The Wood's End

A twilight share of clear vision
when the glare of the day is subdued,
the colors invisible by far yet
emerge, mellow, in the notes of a song.
One listens to the oceans, caverns and woods
A peace of a different magnitude
reigns over the storms.
The robin alternates between joy and an urge
to reach beyond the ends of the woods.
There is a world beyond the woods
which the robin must find before it's dark.
At last it is the friend who speaks to the ultimate reach of the spirit
to set free the voice that  remained
stuck to the walls of metaphysics

After I Am Gone

After I am gone
promise me
you will not be sad.
I will be away, that's all.
And yet if in solitude the memories haunt,
do not be gloomy,
do not be sad.
I will be away, not lost.
The keepers of my secret sign will be many;
do not be alarmed ;
they are all your friends.
Glance in passing
at your image in the stream;
staring back will be none but me.
Just have a word with the passing breeze
rushing in haste to cross the range
of the faraway hills
following the hint of the scent of the musk
lingering on my lips
from the kiss you planted
like the doe drunken on love.

And yet somehow I suspect
all these clues are the meanderings
of a poetic fancy, all in vain.
You know well where to look for me.

I have yet to know those dense forests,
those caves lying deep
in the recesses of your heart
where despite my efforts
I could not reach,
that place whereto
I was denied access.
Don't forget to look for me
there too, before you search everywhere else.
Perhaps that's the place;
you may find me there.

A Witch

A witch she was
only the magic potion from the sealed vial in my hand
could let you talk to her and catch her words in half of their length.
Now she is lost,
lost to sea and submerged under the waves.
I do not know how to break the seal;
I do not know if she abides still
in the tiny space inside this vial.
Be content now to admire the exquisite workmanship
of this delicate, fragile vial in my hand.
Letting her out, even if I can, may spell a havoc
I cannot measure as of now.
What storms raged
over the sea and the land,
how the oceans were ravaged by mad hurricanes!
Who can tell how it was in the wind and the storm and the rain?
Let her remain caught in the vial
and let the mouth remain sealed,
and let me too
lie asleep
at the bottom of the ocean's floor.

The Exotic Flower

 The exotic flower,
Do I not know your name?
It was uttered in the Indus long ago,
even before you and I were born.
I know the garden
where you are born each day
and live through the night.
Do I not know how your fragrance spreads
and do I not let you haunt
my night and day and keep awake
to trail your path from budding to blooming
and from there to wilt and drop?
My priest in the wilderness,
I trust you my ecstasy , my remorse.
I trust your heart like a deepest vault,
the keeper of the story of my life

Image Courtesy : Latif Z


Maha Shiva Ratri : The Infinite Night Of Shiva

Maha Shivaratri : The Infinite Night Of Shiva
From a grain of sand
you reveal
an infinite mind, an infinite heart;
you  : The Shiva, The Shankara,
the serenity, the peace that does good to all.

The ranges of the Himalayas,
grey and white
are your matted hair,
the maze of walls, the labyrinth, wherein swirl
the waters of the adolescent river, Ganga, virgin, pure.
With abundant grace you don
the dancing waves, the brooks and the streams,
the rivulets light
upon the crown of your head
the delicate world of creepers, branches, foliage green,
glimmering rays of of gorgeous sheen.

And from the woods where beauty dwells,
my glance travels down to your forehead and stops
dazzled by what I see :
tongues of fire, a holy pyre,
leaping up, alternating
between light and dark,
and light again,
until the eye can no longer blink
and I silently shut them to store the vision
of infinite wonder, infinite glory.

The vast expanse of the desert lands
is you forehead now,
an open field where the fire burns
ceaselessly.

With the nightfall comes the time of love,
Shiva's love;
and the crescent moon arrives.
Where is the wilderness gone?
There, where the fire burnt, now the divine blue
pervades your being.
From moment to moment I live and love
and dip my petals
in your waters deep : The Infinite Shiva
The Infinite Love of all beings
The Infinite Shiva, The Infinite Love of all beings