The bullets

In the eyes of the shadow of times Reflecting on the nights of contradiction Burning bright like the candle alight Partial truth, partial fiction. No one was there to take the fall I guess we had to commit after all The bombs were heard all over the city Blinding lights, flashing fire, really pretty. Maybe […]

Blue

Echoes, wails, tears, screams. A painter’s canvas, a writer’s ink, a director’s camera and a woman’s reality. If the machine is the factories’, the money is the bosses’, the land is the governments’; What do I own? The wind, the sea, the breeze? Dreams, faith, belief, trial. A young man’s doubts, an adult man’s struggles, […]

The Wrestler

Blood on the canvas The sweat drenched carnival The lights above us The 3 count and it will be over The curtain call; the passing of the torch. The ‘roids have kicked in; the veins are engorged. A career taking bumps, the lost brain cells The deathmatches, the last man standings, the hell in the […]

Must be her

What abysmal plot is this devious life? Lovers by day, strangers by night. Masquerade, facade & charade. Laughter, kisses, smiles & wait. Drifting words with coffee on an afternoon. Petrichor on the first day of monsoon. Eyes, scent, embrace & wait. Days going slow, but years running late. Through the cracks of the draught of […]

some other day

Hello, my dear old friend. I hope we can go back to how it began. Beyond the screens, the chimneys & the steam. Before the gourmet, buffets & ice cream. Beyond the clouds of smoke & the slavery of nine to five To a place where the only worry is that play ground with the […]

Children’s kites

On the confession stand, I ain’t the true man. Do you forgive the sins when I stagger back drunk again? Shining through the still road, comes a bike from far away. Burning the street & burning the light, he plans to not stay On the brink of utter destruction, he will fight them all. Even […]

The harmonica

Somewhere in the distance, the man in the shadows holds a play There is no depth to the circus, the old men say On their knees, arms folded, they get together & pray Sight charred, broken arms, waiting for the new day. Let it be stated & confessed, every hour is a punishment Crowded to […]

Hosh me aane do

Hosh me aane do samjha dunga Insaan ujaad veeraniyan Ankahi ansuni kahaniyan Jab aayi aakhir milne Soch ke lagi khilne Kis tarah izhaar karegi Samay lekar thi nikli Jaise ho fuul par titli Chodd ke aayi thi bandhan saare Sanket the tootte taare Jab pahochi manzil par Toh insaan nahi mazar tha Par phir bhi […]

The Last Lear

Through the paintings on wall And the tapestries made of gold Simmering on the surface Just beneath the visible layer Is the dying truth The Last Lear And the paintings were sold And the tapestries are now old But the lustre of the truth remains Though invisible to those that can’t comprehend The beginning of […]

Planet Earth. Just one.

Kings and queens bow down their heads For the light beyond the big red’s nest And on those grounds unfounded Comes that nefarious sound And the grounds rattle, breaking the shackles Of the violence caused by man And the reality dawns, from the crooked bones That all is grain of sand. And while I take […]

Her Story

Piercing the veil to the place where she hides & cries At least once in her life, a woman dies. Some stay quiet, some speak out Some are encouraged to keep silent, on others they cast doubt. She is asked to be strong; to be better equipped Sons get impunity, hence they remain pieces of […]

Freestyle

The torments that followed me I break away from. The demons that were gonna prey I eat away on. My past dies with every flickering thought of my conscience I survive as I smile on my sins and bones. I victimise the crumbling demons. I sing tunelessly and without rhythm. The spine on the pine […]

Go and See

Have you ever seen the waves at the horizon that look calm and discreet? Have you seen that shadow boxer sparring under the tree? Have you observed that boy running barefoot in the field? If you have seen them, they are me. If not, go and see. For they carry fight, and fight is me. […]

again

the society swallows the reality in gossip truth disappears like tears in rain. nothing hurts, everyone goes about their day no thoughts, no feelings, no pain. the silence swallows what could have been. the truth slips away like sand from the hand. with each unsaid word, a new beginning dies i ask you to believe […]

voices

reality/fantasy

i know the reality of the world but for my sanity the fantasy shall remain grieved by the hunger enshrined and the dead and rotten raised for the divine fastidious gods fed by drunken knaves solicitous and blind to the slaves corrupt lords & dead ladies crimson rivers and smothered babies i know the reality […]

Gone By Dawn

So stereotypical of the night to play these tricks again Bullies & their targets mix again Attempting to sabotage, whatever rationality is left about With enough sentences phrased to leave no room for doubt. And the prisoners are asking him to stop. To view smoke and hear cough Deranged by the blocks, that are closing […]

Nibhana Bhul Jaata Hun

From time to time I go back to this poem by Dushyant Kumar sahab &, chotta muh badi baat, but I added a few lines to it because the “farishta hun sach batata hun” always made me feel like the poem is ending on a note that leaves words that he wanted to say but […]

New Day

On a road far away Far beyond the milky way A tear in her eyes Took a trip to quench the pain Hoping to meet again Believing in the lies Maybe there is a song for this With words that reminisce The falling teardrops from the sky Or a drink in malibu Raised as a […]

The Silent Majority

To, The Voice of Reason & Peace How dare you not see how we see? How dare you empathise? How dare you not realise? Whataboutery! How dare you stand for others? How dare you stand against the abuse? How dare you not stand by us? How dare you clean their wounds? How dare you still […]

Uska Deedar Karna Hai

Raat ka waqt tha samay ka hosh nahiDar lag raha tha par ruk jau ye sankoch nahiṅKadam ruke toh uske ghar ke saamneAb laaṅgh toh na pauṅga kivaaḍ iss ghar kiZara bata do usko uska deedar karna hai Bohot samay se baichain ho gaya thaDin ka sangharsh andhere ka rain ho gaya tha Na sahi […]

v.i.e.t.n.a.m.

What’s a man without sadness? What’s a life without deceit? What’s a broken woman’s wail? & lives lived discreet What’s an eagle without wings? A falling subterfuge What’s a dying man’s last wish? Chained to his gods & views Beyond the questions unanswered Is an inconsequential existence Held in a mother’s arms Is a crying […]

Rode on

Wind in my hair Breakneck speed No yesterday & tomorrow No promises to keep For the ones that were kept Went unnoticed & the ones that should have held theirs Are now gone So, I rode on Through the narrow, curvy roads To the wide & crowded 6 lanes Through the broken, quiet towns To […]

the way back home: pt.2

Your eyes stay & peel away The facade of calm The flesh between the arms The nights when feet touched between sheets The days when smiles were exchanged during meals The tar on the road burnt by wheels As ruins of the night stay As a reminder Of the tears that were shed there & […]

The way back home: pt. 1

Real words bleed when you feel The run of a thousand horses on on open field The hailstorm on a busy day in a crowded town The fall of a thirsty eagle to the ground The pain of a death The stench of the dead The thoughts of the departed The violence of silence Darkening […]

The Man on the Sand

Sand as far as the eye can see, mirage, a devil’s trick No answers but the yellow land, feet growing tired & the sweat thick He has travelled alone, from a place unknown, a faceless man without a name No fears, no tears, no feelings; for those that felt are now insane He carries scars […]

red

Where have you been my brown eyed love? What have you seen my mystic, young one? Have you been down the roads that are dead & haunted? Have you visited the streets whose wails don’t reach? Have you seen that toddler die in the garbage? Have you smelled the scent of burning & disease? For […]