Lost Balloons!

Riding the bike with extra focus,

Amidst crowded cars and bikes on the hustling and bustling Bangalore road;

We are all immersed in the madness of mundane runs;

Indeed, the same by-hearted humdrum route;

With known rising and falling speed of potholes and puddles,

With gifted canopies of lustrous trees,

With serenity of green and bright-coloured blossoms;

But, no time to cherish the beauty of seasons changing through the same trees;

Sometimes, jealousy engulfs just seeing nature's relentless job:

With no profit, no validation, or any recognition;

Yet, mind is preoccupied with meaningless and pointless worries, 

Of the lost and past,

And loses its sight of beauty and joy of presence;

At an intersection tightness of traffic light,

Amidst numerous red lights of fancy cars and bikes,

A scooter laden with balloons bigger than a car; 

As the lighter and fuller flowing balloons called for attention,  

Wave of honks and  noises increasingly tried to make him disappear:

A bunch of pink elephant balloons mock at the horns and honks;

Fuller blue and red balloons were soaring upward with no distraction;

The traffic light went green and the drama of balloons was lost;

Back into nonstop cars, buses, trucks and bikes,

With unknown artificial urgency,

Rushing to home for the peace and stillness…

Hand-in-Hand, Alone

With you, I dreamt alone,

But as a perfect couple;

Now, we are permanently torn…

Yet, my dreams were too supple—

Hand-in-hand you and me:

When the sky turns purple,

Just sipping our evening tea,

In silence with no crinkle;

It's neither the spike of lust,

Nor the gamble of trust;

We merely exist in the comfort

Of each other's presence with no effort

As time passes,

And the familiarity eases,

Each argument brings us closer,

Respect makes no one a loser;

It's easier to tolerate monotony,

With your stupid company…

I can be shamelessly stupid,

As you don't judge me for being timid…

My phone rings and I am sitting alone

With the reality of no one

You showed me the glimpse of my dream

Two years back and left me with silent scream

Indeed, now, you and I are just strangers,

Who just crossed paths as exchangers;

It's hard for me to ignore

The existence of your lore

Hope to let go of my dreams

One day I will heal and run along the stream…

Suicides by Social Norms

 Hearsay has murdered for eras

Without the notice of tiaras

Countless fossils of mortals

Still continue the invisible throttles

Everlasting dictatorship in disguise

Advancing AI can’t even realise

Civilised civilisations name

Politely as ‘social norm’

Generation after generation

From the day of civilisation

Failed to remove the social scaffold

Most keep climbing with a blindfold,

Without knowing what for and how far,

Fear of mocking climbers on a par;

Convenient systemic cruelty of generalisation

Thrashed numerous visions in trivialisation;

Why can’t Einstein still make sense?

Baseless fear-mongers create a tension

That burns the hope and vision,

Of numerous fishes’ dream of ocean

Compared to the climbing monkeys,

Abused for being born as donkeys!

Naive souls drive over the edge,

With no one to dredge…

Two Birds Sing out of Chorus

The couple of losses wounded your innocent bird;

You never waited for it to heal;

You forcefully shoo the bird away from you;

So that you need not feel the pangs of pain;

You empty the room from flapping animated innocence,

And filled it with fancy bottles of wine and random chalices…

Your life fits comfortably in the hollow.

You and I shouldn’t have crossed our paths;

But, we did at the oddest of time!

Of course, neither the time favours me ever, nor do I ever bow to it;

Because, I let my innocent bird live wild and free in me;

Indeed, I had more losses than one could ever have normally;

Yet, I didn’t learn to tame or contain my bird;

I can never be cruel enough to send the wounded bird away.

When we met, you just didn’t believe;

So, you just befriended me to test if the wildness was real;

Then, you witnessed me as a fictional character out of a book;

As your emptied room echoed loud,

You knocked off all my walls and reached out to my bird;

The more you spent time with my bird, the more you learned its pros and cons,

And your empty walls bellowed deeper to bring back your bird home;

You got scared of the wounded bird coming back;

It was easier for you to shut your doors at me;

Indeed, I am alright!

But, you never should have tried to be in touch with my innocent bird…

I still don’t know how to console or contain her from your absence;

I still try to help my little innocent bird to heal and flap her wings and chirp again…

My bird still sings to your bird that roams in the farther land with no home to return…

As your bird lost its voice to the unknown, he never sings back at all…

Who am I!

Some address me as an epitome of arrogance;

Some criticise me as a loser;

My own mom called me a fiasco;

Many school and college mates just saw me as a misfit;

Some friends name me a simple and humble soul;

A friend keeps saying, “you are too poetic to live with”;

Another friend keeps saying, “you are too idealist to live in reality”;

Two men I fell in love with said and left, “you are too pure to meddle with”;

My relatives pity me as a misfortunate:

As I rejected many grooms,

Who offered financially and socially secure life!

But, I myself wonder:

Why am I this way?

Why can’t I fit myself in the mould?

What am I proving?

Who am I proving to?

How far will this go?

Who am I?

Letters to No One

 Dearest Mr. Silent Distance,

And Constant Resistance,

How have you been without my presence?

Hope you keep up with your essence:

‘Out of sight, out of mind’!

Indeed, you don’t have to mind—

The existence of a real friend in a fake city;

You have taken yourself far and more;

I just see time passes by me to wear and tear;

I do rationalise that the blame is on me: 

Neither can I compartmentalise ‘you and me’, 

Nor can I flip the switch to erase and move…

I am alright without trying to woo;

Of course, you didn’t have any feeling,

So there is no need for healing;

To me, it has always been one-sided dealing,

I keep fighting alone through this feeling for healing…

On me, neither time nor distance has its effect;

As everyone rightly points out, it’s only my defect;

You are winning trophies for your mastery in running;

Whereas, I am losing myself in pining;

My mind gaslights my stupid heart to trust as it was just my dream;

Your mind knows to be smart to shut your heart’s scream…

Partying World

Nay! I am neither worried about the wasted lives in the war,

Nor do I care that a dull-witted president’s pride and greed can’t be restrained by the whole world!

What’s that forum called? The UN, isn’t it?

By the way, I am not as deeply concerned as the UN is.

Indeed, the world has been partying with

the traces and losses of COVID-19;

And the financial celebrations of AI intervention in every sector;

There was a DJ missing and, of course, here come missiles to add music to the partying world!

I couldn’t participate in the party as I couldn’t cook or eat my food;

The only thing that stops me from having fun is the 10-day wait for a cylinder!