ना बहाओ अपने बेशकीमती अश्क़ मेरे जानाज़े पर

कि क़त्ल करने वालों को अब से क़ब्र का दीदार होगा

ज़िन्दगी तो खैर चाहने वालों ने दफ़न कर दी कब से

आज तो तबाह करने वालों का मुस्कराकर दीदार होगा

When Wrinkles Ripple

 

The waters were once tranquil till deep

Turqoise of tinge and placid of poise

Then the disruption of a swooping drop

That plucked peace with a sudden thud

Leaving a tremble with her retreating recoil

Shredding the serene skin to myriad hues

Triggering wrinkles on the perplexed forehead 

And inciting disquiet on the anxious mind.

Before these miniature waves dissolve in time

The drizzle of arrows sow ripples in the soul

Till the agitation reverberates in unison

To dislodge the calm from his command

Only to wriggle in the dust with humiliation.

With such turmoil my ripples could swell into tides

Only they felt it was awkward to weep aloud

And did not carry sufficient tears as a validation

Of unpredictable interrogations raised from within.

Beyond the margins of swollen eye , survived a dream

Dazzling to smile like a short lived bubble

With her visage lit by reflection of a silvery cheer

Distant but a dream nontheless worth a smile

With a jewel sparkling the soul till the time

When wrinkles ripple to burst life back to the serenity.

RIshikesh

01.08 hrs

26.8.26

2366

Meet yourself

 

Meet yourself

The one who vexes innocent souls

Those who take you to diety

Where you find it tough to walk

They suffer multiple trips in the day

Only to have grass and hay 

That they had freely in the meadow

Only to be sadly enter this trap!

Those who get slaughtered

For a few minutes of your taste

And fur, wool, carts and belts

And the nutrients more essential

Than the very life of the voiceless

Tormenting the innocent day and night

For no fault of theirs 

Other than that they got trapped

In the clutches of humanity!

Bon appetite , dear friend

As you pierce through the flesh

That hangs from the caracass

For your few moments of choice

Some calf went hungry for your morning tea

Good morning !

And if the vexation is so acceptable

Go, meat yourself 

2365

22.34 hrs

19.8.26

Noida

The Return on Marble steps

 

An hour before dusk swoops to snatch light

When the elongating shadows cover our limbs

The anxiety of impending night must spur us

But the weary day has seared the marble steps

The blistered hop on the scorching pieces of stone

Descends from supreme divinity to mediocrity

To find compassion in soft soles for the beleaguered 

Thankfully, wisdom preached which side was the temple.

Then the dark showers much relief from the fire

As the happy gait brings us to shore from horizon

The same soles turn bereft of all their wonted solace

For the marble steps were no more set ablaze

These steps determine our notion of the benevolence.

Ludhiana

2364

23.54 hrs

12.8.26

The Memories

 

The haze this dusk is thick

Webbed by the sprayed eye

Even as the sun blazes with fury

The blind of the mind is drawn

For the stutter holds the thought

Conjures a whirlpool of emotion

The capsized intellect is tossed

Unable to escape the drops of past

A cocoon forever with no evolution

The vibrance of time is thwarted

A superfluous sepal of shrivelled bud

Our dreams fail to come true

Merely by elongating the nights

The drops of time continue to flow 

Despite the hurdle raised by mental palm

Memories bring a false solace to mind

And thwart the pangs of growing time.

Ludhiana

2363

11.8.26

23.56 hre

The reverse sense

 

What is the question to a known response

In such a hunt the key seeks her lock

Like a prey in ambush for the peril

Much as a flow in wait of molten waters

A hearty laughter amidst a silent throng

The jubiliant feast without a reason

An intoxication before the tavern is open

It’s the unexpressed emotion of my  heart.

Enroute Delhi

Reverse sense, read past line upwards

2362

4.8.26

12.38 hrs

The Dream Destination

 

Where to set foot amidst darkness

When the stifled cries hold all light

Flogged forever from plough to the barn

Tethered to a shrunk horizon every dusk

The unbrindled flow of a free mind

Remains fetterred to an unrelenting belief

Even as the innocent infant gets dragged away

And starves to a neglected demise

The mind continues to chew the cud

Milched to the last single drop every time

The swollen udder covers exploding veins 

And merely awaits the hour of slow slaughter

In such an hour of swarming darkness

Even as the herd lines up to a plank

Every stride contemplated to break loose

In itself is a lifelong dream destination.

2361

Heathrow,London

4.8.26

7.40 hrs