Golden Web.....

The tangled artwork of a humble insect
Brightens this gloom... when I introspect
In a silent, forgotten recess of my unused mind
A ray of bright sunshine has secured its golden find.

What lay ignored as a silent mourner...
In a dilapidated,dusty broken corner
Has lit up a few moments to gift unexplicable joy
Ensnaring us in its silken threads -- a good ploy!

What a tangled web we weave when we drown.....
Ourselves in words without thinking of our own!!

Of broken barnacles and sandy shores

These sharp- edged, broken barnacles slowly take me far back;

To my childhood when I picked countless shells to almost fill a sack .....

On hot sands I trailed, wading into froth....

The waters tugged at my feet; the seas were a heaving behemoth!

I searched for the pretty colours and patterns that pleased

The wonders on the shores I found never ceased ..!!

An anxious mother called out to return

I paid no heed not once did I turn ......

Happiness was finding long graceful Turretella, small round cowrie in a big heap !

The sharp thorny spindle and smooth oyster shells from under the sands peep!

My treasures were smuggled home so guiltily hidden

Father relented- I washed and dried them as bidden ...

Now I live in far away land ...

My treasure hunt is now for things grand ….

I still have some of those shells so near

Reverberates the song of the seas deep in my ear

When I put them to my head n hear

The Mangalore coastline is to me very dear!

The Goddess!

She smiles .....a benevolent radiance glows....
From her moon-like face ....a divine grace overflows !
Her flawless features ...her amazing perfection is a rare joy to behold
Her moon face.... flanked by scented jasmine braids defines a beauty untold !
The brightly painted tigers dancing in merry abandon attract
The children ....the young boys move... in a rhythm so exact ....
The night is ablaze with a riot of bright lights
The town is awake to see the wonderful sights
At my house gates I used to stand...and wait
For Her to pass though it would be often very late
The veshas were mysterious, exciting too
Past mid night the crowd would dwindle down to a few
A short fitful sleep.. then .... when she returned from her touring
At the crack of dawn ,during the wee hours of the morning
I would be up at the window as she went back to her abode...
For a year ..then again return to bless us with joys manifold !

Cloud Canopy

Life chugs along , slow...monotonous ..in boredom shrouded...
Suddenly the clear blue skies are overcast and clouded
Dark grey rain bearing clouds gather overhead
Like a bunch of dirty woolen socks discarded
The coastal breeze blows them in with a drizzle fast and sure
The smell of wet earth assailing one's nose is heavenly and pure
Through the ugly gloom the moody melancholy of those scowls so dark
I see a ray of light a patch of clear blue still open a hope in a slice.... a luminous arc !
Bad days will vanish soon my friend
Stay strong unbowed till they end !

Glory of ages

No darkness can shroud this carved stone
No silence can mute its speech
It has an ageless charm ,a beauty bygone
No mortal mind can reach

The Chime!

I see these bells ...suspended on chains

We people ...ring them ... for material gains

I am reminded of a majestic temple atop a craggy hillock

Far above the madding crowd ...it stands on a huge rock

I longed to see the sea from there

Loved climbing the many steps in the summer air

These bells remind me of a dutiful prayer time

When they ring out their sharp metallic chime

Waiting.....

The shores wait silently without a sound ...
The grainy sand shines ...its a hot day!
The waves come , recede ,they softly pound ..
The rocks ...bursting into spray !
The boats wait for the fishermen
To take them out into the ocean ...
The children wait for a new toy, perhaps a book
Perhaps many long weeks it took
For childhood dreams not of gold
For the catch to be hauled n sold !
Most lives are stories...hopes ..faith ...prayers ... While we are awaiting
For good things to begin and troubles to end.. it is Simply a waiting !

Bridged divide

We may live far away, thinking it is destiny's boon
To be aloof; each one in his warm, snug cosy cocoon ....
But fond hearts shall find ways and means to greet and meet
We shall willingly, eagerly, run to mingle with speeding, unfaltering feet ...


Your ivory tower I have intruded into today
My island will no longer be floating thousands of miles away
Technology has solved our worries n has solutions
All we need now are brave hearts n strong resolutions


We shall hear.. we will see.. we will hang out in cyber space
Lets allow this world to run at its own frantic mad pace
We will together discuss, think, feel and boldly race
Ahead ....be it good or bad every day we chose to embrace
Life and its daily events with a happy face!
For tomorrow we both shall be gone .. leaving behind no trace!

Silent bells of desolateness

The early dawn mists swirl in silently among the old lonely trees...

Kissing the ground, the tea leaves, bushes and tall teaks

Just as the shroud of sadness brings these tears...

Prickling at the back of my eyes now slowly roll down my cheeks!

The red flowers adorn the bushes with many a loud trace...

Like vermilion markings wiped off on a sorrowful face

They look like bells in a deserted place of worship.... 

Long having ceased chiming those happy songs n prayers!!

They give no clues, ask no questions, offer no favours... 

Having given up hope, silently succumbing to the onslaught of silence

The only colour in a landscape of solitary desolateness apart from the bright tender green rows of bushes...

at an unearthly hour they cheer the traveller who walked along these refreshing paths

In their midst to capture their charm n brightness to keep as a memory in his heart of that cold morning...

When he spied the blooms and paused to ponder about his being there with them and wonder at their frail existence!!

Life's fog

Fogs like these often cloud my heart and mind..

When life and people are to me, more than a little unkind

Patiently I wait for the sun to scatter those mists 

Brace myself for those inevitable destiny's trysts !

Darkness and pain may shroud vision sometime

But surely the light will dawn ...soon and sublime...!

The Yearning....

Many little things often seem to wither inside of me each day... 

Numerous feelings just seem to choke but they suddenly go away!

My heart aches for that elusive love I wasn't destined to get...

My stomach churns for the trying times I can't ever forget

Promises made n broken like glass; time flies, my heart cries...

Alone I live but every day something in me somehow just dies !!

Trying to find my love, I have lost myself in yearning...

Cry as I might I can't get over this loss and mourning! 

For all the things I have missed in life, the days just whizz past; they fly by...

I have lost n found a whole new world in trying to find an answer..why??? 

I have finally found my own little piece of deep blue sky....

Alas! We mourn for those big things; we wait n sigh....

But many priceless moments come and go unnoticed ... before we die

Puzzle!

Night crawls in fast.. swoops in uninvited….

Day break is yet too far to be ignited

I lie down in my goose feather bed n wonder…

When the glass panes shudder in thunder!!

Is it a shake… yet another earthquake? 

Why did the lord have to make?

A sand castle of dreams…..

If he were to kick it apart at its seams!

Sometimes His ways are wonderful I found 

At times this artist's idiosyncracies know no bounds !

He takes away people hardly past their prime 

Puzzling many a time, neither reason nor rhyme 

Gratitude

God, I am grateful for the chance to bask in the sunshine of another glorious day,

Lord,I am glad to be alive to walk among the trees and spy the birds chirping away!

I am happy to sit sipping coffee in my armchair in the bright glare of a lazy Saturday .......

What a feeling of contentment to wake up and see the ceiling still stay up there!!!!

Relieved I am that the roof didn't fall down during the night

When I fell asleep  staring at it, imagining it crack in a quake as it might!

Morbid fancies you may say... but still I'm mighty thrilled;

It was in a dreamless sleep that I drowned, without being killed!!

Not in the sweltering currents of an unyielding wall of water

Not suffocated till my last fighting breath is snuffed out in a slaughter..

By the cold, muddy torrents of an ugly, ferocious, unrelenting, uncaring killer wave...

That wipes out miles and pulls all life into a deep watery grave!

Again thanks be to you O Divine Power for your protection....

I am not afraid but I am glad to be living to see a new beautiful day - almost resurrection!

Good old days!

Oh, how I miss those days

When life was not at its current pace

A bright smile would light up your face

With you around, worries melted without a trace!

Though at times, there would be words out of place

We took those in our stride, with amazing grace

When the world around partook in a rat-race

We forged a bond, one we thought, nothing could replace

In the pursuit of success, a journey into the endless maze

Friends relegated to backseat, just a haze

I am all alone, mind in a daze

Oh my dear friend, how I miss the good old days!

My Melancholy Thoughts

When the blazing fire in the sky;
Has sunk into the expanse of the Arabian,
When from the distant mosque;
A prayer is heard,
 

When the many hued evening heavens;
Are dotted with home bound sea-gulls,
When the musical sound of the waves;
Does form a symphony divine,
 

When lovely dusk does spread her veil;
When darkness triumphs with her conquest of light,
When the rising full moon bestows;
A smile so soothing and benign,
 

When nostalgic memories do flood my mind, then;
Then do I feel sad and ask myself,
Why should we be leaving all this behind...
Pass off into nothingness?

Dawn...!

 

Dew drops shine,
Pearl-like on the grass
A bird twitters,
The notes ring crystal clear !
 

A leaf quivers,
Perhaps with a dewy tear!
A lone sun ray peeps,
Shyly with a little fear !
 

Heralding the approaching dawn
All this beauty is to me very dear...
I gaze at the sky, now a master-piece
And whisper "Dawn is here"