Fifth Verse - For the gorgeous guests who've made our terrace their second home

Winged wisdom

I look at the birds and wonder

As they fly across lands far and wide,

Unafraid by lightening or thunder

Light and free over the clouds they glide.

Unmatched in their command of the sky so vast

Swooping down or just hovering at times

Under their piercing gaze, nothing gets past

Whether winter, rainy or sunnier climes.

Twittering and chirping in a language their own

Truly amazing to wake up to a melodious bird song

Conveying myriad messages in many a different tone

Perched high on a tree branch all day long.

Never interfering or coming in the way

Going about their business with tranquil glee

Mimicking any sound like a mockingjay

Holding onto everything they hear and see

 

Not belonging to any one place

Making the world their home

Like vagabonds they traverse

Carrying all the wisdom contained in a tome.

On long routes while migration

To conserve much needed energy

They fly together in unison

In picture perfect synergy.

Like them let us soar ever higher

Using the wind beneath for propulsion

No dream is too big or destination too far

Once our lives gather enough momentum

What a wonderful creation our feathered friends

Always teaching us a thing or two

To have a heart that transcends

Makes the barriers all too few!!

Fourth Verse

Threshold

Battered by the winds of adversity

Burnt by the fire of several trials
Is that all there is to you... my little soul,
Nothing but a gigantic Black Hole?

No... Cries out an inner voice

Look within, it says and you’ll be surprised
As you stop, relax and pat your tears dry
There’s unsurpassed beauty if you are willing to give it a try

Filled with music, lyrics and a lot of suspense
With a smattering of deafening sounds of silence
At places dotted by pathways and at others blocked by a wall
You’ll find mountains of expectations all too tall

 
The depths of despair and the ecstasy of pleasure
Are both found deep within
The prison that keeps us locked in
Is strengthened by our very own sin

An unending night blackened by my ignorance
With the darkness engulfing every inch of me
I crave for a sliver of joy, a ray of light
But my arrogance  getting the better of me

Wading through the pieces of my broken heart
Wanting to break free from the shackles of hopelessness
Gasping for breath, buried deep in quicksand
All i need, desperately, is a helping hand

But if i look hard enough
The window to happiness, the threshold to a new dawn
Is right here within my reach
If for some courage, my cowardice, I’m willing to pawn.

All i need to do is to take that one step
Mustering all the courage and wisdom that i can
Out of the darkness and into the light
To Cross over the threshold ready to take flight

Into unknown worlds and faraway lands
Stumbling, falling, Stumbling, falling..
Yet like a phoenix always rising from the ashes
With the flame of HOPE burning bright in my heart
Believing that the threshold to a brand new world is just around the corner,
if only... I’m willing to make a fresh start!

As I look at the world in a new light
I see all my sorrows slowly melt away
As the sun of eternal happiness rises from the bottom of my soul
Bathing my entire being in its warmth and illuminating a fast fading Black hole!

Third Verse

This one's about appreciating what's obvious and celebrating what's not...

Sense and Sensibility!

Listen to,

The buzzing of the bees

The chirping of the birds

The thunder in the sky

And the pitter patter of raindrops

Falling on the earth...

To the echoes reverberating in the mountains

The wind whispering in your ear

And also to what’s unsaid...

By people you hold dear!

Look at the sun rising in the horizon

The flowers blooming in all their glory

The vibrant colours of a butterfly

The beauty of a rainbow after the rain

The sensuality of appetizing red apple tarts

The ferocity of the waves crashing at the shore

And See also the goodness residing in peoples’ hearts!

Smell the wonderful fragrance of Jasmine

Of the rain as it falls on parched earth

The dampness of cool mountain air

The lingering sweetness of a ripe mango

And the subtle coolness of mint...

But do not forget to sniff out the simmering indifference

That may divide families and cause a rift!

Taste the sweetness of a soft rasgullah

The bitterness of dark chocolate

The crispiness of fried pakoras

The saltiness of sea water on the beach

The tanginess of a lime, on a hot summer day

But most important is...

To taste both defeat and victory,

To be able to appreciate and write history!

Feel the softness of a rose petal,

The warmth of the sun during cold winter months

The coolness of gentle breeze in spring

The finger- numbing chill of snow

And the stinging hot summer winds sweeping the ground

Above all let us deeply feel...

The happiness and sorrows of everyone around!

So let’s truly listen, look, hear, taste and feel

What a blessing are these wonderful senses

With each to take in more and more

And to embrace each one without any fences!!

  

Second Verse - An ode to the inspiration propelling MERAKI... My daughter!

My Sunshine

You are like sunshine on a rainy day
Gladdening my heart in a million ways
I wonder if you are the answer to my prayers
A little adult with multiple layers
Becoming a mother, when I need care
Patiently listening to what I have to share
You are a father, when I need advice
Strict admonition is sometimes nice
 A trusted friend, when I’m feeling low
Your mere presence makes me glow
A computer expert, when I struggle with keys
In you my darling, I find my peace
Taking care of the house when I’m not around
I know your logic is pretty sound

A willing guinea pig for all my experiments in cooking
Makes me admire secretly when you are not looking
You are a buddy when I need to go shopping
Thinking.. when it comes to my Mom... there is no stopping
Forever a loving teacher, so full of grace
You lift my spirits with your innocent praise
A role model... with qualities many in number
You are always cool as a cucumber
Always surprising me with your funny theories
From where do you pull out your endless stories?
Sweetie, your strength makes me stronger
Your goodness, better and your wisdom, wiser
You are the reason I want to come home early
Everything about you is so wonderfully girly
As a baby, you kept me busy with your antics
Growing up... your studies make me a little frantic
Your love for books is heartening to see
Your writing skills fill me with glee
 Hope you treasure all your virtues, just like a pearl in an oyster
They shall make you stand out even in a cluster
Hope you get everything you want in your life
Spreading cheer whether a daughter or a wife
Cause you deserve only the best life has to offer
Nothing less than a BMW driven by a chauffer
 You, my baby, are the centre of my existence
Undoubtedly my life’s real essence
Its surreal to watch you grow and blossom day by day
Promise me, you’ll be HAPPY come what may
Hope as a mother I help u in developing your roots and wings

So that you stay grounded and yet soar high into the sky, like kites on strings.         

First Verse

So here I am, ready to share a part of me, with every successive poem. This is among the first few ones that I ever wrote. It captures my hesitant thoughts, a precarious state of mind and the complementary oddities of life. Read on!

Opposites

A little joy and a little sorrow

Someone, somewhere is ready to borrow

A little war and a little peace

Life, my friend, can be a real tease

A little rain and a little sunshine

Always fighting for what is mine

A little bitter and a little sweet

Sometimes life’s a real cheat

A little hot and a little cold

Hidden somewhere is a pot of gold

A little crazy and a little sane

Sometimes it is just so full of pain

A little spicy and a little bland

Afraid to ask for a helping hand

A little smooth and a little rough

A crest is followed by a trough

A little fast and a little slow

Why can’t the good times forever flow?

A little naive and a little wise

There’s always an opportunity for us to rise

A little cruel and a little kind

At times leaves me in a bind

A little black and a little white

Teaching us wrong from right

A little victory and a little defeat

Difficult to always stay upbeat

 A little clear and a little hazy

Oh! Dear, Am I going crazy?

A little hard and a little soft

Tired of Principles to hold aloft

A little heavy and a little light

Sometimes lacking the will to fight

A little obedient and a little belligerent

A million opportunities to repent

A little polite and a little rude

Makes you pull up your socks ... dude

A little real and a little make believe

Often leaving us alone to grieve

A little poison and a little medicine

A little virtue and a little sin

A little trial and a little error

Life’s a mix of many a contrasting flavour

Each one for us to savour

Impossible to figure how the opposites join

 In the end they are, but two sides of the same coin...

Preamble

Words like waves constantly lash against the shore of the mind, eventually receding into oblivion. One way to capture them, in all their whimsical intensity, I discovered (certainly not the only one), is by molding them into lyrical expressions of 'abab'.

Compelled by the sudden urge to pen down my random thoughts, one fine day, I wrote the first ever poem of my life, on the last page of a worn out diary. In that moment, at midnight, I was born anew, having manifested a part of me, lying dormant until then. Reading my first poem, was like cuddling a new born baby, every verse as beautiful and endearing as a baby's angelic smile. It's like the floodgates had finally opened and I could express my myriad emotions in innumerable ways. And so began my love affair with words, getting emboldened with every poem, every song and every verse that I wrote. Clandestine meetings with hazy ideas, playing hide and seek with rhyming words, deep yearning for the last full stop and endless sleepless nights. Who knew this is what writing entailed? But I fell in love with it, either way, and so no more flirting, it was for keeps. So join me on this adventure as we navigate the twists and turns of the magical journey called life, armed with a pen, a paper and a wild imagination...