The Welded Gate

15-12-2007 A.D.

Neither are they savages armed with stones
Nor do we share apple trees and pine cones.
Mr.Frost it's not a wall now, it's a gate.
Many of them, all around, that make me irate.
Until today I thought everything was fine.
Now I can only daresay and strongly opine
That somebody from your neighbor's line
Is the reason for these boundaries asinine.
We don't fill their corridors with voices.
Our strides are too slow to make any noises.
We drank from there, I hope, not elixir
Why should water ever cause such a stir ?
I don't see our trails of grime on the floor.
No walls we smirch, we eavesdrop on no door.
I cannot vouch we are birds of a feather
But we fought no big battles with each other.
What need has arisen to mark territories ?
What is the real cause of their worries ?
Fences are never good and gates are bad.
They only grow more hatred than we've had.

Note: A rehash of 'Mending Wall'. They've put multiple gates around my lab and blocked entries to many corridors. I don't know why. The only thing we do is walk through them or fill our water bottles sometimes.

Painted

10-12-2007 A.D.

I was a painter trying to flee from my plight.
My life was a lonely canvas in pristine white.
And then she walked into it with her hues
Straddling it fully with the most vivid views.
Motley trees with leaves, both ocher and green,
Skies strewn with clouds - afloat and serene,
Nimble fawns gaily hopping from tree to tree,
As if she had already contrived to beguile me.
Amidst them all with the gossamer veil lifted
She stood there all by herself - a lady gifted.
I stood in awe at this ethereal beauty - to hail
Whom even the best bards' verses would fail.
In front of this angel from heavens, I bob
For she descended there to emblazon my daub.

Note: Thank you for the inspiration. Also thanks Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM for the reminder.

Adieu

16-06-2007 A.D.

With our heads held high and hands held together
Not failing to walk along, whatever be the weather,
Sharing every joy and every sorrow with each other,
Truly we were united like birds of a feather.
Months down the line we will definitely recall
How we were in tandem - all in one, one in all.
However tall may be the painful separating wall
Live with the remnants of our memories we shall.
Even as the time to bid farewell draws nigh
The hands are together and the heads still high.
It's time for each of us to speak our hearts' voice.
It's the time of the year to laugh, play and rejoice.

Note: 'Parting is such a sweet sorrow, That I shall say goodnight till it be morrow'. This poem was written on the occasion of farewell party for my seniors.

Of thorns, only thorns

27-12-2006 A.D.

If only I knew the scent was a mere illusion
And the bloom was a mistake of perception,
I would not have tried to water the plant
With tears of happiness and hopes infant.
Ephemeral celebrations have plummeted.
The spirits have all died down enervated.
I can see flowers but together in a wreath
Reminiscent of the solemn shroud beneath.
I felt I descried a rose, I thought I saw one.
But there are only thorns and roses none.
As I walk on this path strewn with thorns
The mind refuses to let go of the bygones.
There is no rose, there still stands a grave.
It is immutable though I yearn and crave.

Note: This is a sequel. It will make more sense to read this after reading 'Of roses and graves'. I cannot believe I came up with contrasting feelings using the same elements. Enigmatic emotions are chasing me right now.

Fret, fury and frustration

16-12-2006 A.D.

That moment when something snapped into two,
Something my conscience could not easily undo,
I sensed a turmoil in me just waiting to explode.
Destruction of self was what I could forebode.
Tumbling to the nether side like a pack of cards,
My tenuous patience flubbed to bits and shards.
The barrage of stones flung at the mind's mirror
Reflected, in its broken pieces, unfettered temper
I was the throne to the vile trident and the horns
As he smirked at his victim in the prison of thorns,
Forcing me to do what I hate, loath and detest,
What pushes me down to the nadir from the crest.
Fatefully I freed the monsters from their cage
In an outburst, the monsters - anger and rage.

Note: I started this poem when I was really very angry. Anger makes me lose all my senses and I'm sure it does similar things to everyone. Somehow I could not finish it back then but now it's done.

Of roses and graves

07-12-2006 A.D.

As I looked into them, my mind went blank.
My ship of thoughts, in her eyes it sank.
There I stood facing the icon of pulchritude
Captivated, attracted, trapped and glued.
The spirits were reborn, the fire was rekindled.
Fiery sparks of joy moved about unbridled
Expressing unuttered and hidden emotions,
Marking the beginning of silent celebrations.
Where stood a grave, now stands a flower
Ready to blossom and let the bliss uncover
The vestiges of yesterday's happy memories,
Memories that put the heart at great ease
Now what remains to be seen is whether
More roses bloom or this one will wither.

Note: Hangover. Happy.

Itopia

17-06-2006 A.D.

Merry feet manoeuvred by happy terpsichoreans
To the left and to the right, back and forth once.
While elves and fairies shall play mischief to my tune
Not caring about troubles and concerns picayune
Sprightly sylphs shall dance around the night fire
With nothing to worry about, nothing sour and dire.
The wind flows betwixt the branches of the trees
Exhorting them all to participate in the festivities.
We have no time lose in this everlasting carnival.
Come one, two, come all, we await your arrival.
Your melancholy and despair shall come undone.
Revelry starts with the rise but sets not with the sun.
Welcome to my world if I ever were to create one
Where on everday's agenda we have frolic and fun.

Note: I read The Hobbit yesterday. Looks like some soul is back after reading those wonderful verses in the book. No wonder the merrymaking dwarves left an impression.

Notes of life

02-02-2006 A.D.

She calmly hops across, with the bustle in her hold,
Running down the chequered path of lead and gold
Where in tandem the flowers of joy and sorrow bloom,
Drums of victory are played along with pipes of doom.
That is Lady Music, more magical than magic itself.
Sometimes she's an angel, the other times an elf.
When she kisses your lobe to whisper in your ear
Keep walking with her as Elysia draws you near.
Rollick with her in the woods if she does a staccato
Or sway in the swings of heaven praising her legato.
I know not tales of Beethoven neither any Mozart
Who have adorned her with many a cantabile chart.
Nevertheless I'm lured by her, I'm playing my part.
Compelled I am, to fall in love with this lady smart.

Note: M for Music. M for Melodious. M for Mellifluous. M for Mesmerizing. I'll leave the other Ms for you to figure out. A for A Tribute to Music.

Quit quitting

26-11-2005 A.D.

Who is it knocking and thumping at the door ?
Who'd be trundling and stomping on the floor ?
Sometimes a noise tramples all over the head.
In fear we close our eyes, ready to be dead.
Seems as it, a trap under the sword of Damocles
Or an abyss ready to gorge this bait in manacles.
We move towards the rope, it gets ready to lynch.
The noise darts at us as we continue to flinch.
But wait because this is not the way to the end.
Rise and join hands with Gumption - your friend.
Fight and shed a ray of hope before it darkens.
Even a whisper can start razing rocks of silence.
When it's time to swim against the flood and win
Drown in your tears or reach the shore and grin.

Note: Smile when the going gets tough. Dump that mental microscope which magnifies problems. Easier said than done. But the going definitely gets easier after its done.

Separation translated

28-10-2005 A.D.

To meet and part is a sweet pain for the heart.
I'm not able to find roads that keep us apart.
The nectar of your love, irresistible and sweet.
Devoid of you, no relation is true and complete.
You are everything I am, my love, my existence.
A bitter life this is with your tangible absence.
People we crave and yearn for are hard to get.
Efforts to obtain you, only failures they beget.
I would surrender my heart and life with glee,
If you could only once, express your love for me.

Note: Thanks a lot Sameer for the inspiration to write. This might be a rickety translation but I gave it my best shot. After an apparently unending break to my passion even little pleasures give great joy. But this is something big, so currently euphoria is the right word. The famine has finally come to an end.

Break-up bash

18-07-2004 A.D.

Crimson memories in my mind fade out hard.
I gaze at moments of the past, I can't discard.
I walk in the deserted corridors of my mind.
Remnants, dull thoughts everywhere, is all I find.
I never understood where my step ended wrong.
I have been thinking all the while, all along.
I stand against the echoes of my own reflection.
To discover all we did was right, no exception.
I wish to erase these black scars from my life.
I wish I could put a halt to this useless strife.
No cause to survey, for this effect, very numb.
No effect to sustain, if any, perfectly dumb.
No one to blame, neither any guilt nor remorse.
The very feelings are something I cannot endorse.
I believe in myself, more in us, than me alone.
Trust gives me all the support in this cyclone.
With sincere bonds, and lessons to be learnt.
Life is happier with some bitter feelings burnt.
There is a story that will never find an end.
A friend is always meant to be a good friend.

Note: The first one to flout the 14-line rule on my page. When the undulating waves of melancholy refuse to ebb from the shores of mental bedlam it's either time to look at things in retrospect or just bury the hatchet. I only hope we all make the right choice when the time comes.

Home at last

10-05-2005 A.D.

In its own parlance the early zephyr awakens me .
The lapwing chirps and flies swiftly across the tree.
The ruddy sky and the auburn soil bestir my senses.
People squabbling at the tap don't reach a consensus.
The tabloid lands in the balcony's attic with a thud
While a harridan curses children gamboling in mud.
I yawn and gaze at the seductive pillow on my bed.
I prefer to scurry in to perform my ablutions instead.
Later I'm guided by the pleasant aroma of incense.
In the kitchen, for rising early, I get my recompense.
Clutching a cup of hot milk, I move to the terrace.
Sprawled, I lie on the mat, the warm air I embrace.
The larkspurs in bloom apprise me of what I miss.
A cadenza prompts that there's no place like this.

Note: If anyone is just on the verge of concluding that my job is only knitting together words from the thesaurus I say nay. These works are straight out of my idiolect and I select words that are befitting the imagery running in my mind.

Nice neighbors

23-04-2005 A.D.

I have a diligent stalwart for a lovely neighbor.
He and his mate always find time to slumber.
They are friends from school, never have fought.
One goes by instinct and the other by thought.
Both share a rapport, also a complexion sombre.
The louder boy had a rough quarrel with a junior
And settled in this room after half the solar year.
The taller slogs all night playing many a game
While the wavy haired in day earns a lot of fame.
Having diverse interests, differently they steer.
Each of them in their own way is a sensation.
One draws inspiration, one loves hibernation.
Quite unlike the other though together they dwell.
On the paths they tread, the two wish to excel.

Note: Exams are around the corner but nothing can stop me from indulging in things I'm passionate about.

Swim in glee

05-04-2005 A.D.

In turmoil, the waves come to hit the shores
Washing all the feet, in twos, threes and fours.
Some rising high while the others stay low.
Some racing to the edge, some moving slow.
Leaving the coast of hearts, moist and warm,
Drenched in the tides, caressed by their charm.
Painting a magnum opus with a hue of maroon
In the sand that holds them away from the lagoon.
Soothing many a pebble heated by summer.
Rushing to endow the rocks with a shimmer.
Not the least unlike, you are the same instead
When you sport a cheer on those lips spread.
I'll strive to erase this distance, these miles
To plunge deep into the ocean of your smiles.

Note: All I need to do is sit in a boring lecture and wait till the eyes are lit.

Sonneteer starts

22-02-2005 A.D.

I embrace sweet thoughts galore, early this morn.
Through sonnets true, I rose to speak my heart
To praise the fairy who fuels tales I adorn
With novelty and rhythm that can stand apart
After this night in winter which stayed long,
To trees weeping with joy that knows no bounds,
With notes of silent rhythm I play my song,
For yellow flowers that dance to these fine sounds.
This road I chose, I've begun to adore.
Tranquil musings ring on my winding trail,
Revive soul with bliss like never before,
Reason why there are no ways I could fail.
Certainly I love writing these lines that mix
For the girl whose number ends in a six.

Note: I think I've counted the syllables rightly to qualify this for a sonnet. This scheme consists of 3 quatrains and a couplet, 10 syllables in each line. It's earthy, but it's the first one I wrote adhering to all the rules.

Total tolerance

14-02-2005 A.D.

The prince left for the woods early at dawn.
With quiver full of arrows ready to be drawn.
Chasing hares and deer on his noble steed.
Soaring like the wind, at a very high speed.
He halted his mare at a still pond at noon.
To rest and quench his waxing thirst soon.
He first heard a rustle, then saw a silhouette.
A lady allured him and he began to covet.
He followed the pretty maiden on her route.
Then came a thick fog stymieing his pursuit.
He perpends if he could convince her now.
With a wait very patient to evince his love.
The fog persists but he waits to see her there.
To shower his passion and times to share.

Note: I think there is a very abrupt change of mood but I consider the switching part the threshold of imagination.

Seven lovely sins

14-02-2005 A.D.

The edacious breeze neither leaves nor ceases.
Raking through your hair it's hunger it appeases.
As you walk along the lakeside, the roses envy
The garb so soigne, daubed in colors of glee.
As you elegantly sashay beneath the skies blue,
The serpentine lake finds a wrath against you.
Undefiled drops of dew wait longer to drip
To seize your fine portrait before they can slip.
The trees are greedy, when the winds blow,
They try to enclose you, the branches go low.
Then to the ground the fruits make their trips.
Trenchantly to taste and savor those lusty lips.
In raffish manners you deserve to take pride.
Hence you secure in my heart, a place wide.

Note: In order - Gluttony, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Lust, Pride, this is the best I could manage. 2 done. 12 more to go.

Ignited soul

14-02-2005 A.D.

Across whispering vales t'ween lofty mountains,
Witnessing tempests, floods and fecund plains,
Like fish in blue waters, like feathers in the air,
Tales of an angelical damsel travelled everywhere.
From the farthest places people flocked to see
The twinkle in her eyes and the charm so jaunty.
Her strut in the meadows, her disporting hair,
Wide smiles so abstruse with an enigmatic flair.
Spring was unwilling to leave her loved bairn.
The sun stayed, also the snow-capped cairn.
The squirrels on the trees watched her dance.
As the doves were lost and trapped in a trance.
No one knows whether she is true or a rumor.
But that lass you will find, look into the mirror.

Note: I've started this marathon for the symbolic target and definitely hope to reach it before 15th of February hits India.

I'm coming

27-01-2005 A.D.

I'm afraid of neither the dunes nor the hills.
Not even the hyena in the woods that kills.
No storm can thwart the journey I set on.
I cannot take a break, be it dusk or dawn.
I ride very bravely even at gloomier hours.
I'm prepared to battle the darkest powers.
A warrior's path is not clean as a whistle.
A hero will find riddance of many a hassle.
I'll watch every step and risk at each turn.
I'll fight for my cause, for one thing I yearn.
Streams that run deep and mountains steep,
These miles I cover before I go to sleep.
No bad signs today these winds portend.
My princess, your wait does near its end.

Note: I've always written about things that have inspired me. But everytime I got my lazyness reflected in the poems. So I decided to write an action-packed one today.

We don't change

19-01-2005 A.D.

I try to look beyond those innocuous eyes.
The tangible smile on your lips that never dies.
Your stroll in the park every time and then.
For me, all about you, is still a good omen.
An omen that calls forth pleasure, no pain.
Opens your mansion down the memory lane.
A mansion not arty, no statues carved in wax.
I find myself awestruck, enchanted to relax.
All I find is little time to stand, stare and wink.
Ambience so enthralling, eyes refuse to blink.
Everywhere in here, frescos of you enslave.
Enticed in bliss, for else I do not now crave.
I hope not to depart from this reverie divine.
To elude the truth so harsh, you are not mine.

Note: When things are not that interesting in a Modern Communication Systems lecture, I can use my imagination to take me elsewhere. And this time I found a proper destination.