed much

In deception.

Nor shall I ever try.

Sugar coated words are not

For me.

Neither are people

Who are too soft

To bear the sting

At times.

I move away.

Distancing myself from all

Who cramp up my space.

A certain sense of

Arrogance.

Raises its ugly head.

They’re not worth me,

I feel.

Scornfully- I appear judgemental.

Rightly so-

For the right and wrong

Shines out stark-

Black and white to me.

I dream about your hand,

Someday- leading me-

Out of this quicksand.

Saving me,

From my own quagmire.

Yet, a cynic in me,

Perhaps, chooses not to believe

In that too.

Coz the distance is what,

That binds us always.

I cant trust myself,

To be dangling anywhere.

The colour grey,

Is not for me.

I rather would lose

Friends- who are nothing but sham

Unto themselves.

Than always bow my head,

To their ignorance.

Praying, that the days would pass

By quickly.

Giving me no time-

To think or feel much.

I hate the stench-

Of mediocrity-

That this place has

Impressioned on me.

Expressive- yet again,

I cannot be.

I’ve lost my voice-

Unwillingly.

Dying to break out of this,

Pigeon hole.

Can’t bear this cooped up feeling much.

Dreaming of another

Start afresh.

With the right people.

The right music,

Always playing.

A new life-

Where the roads are

Walked carefree.

Days traversed through,

Happily.

Soon…that day too..

Shall come..

Streetlight

I had always imagined
A conversation with You,
Like this.
Sitting on a bench-
Far away from the eyes of omniscience.
In another city ,
In another time.
I had always thought of talking,
Out loud-
Voicing the thoughts of the Coward,
Mostly escaped from.
I had always wanted to show you,
The New Me,
That Time has framed -
And the ways of Life has sculpted.
So far.
See the changing expressions in your eyes,
As you digest them all.
Would I be seeking your approval still?
Child-like parts of me would ,
Obviate the grudged affirmation.
I had always wished for a careless meet,
As old friends,
With traces of the past,
Lingering benign,
As a happy after glow.
We shall talk and laugh,
All that we must-
Without any fire or ire-
That had besieged us for so long.
Free from certain shackles of social rigors,
That choose to settle on us-
That we choose to abide by.
Mostly - at times.
Yet there always would remain,
The zest to know more-
From afar.
The careful watchful eyes,
Shadowed.
Somewhere, the essence created long back,
Gets deepened without touch.
We don't need that.
We are wiser now.
As the novelty of the moment,
Bestows on me ;
Myriad images of the endless hand-held walks,
Our foot prints, through the sands of Time;
Flash across-
As my brown eyes,
Seek yours in the street light.
The green in yours-
Liquid Pools of Empathy.
Soft and Mellow-
As you look at me-
The look the same,
That had been 'mine'.
There is peace in companionship-still.
A chord effervescent,
Neither ever catalyzing the flow.

Drapetomania

Did you see that ashen face?
With the smile turned to smoke?
Did you ever stop to think about,
The glassy eyes -
That stood out like opaque dots.
Black pearls -
All seeing yet not so.
The cheek bones strike out -
Jaunty yet haughty.
The touch of grief
Hangs loose-
On the skeletal frame.
The clothes seem to be crisp-
Newly washed. Freshly ironed.
A facade?
One may wonder
Seeing the frail frame-
If love had ever touched it.
Withering flower -
Burnt, spurned and churned,
Yet standing upright.
The scrawny neck sinewy-
Stretched afar to focus on the yonder.
Drapetomania -
The mind cried out silently.

Lock and Key

Colorless rainbow,

Weaved of transparent dreams. 

Guile-less eyes- 

Wandering lost. 

Trapped in the smokes of the past,

And ashes of the future.

A present un-lived - 

Just passing by,

While the eyes watch life,

As a passer-by. 

Love knows only its bounds- 

Captive in its secrecy. 

Words have left -

Fled from the reams of the pages

Locked within. 

No more! 

The mind had screamed. 

But only in hindsight, 

Did the eyes reflect 

On the void. 

Left solemn, 

Left forlorn - 

Alone - a lone.

Never crossing the line -

Rigidly stuck to the borders. 

Looking for that colorful rainbow- 

Once more, 

Atop the much loved clouds. 

Where peace knew no limits-

And love flowed unharnessed. 

Where the eyes had once,
 Locked with each other - 

Lost in the candor.