Poetic Soul

 A small-town girl trying her best

To find a significant place in this insignificant world;

As a speck rambled and confused,

Believing she makes a difference,

Fighting through the crisis of survival,

As every single one does to exist. 

She puts her pinkish purple goggles on,

Deliberately refuses to remove them,

Sees the world in the hues of wonder and beauty;

Though the pride of literature adds 

A dash of significance to her existence,

Her life events and reality keeps trying 

To haze her radiance and burry her in the dark,

Testing every ounce of her might… 

As John Keats’ phrase ‘suspension of willing disbelief’ 

Is her gridlock to life—

Indeed, she knows the destination,

(As everyone does)

But believes the journey takes to different destination,

Until she reaches there;

Of course, she is thoroughly aware:

Life is a mockery!

A Send-Off to 2025

 Dear 2025, 

With you, my 5-year plan of just breathing in and out ends,

Or You take that bare survival plan with you, please;

When I turned back and check,

2020 doesn't look that far at all;

I was forced to live through loss after loss; 

My friends pass on a snide comment: 

“You have nothing to lose anymore!”

Here I press that rewind button: 

2020 - WOW! What a year to the world! 

The entire planet's sense and sensibility was challenged:

Personally, I was hoping for just 10-day lock down, 

Which turned out to be a 10-month lock down;

My four pets passed away, 

Which forged a dreadful fear of losing my parents; 

Vacated the city and reached hometown,

Trusting everything will be going back to normal

By the last day of the year.

2021- Egregious demises unleashed! 

The year began with my father's heart attack;

Though he survived it with 3 stents fixed,

3 months later, he passed away in the second wave;

My mom was a beacon of hope and light;

She fought 5 decades of battles no one could imagine, 

But, she lost to the virus in the second wave;

Just on the fourth day of my father's demise.

To my surprise, I was born with bronchitis and rhinitis;

Still can't fathom, how I live through it all

Without even a hospitalisation!

I officially became 39-year-old orphan,

With no tangible asset to possess,

With no emotional or moral support to assess,

With only one pet to cry with;

So, left the hometown with bare necessities; 

To the same metro city I have been working.

2022 - What just happened?

Days and nights passed by 

Month on month passed by too...

Still not sure what just happened;

How I am still breathing!

However, friends sponsored a trip to Ganges; 

Indeed, I had a cold dip for a while there...

Sadly, returned to my home leaving 

Beautiful Ganges and lovely friends too...

Rest of the year, I cut off many people 

And shut myself to my home,

The only saving grace was my cat 

Who survived out of 7 of them…

Somehow, we were rescuing each other.

2023 - Clumsy routine of corporate! 

A year just passed without me noticing;

Not knowing how to move forward,

Focus shifted to the only survival option: Work!

Return to Office (RTO) has been established;

Choosing between WFH and Hybrid mode

Was a huge challenge —

After 2020, team members are not just pan India but pan world —

Visiting office for few hours to meet RTO,

Working at home to meet all geographical time zones,

Is the new norms with no standard working hours;

Still I haven’t figured out whether I WFH or WFO! 

When life threw us out of congruence,

Astonishingly, mundane madness becomes a saviour; 

I started bonding with new colleagues at office, 

Which made me look forward to meeting them…

On that note, the year ended!

2024 - Year of Butterflies and High of Love!

One of the office colleagues turned into a favourite friend; 

As he gave his shoulder to cry on,

My empty self took an advantage of it:

Without even processing my grief,

I fell for him head over heals:

My to-do list for the year was to make food for him,

And spend most of my time with him; 

Mostly, the year was all about him...

One year is a long time for butterflies to flutter;

By the end of the year, he left me without a clue. 

2025 - Dealing with abandonment and uncertainties

Panic attacks and wheezing for months continued...

Therapy sessions to regulate emotions 

That never calm down more than a day; 

When everything was out of control,

Job was the only thing never threatened me so far;

June 2025 - Boom! One secure thing that lasted for 2 decades

Is now agitated by the booming AI, 

And brutal lay offs of thousands and thousands started; 

Legit, I was quite convinced myself—

Without chasing for more, I will retire in the same company;

Now, everyday seems lucky because I still have the job!

Also, nothing went back to normal after 2020;

But in spite of all, I did achieve my 5-year plan! 

I am still breathing in and out—

This year does bring back the focus on me and only me.

Thank you and adios, 2025.

Status List

I am alright with

Varied thoughts,

Arid emotions,

Carried baggages,

Married to mundane,

Buried bridges,

Worried of tomorrows,

Tarried Life…

நானே எனக்கு போதும்

கண்கள் கொள்ளா கொள்ளைக் கொள்ளையாய்

கொட்டிவைத்த கனவுகள் 

காலம் கரைந்து ஓடியபின்னும்... 

கனவுகள் மட்டும் கரையவில்லையே 

காதலித்து களைத்து போன பின்னும் 

காதலின் மீது மட்டும் களைப்பு வரவில்லை

அன்பின் ஆற்றலின்றி நிகழ்காலத்தின் 

நிர்பந்தத்தில் சிக்கி சிதைந்துக் கொண்டிருக்கிறேன்...

மனதோரத்தில் ஏக்கம்:

சட்டென பட்ட மரம் துளிர்க்காதோ 

இம்முறையேனும் மாற்றம் மலராதோ 

உறவுகள் அறிவுரைத்த போதும்  

சரியென்று சலிப்பு வரவில்லை என் மேல் எனக்கு!

Lingering Questions from Frankenstein (2025)

Aren't we all prey to Victors' greed and pride?

Didn't generations of Victors set the pattern 

Of unending loop of merciless survival?

How are we taking pride in procreation

Without the accountability to protect the innocence?

Why do we need to run behind the herd 

In the fear of failing and dying?

Who created this mass measuring social yardstick? 

Who told us that we are higher in hierarchy?

Didn't the sky shine and rain for every living organisms?

Did we take consent from the planet to use their resources?

Aren't we abusing those resources beyond our needs?

Did I ask to be born in this world?

Or did I sign up for this mortal agony?

Do I have a choice not to participate in this social mockery?

Silence of Secrets

Time whispers the secret of next moment;

But, the informed and knowledgeable reason 

Screams the humdrum chaos of mundane,

And mutes the whispers to be lost in silence;

The unknown conscious listens keenly, 

And alerts the mortal cells and tissues;

I marvel at the beauty and the irony of being.

As every minute unfolds a secret,

I function with the constant anxiety;

The more I hold the less I express:

Where the silence is thicker the void is wider;

Familiar friend turns into a stranger!

Drop the tiring act of secrets. 

As life unveils the unknown every moment,

I can’t handle both natural and man-made secrets.

Waning Mighty Love for Mangoes

When it comes to love for mangoes

My head to toe tangoes 

Stereotypically I am a loud and proud Indian,

While raving about  mango varieties without a median; 

Mangoes can engage all my senses,

So shamelessly I surrender without any defences;

Even when I was mourning my losses,

The peak of mango season was the one that eases;

No wonder! I was born in the middle of the mango season,

For a reason, or so exaggerates my poet’s mind with passion!

The stupidest of all my stupidity

Is sharing my love for mangoes with a friend of serendipity;

As he has travelled far chasing his dreams,

My days have become insipid routines of silent screams;

Never in my wildest dreams, I fathom,

My love for mangoes would lose its anthem;

This whole season is slipping through my fingers;

As I walk through aisles of mangoes, his thought lingers…