Eid wishes

Eid wishes

Enormous joy, spread in receiving in plenitude,
Infinite blessings of divine pulchritude,
Demands we give thanks,spread this blessing in humble gratitude,
Eid, the day of joy, greeting,feasting
May it be blessed by pulling down of walls, in harmony, minds meeting.

--shubha

Miracles exist too

Miracles exist too

Everyday,the depressing news streams,

In blood, gore, mayhem, hatred , the world is ending, it seems

And nowhere,does love reign supreme,

Airplanes blasted out of the sky ,fall

Body-parts,debris, burned beyond recognition,let out a mute ,piercing call,

Ticker symbols count out ever-growing numbers of those killed,

Collateral damage, of bloody conflicts,

The gruesome images, continuous broadcasts document,

The dissipation of humanity, cement

But as I move away from that bombardment

Look at the flower dressed in morning dew,

See a stranger stop to pick up a child's' fallen shoe,

See friends share a meal, a laugh ,or two 

Know the connection ,you feel, when you help ,another like you,

I am hopeful yet, that in this crazed world,miracles exist too.

--shubha

Pony tail

Pony tail

Expertly she smoothed the dark waves, deftly tucking the wayward strands,
That she held with her other hand,
I never knew, until then, that clouds could be gathered,secured with a rubber-band.

--shubha

Teething Troubles

Teething troubles

The first tooth broke free of the pink gums,

To the happiness and delight of mum,

Then they came fast , those pearly whites

To allow solid foods, a plethora of tastes, I could chew and bite,

The early school days, of fallen teeth,

Hidden under the pillow for fairies,that left treats,

The sore mouths, aflame ,with exam tensions,

That subsided with the passing of the exams and mother's many ministrations,

The dreaded visits to the orthodontists' chair,

The painful braces, on each pair,

The chafing, the scolding , the restrictions, galore,

All, for that perfectly aligned smile , to flash, some more,

The aches , the pains, the cavities,

Innumerable visits to the dentists, the dental tragedies,

Fillings, more than there are teeth,

Root canals, extractions, the pain, is hard to beat,

Perhaps all will be well, I will venture,

When my teeth rest beside my bed, as dentures.

Or perhaps, it is when it will double,

This ever constant saga,of teething troubles

--shubha

Minds' lullaby

Minds' lullaby

Listen O' mind, where do you wander today,

Be still, listen to what the wind has to say,

Listen, to the songs that the breeze sings,

The messages ,from your lost lands, that it brings,

Chasing shadows of vagrant thoughts, why do you stray?

They are but momentary guests, they come not, to stay,

Hush now, quell, what you have to say,

Listen to the rhythm of the trees , as they sway,

And in this moment, in stillness, rooted stay.

--shubha

Life and death

Life and death

What is life, but death by parts,

And what is death, but a life in memories.

--shubha

The lament

The lament

Yesterday, I came across a pretty sight,
A mother bird, followed by her young one, running in delight,
A delightful pair they made,
As they scampered , looking for worms, in the shade,

Again when I passed the same way,
What a different story it was today,
The mother ran dazed circles in the hot sun,
Around the lifeless copse of the little one,

O' what a cruel twist of fate, I thought,
Seeing the little body in the parking lot,
Did it fall prey to the talons of a predator?
Or was it run over by a car parked in thoughtless ardor?

My heart ached and did rend,
Watching the mothers' silent torment,
Why does nature sometimes demand the blood of the innocent,
Seemed to be her dazed lament.

--shubha

Childhood Sparkles

Childhood Sparkles


As a child, I often wondered

If the dew drop was the lights' swing

If the ray of light, the dust bunnies' slide

If the sparkly web of the fresh raindrops glistening in the sunlight

A fairy princesses' jewels

I still wonder at their beauty,

But have lost the vocabulary to describe them.


--shubha

Fleeting thoughts

Fleeting thoughts

Where do you go in such a hurry?

Run past, in such a flurry,

Why don't you sit and take a deep breath,

Have silence and you,met?

The very one, that you came from, and where you go,

Don't you want to take a minute , for him, to know?

Must you, always flit about so,

Is it this movement, that you,with life endow

As you flutter across the mind like a fleeting shadow

And if ,you should ,stop and dwell,

Will will dissolve and disappear into that silent spell?

--shubha

Distant echoes

Distant echoes

The same words, the same sentiment,

Resound in hollow echoes,

No more to say, all that was said,

Reverberate in dull staccato.

--shubha

Independence

Independence

Indignation at impositions swells,

No longer this yearning for freedom, can we quell,

Depletes the soul, this seeking others' validation,

Erodes the spirit,this privation,

Push aside, this heavy yoke of dependence

Embrace the arduous path of self-reliance

Not an easy path is to traverse, armed only with faith and sense,

Demands courage, sacrifice , confidence,

Ever vigilant against the niggling doubts that sap our strength,

Not confuse cooperation with reliance

Cast aside those chains of fear that bind,

Establish firmly,freedom as the goal in your mind,

Independence, the elusive prize, the first step to freedom's gate,

Remembering those that fought, for everyone's right to be ,architects of their own fate,

I hope you will be free of the mind's prejudices, fearful binds, from today

On this, the nation's Independence Day.

--shubha

Wow

Wow,

It is the only word that comes forward,

That floats upward,

In the deep void, between my full heart and the empty cavern of my brain,

I looked for other expressions, in vain

This simple word that is equally at ease,

One that gives teenagers' faltering conversations, a new lease,

In describing an expensive pearl,

Or the beauty of a pretty girl,

The latest stunt by the daredevil set,

The glory, of the colorful sunset,

It is all I have to offer,

This ineloquent refrain,

That my admiration and happiness can barely contain,

Yes, it is the word, that should suffice now,

This, little exultation of wow.

--shubha

Full pots

Full pots

Two clouds like old women, their black skirts, billowing,
Lugged their heavy pots, of water,that they had been carefully, collecting,
Rumbling ,grumbling,
Rolled slowly, their looming shadows cast,
When suddenly, out of nowhere, the whistling wind blew past,
Like a young lad, on his cycle,without a care,
Pushed one old cloud into the other, without turning a hair,
When the pots crashed and broke with a bang,
The tiny drops ran out in glee and sang,
Tumbling, tinkling,their chorus of pitter patter,
Gurgling with delight, even as they slid down the gutter
Made their way down in a hurry,
To wet the earths' dry lips , in a musical flurry.

--shubha