Raat aur sannata

Aasman me chaand kuch ungh sa raha tha
Tare kuch naaraj se idhar udhar chitke the
Raat kal kuch kam syaah thi
Hawa roj ki tarah gaa nahi rahi thi
Chat pe akele baithe
Maine kal dekha tha
Ek sannate ko aasmaan ko gherte hue
Dheere dheere raat ko apni baajuon mein jakadte hue
Sannate ki us aahat se chaand jag gaya tha
Tare ek doosre ko sehami nazron se dekhne lage the
Raat ke aanchal par silvate pad gayi thi
Chat par akele baithe
Maine kal dekha tha
Us darr ko jo raat ki aankhon mein sama gaya tha
Us ghabrahat ko jisne uske honth sil diye the
Us bechaini ko jisne hawa ka dam ghont diya tha
Hawa chaand taare aur aasman
Kuch na kar sake the
Aur sannata raat par daag chhod gaya tha

Do you still look back
And remember that time
That era when we were still strangers
The pain that binds me to you now
Seems to have been in existence
Since the beginning of time
Yet there was a time and place
Not long ago
When we were inhabitants of parallel universes
Almost unaware of each others existence

Here silences shriek
And the light casts dark shadows
Here time stands still
Memories rot and wither
Dreams fade
Desires burn
And hope shatters
Yet this place feels eerily familiar
An old acquaintance
As if from a past life
I have been here
I have walked these winding lanes
Leading to nowhere
I have smelled the now rotting flowers
I swam in the now dried stream
That was then
This is now
Once love blossomed with a promise of life
Now the wines of hatred cling and suffocate
Once open skies gave the dreams wings to fly
Now the menacing dark clouds weed out all hope
Once you and I were here together
Now… I am still here, alone.

Black hole

People have a way of blinking, and missing the moment
Moments that then come back to haunt them in time
The Ifs and buts enlarging to giddying proportions
The broken promises of those moments
The potential of the moments which withered before even taking root
Come back as a specter
Manifesting themselves in heinous forms
Feeding on newer moments of solitude
Tearing through the defenses of the time elapsed
The memories of the missed moments
Gushing in to the interstices of life
Until those interstices enlarge to become a void
A black hole

Let the river live

Let the river live
Let her breathe
Let her play
Let her transform from the adolescent girl
To a full woman
With all the vigor of youth
Let her fulfill the promises of love
Let her sprint and run with open arms
To the lover who waits for her for all eternity
See her passions alight as she embraces the waiting sea
And becomes one with him
As she shares the story of her journey
Reclining on his shoulders
See him hug her tightly,
As she is born anew as a part of him.

I felt my way through life
Through its varied twists and turns
I felt things and people and thoughts (yes I felt them)
I felt elation and distress
I felt love and hatred
I felt each dawn and every dusk
Every moment in my life has been a feeling

But now the realization of the futility of feeling dawns on me
I thought what I understood was enough
It’s only now that I realize that the not understood part has become so huge ,
There are few threads of understanding left
I relied more on feeling than understanding
And I discovered too late it would never suffice in this practical world
Rather in this world full of overly practical people

Waiting 2

Lingering awhile amidst the lengthening shadows
I think of tomorrow
When a new sun will alight in the sky
Spreading its warm glow
And as it would begin its journey in the sky
Would begin my wait for you
A hope that this sunset will bring you back in my arms
As the bird return to their nest
Won’t you return to me too?
Oh traveler
Have you not yet grown weary?
Of the roads that led you away
Do you not remember that someone waits for you?
Standing on her window sill
Someone watches the horizon
Waiting for a glimpse of you