Eternity

Seasons come, seasons go. People come, people go. What remains is what is eternal. My post for the letter E, is a poem I published a few years ago.

An ode to the permanence of our cores, which remain unchanged in the midst of the transients. Much like the water, which, though its form may change from time, still remains water, H2O. Or like the sands on a beach, which witness myriad encounters with transience, but persist the way they have been, forever.

The news reader exclaims with glee,

“The monsoons are here!”

The cuckoo on my courtyard’s Gulmohar,

Echoes her joy with ‘coo’s.

The clear patch of blue,

Where the brilliant orb shone yesterday,

Is a thing of the past.

Replaced today,

By a muddy patchwork,

Of Cumulonimbus’s,

Straight out of a cotton farm.

 

 While the sky sheds tears,

Bemoaning the cloudy infestation,

I muse.

The clouds are same,

The drops are same,

And so is the breeze.

Meeting up in the heavens every year,

Before they come visiting,

At my window sill.

Only to be greeted by,

A different story.

A new movie each time.

New characters, new plots, new settings,

All new, save me.

 

 I am like the sands of Marina.

Numerous footfalls,

On my static grains.

A light tread here,

A heavy one there,

Some fast and some slow,

All, all over me,

 While I remain unchanged.

 

No storm, no tide has ever

Caused me to budge.

The physical me totters,

The mental me sways,

But I, I remain unmoved.

Absorbing the experience

Of varying footfalls,

As they come and go,

While I remain.

 

I was, I am, I will be,

Here along with the clouds,

The rain and the breeze.

Living the ultimate truth,

Watching the transients pass.

The revelry of joy and pangs of despair,

Are only for body and mind.

As ice, liquid or vapour,

Water still remains water,

and so remain I.

 

This poetry was first published in Contemporary Literary Review India Nov 2012 Issue.

 

This post has been written as part of the A-Z Challenge. Do keep visiting this blog on more gyan on life and my perception of it, all this month.

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The Wait

Wandering through the forest of Life,
I stumbled upon a rocky hill.
Standing tall, it seemed elusive,
Yet beckoned me, nearer still.

Near I went, explore I did, rock by rock,
Hard and rough it was, toughest ever.
Still, beneath this toughness I could discern,
A tender interior, soft as a feather.

To reach that core, to feel its softness,
Became my life’s ambition.
So I did, with all my patience and hope,
Pursue this impossible mission.

Perseverance pays, they say, and pay it did,
When finally I discovered a gap between the rocks.
Through the opening I crept inside and,
Reached my goal dispelling all the blocks.

Here I am, in the soft earth at the core,
Burying a seed, the seed of love.
Tending it with care, manuring with affection,
And giving it the warmth of the sun above.

And now I wait, for the sapling to emerge,
A testimony of love and patience.
Emerge it will one day, and grow into a tree,
And in its shade I’ll sleep, in pure bliss.

 

Where art thou!

Oh Inspiration! Where art thou!

You strike at odd hours,

When the whistle of my cooker screams,

When I lullaby my little one to dreams,

When clothes are being hung out to dry,

Or pakoras being readied to fry.

You catch me unawares,

When I cannot catch you,

and sculpt you with the tool of my words.

I try hard to confine you within my brain

To not forget and chisel you into into shape,

But when I sit down to do just that task,

You vanish like you never existed.

And I am left facing the calm after a storm,

The silence that comes when birds have flown away.

The clean slate that contains no traces of your stay.

Oh Inspiration! Come to me once more,

For together we have a lot to explore.

I want to soar those skies on your wings,

And relish the joy developing you brings.

Oh Inspiration! Where art thou!

Gifted, Blessed and Happy – I Am

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Gifted is not he who has had

Many friendships in his lifetime.

Gifted is he who has

One friendship to last a lifetime.

Blessed is not he who is able to

Make all his dreams come true

Blessed is he who has a friend,

Who exults when his dreams come true.

Happy is not he who is always

In constant touch with his friends.

Happy is he with a friend who will,

Come calling when his morale is low.

Metamorphosis

During summer, my blog wore a rainy look,

Now that rains are here, it is ablaze,

with bright sunshine.

Vibrant colours, exciting hues.

Is this self-denial,

What am I running away from,

I ask myself.

Maybe it is the way of reminding myself,

That the only thing that doesn’t change,

Is Change.