Here and Now

The road with

Two curves of 

Bends.

Has no beginning

Or an end.

The birds think

It goes up and

Down.

But the passing

Packet of air,

Takes it from

Anywhere to 

Everywhere.

And the dry leaves 

Assume it goes

Nowhere.

The traveler 

Doesn't stand

And stare.

He's only concerned

About the left  

And the right.

Everyone,

Who presumes

That it goes

Somewhere,

Is in a prison.

Only the road is

Truly free.

Letting others go,

It stays there.

With no beginnings

And ends.

Only the road has

Traveled..

The destination

Is then and there.

New Year

Push your mind to

Fight that noise.

Push your boundaries,

You need to take 

A stand.

The restraints that

Have silenced your will..

Need to break away.

The reservations that

Hold your thoughts..

Be brushed away.

Let the blunt edges

Be sharpened by the

Friction as you try.

The hollowness,

Evaporate to allow 

Something of meaning,

As you sour high.

Let the decay see

A decent wash.

The confines erode,

To open a possibility

For new life.

This is just another

Day of another year.

Welcome it with

Open arms..

Give your legs

A chance.

Give your eyes

A new horizon.

Life is an act

Of moving on.

There's a lot to 

Explore around.

Women

We glorified 

Womanhood

To restrict you 

To brooms.

Celebrated 

Motherhood 

To confine you

To rooms.

We pitied you to

Hold hostage in

Soft-emotions.

Stereotyped to

Force you in 

Clothes of desire.

Ladies first we

Say,

Unequal salaries

We pay.

To force you to 

Cut onions.

Men shouldn't cry,

We declare.

You may wage wars.

Rule the world.

Mother a prophet or

Slave a demon.

Still, you gotta

Take our blame

And make our

Homes.

You're better than us.

Even stronger.

But consolation

Prizes is all you'll get..

Maybe another

Child to pet.

A saree, 

Some jwellery or

One more poem 

Like this one to

Exemplify your

Compliant behavior.

Shower Some Starlight

Shores of the sea

Are cleansed by

The touch of your

Feet.

Winds seek 

Redemption

At the behest of

Your cheeks.

The moon 

Has been jealous,

For over an 

Epoch.

The sun has been

Chasing the dark

To give meaning 

To his fondness. 

Feed this celestial 

Vacuum.

Universe has been 

Lonely all along.

I've wished for a

A glance of you a

Million times..

Pass me through 

One of your 

Thoughts and shower 

Some starlight. 

Olympic Dream

I open my zip

To take a piss.

Simultaneously,

I spit.

The spit and 

The urine collide.

My Olympic

Dream is still 

Alive. 

Song of unity

No, 

We're not afraid

Of the tainted light.

Or distracted by

The lure of

Promising nights.

This is a beginning

Of our unity,

You can't stop.

We're gonna 

Paint our fate in

White tonight.

We've buried

Our vices beneath

A rocky surface.

Cast our hearts

In a smelting furnace.

We can't be dodged

By the vanities

Of the heavens.

Or the scared by

The cold fetters

Of hell.

The rage in eyes

Is awake.

The song of the

Black flags will

Be sung to

Sooth the wounds

Of separation.

From the cold

Embers a revolution 

Will arise and

That'll be you

Elitists' demise.

Beware of the 

Thorns, you wretches.

We feed blood to

The roses,

You preach 

Discrimination.

Marriage

This shade of loneliness 

Hits you in your late 20s.

Feeds on insecurities to

Make your life compliant.

You accommodate yourself

In family trips.

Suddenly try to socialize

With strangers with

Sips of cheap drinks.

You form political opinions,

To fit in a group.

Watch cricket to blend in.

The mainstream is an

Inevitable end it seems.

All the girls you could have 

Had in college.

The moves you didn't make.

The words you couldn't say.

A feminine touch can

Only redeem you,

But your mirror 

Rejects you again.

Your only friend 

Succumbs to a girl.

And now you're really

Fucked in the head.

The loneliness sacrifices 

You to a societal mess.

And you decide to

Get married for sex.

Irrelevance

There's someone 

In the Dark..

I see,

But I don't realise.

There's someone in

The heart.

I can feel.

Can't hold on.

Time always slips

From the cusp of

Fingers.

Moments do become

Incomplete

Memoirs.

There's someone in

The dark,

I don't realise.

He or me 

Doesn't matter.

He does slip from

My fingers.

I do from time. 

Irrelevance is

Something of an

Ultimate demise. 

Dear Loneliness

You cut wings of

Doves and force 

Them to fly.

Pluck dandelions,

Only to throw them

In fire.

Give hopes to

Ailing hearts

Then feed apathy,

To cripple their life.

The prayers that

Taste you turn

Into dirge.

The things you

Touch are declared

As spoils of war.

So ingrained are

Sins in you,

That even after 

Washing your soul 

In the volcano..

The taints still glow,

The guilt still grows.

Leaving you to

Wonder if that's 

Really a curse.

Your heart hangs

In the air now, 

With no one to hold.

Dear loneliness,

I will break from

Your shackles.

I shall not live in

Vain tonight.

Dear Comrade

With the stroke of

Of your tongue,

The words you weave.

The intoxication,

Your eyes spew..

Curl of your lip,

That slays hearts

And subjugates

Minds.

Communists,

Atheists, priests.

Philosophers and

And other fanatics.

How many 

Revolutions,

You must have 

Killed. 

With just a curve

Of your smile.

Are you,

By any chance.

The incumbent

Government? 

If I'd never met you

If I'd never met you,

The food would have

Tasted the same.

The rains would have

Poured the same.

My desires wouldn't

Have taken a leap and

I'd have remained unsung,

Even in my dreams.

..

If I'd never met you,

The winds would have

Blown the same.

The sun would have

Still come up in the west.

My mind would have

Brooded on the idea of

A perfect past.

There would have been

A cacti infestation,

I'd have grown a fondness to.

..

If I'd never met you,

My heart would have

Pumped the same.

My blood would have

Rushed the same.

My room would still

Be dark. Walls be blank.

I'd have romanticized

Pain to write sad stories.

Where I'd have died

Again and again.

..

If I'd never met you.

My words wouldn't

Have flown.

Verses wouldn't have

Rhymed.

With a block in in the

Mind intact.

My throat still would

Have been a graveyard of

The songs I never sang.

..

Greenhouse

Sky is crying fire.
Winds are hurling
A storm.
Earth quivers in
Boggled awe.
As a revolution
Comes alive.

Icecaps are afraid
Of a wave of heat.
Mountains shiver out
In a cold that beats.
Seas too slosh
In scare,
To the revolution
That's in wake.

Forests have lost
Their cool.
Animals are as
Confused.
Trees do anticipate
Something bad.
The revolution in
Wake, is not
Welcome at all.

Demons are
Running for life.
Angels are confused
Taking sides.
Gods sit coughing,
For being pleased
With lit-up cigars.

And the man lauds
The smoke,
He is breathing.
Lits another cigarette,
To celebrate the next 

Revolution he wanna

Bring to life.

The Hunter

Dusk covers the sky.

Dust settles on the

Leaves of trees,

That are tired.

Claws clenched,

Unwavering sight.

A tiger sits in the shade.

In a calm composure,

The hunter is now live.

Rage simmering.

Hunger in the eyes.

Waiting is the only plan.

His patience is dangerous

Than the fangs.

Flies in the milieu

Are fried by his sigh.

Birds are stupefied,

Anticipating a storm.

Only wolves howl

In distance.

They understand

The gravity of the times.

Other biggies don't dare 

To breath a sound.

Mistakes can cost

Your life.

Even demons seek

A hiding.

No one wants to be 

A petty feast tonight.

And that's how hunger

Of a beast smells.

No-one will be spared.

Life is skeptical

Tonight. 

This too shall pass

Sharp edges 

Will fade away,

Against the grate

Of passing time.

Shades will fill 

The divide,

Between the 

Black and white.

The right and 

The wrong

Will be occupied

With IFs and WHYs. 

The splits in the

Skin will be 

Braced by touch

Of a hand. 

The distance in 

Your eyes will be

Held with an 

Incessant desire.

Your sadness is

Meaningless.

So is your happy

Face.

What's done will

Be undone..

Wounds will

Soon be dead.

Pain or pleasure.

Sharp edges will

Fall and this too

Shall pass.

Loop

I got drunk at night. 

Smirked at the moon,

Challenged the night sky,

For some more gloom.

Of many other things,

Defaced walls and

Stoned the mirrors

In my room.

Torn my diaries,

To amend the past.

Puked enough to

Pass to at last.

Then you invaded

My dreams.

To kill me in my 

Mind.

And I woke up

With a sigh,

Feeling my thing

Between the thighs.

This story of 

You and I, is a loop,

Of forgetting and

Remembering.

 I manage to escape

 You in the night.

 Only to be caught

 At the dawn.

Time is slow in Dharwad

Roosters are lazy.

Mornings are not

So early.

Time is slow in

Dharwad.

No one here is in a

Real hurry.

You wake up,

Go in search of

Breakfast with friends.

Hours simply pass,

As sipping chai 

Takes a lot of laugh.

So comes lunchtime,

Roti, curd, rice and

Sambar.

Food here is a wormhole.

Noon-nap that follows

Is a blackhole. 

You just belch, yawn.

And mysteriously you

Slip to the evening.

Sleepy eyes as the

Light fades,

Can anything get slower

Than this sombre?

Gurmit-mirchi-chai

And some more

Laughter..and 

You're back to bed

After a fat dinner.

Dreams bore fruits

Only in sleep.

Fed-up,

The monk who couldn't

Grow beard, 

Decided to leave..

Saying..

Even leaves take

Their own time 

To fall..

Time does really pass

Slowly in Dharwad. 

Uncle-hood

The number of 

T-shirts has been

Reduced to two.

The jeans in my closet,

Are disappearing too.

The themed vests 

Are being replaced,

By white banyans.

Fit full-sleeved shirts.

And well stitched,

Formal pants have

Invaded my space.

Clean shaved face,

Thick mustache.

A tuft of grey hair,

Left un-attained..

Beer belly is a

New reality.

Self-acceptance is

Now a philosophy.

Age stole my 

Ripped jeans,

Adulthood is gone..

A kid in the street

To call me uncle..

I've become

My father.

Come Again

The garden of 

Our muse,

Has lost its charm.

Come again,

To shower a bloom.

The moon flaunts

Too much,

In your absence.

Come again to

Show him,

Who rules the eve. 

I've forgotten to

Write.

I have forgotten

To feel.

From the ruins of

Our love..

Bring some thorns,

While you pass by..

I might need a 

Prick to bleed.

Come again, 

To make me breath.

Come again,

Let me feel.

Come again, darling

To show me another 

Dream. 

Dead Inside

Longing for you

Even after 

Our separation..

If its not enough

Of a devotion.

Then yes.

I'm an atheist.

If still hoping for

Your return is 

Not enough of

Optimism.

Then yes.

I'm a cynic.

In the middle of

The night.

When I wake up

Gasping your name.

The stroke of

That shock..

How can I 

Describe it?

To put it all in 

Words,

If I've not bled

Enough.

Then, yes.

I'm apathetic.

Vacuum

From deep oceanic
Trenches,
Till the vast expanse,
Of the sky.

Collapsing neutrons
In the core.
Till the doused light
In dying stars.

From a widow's
Eyes to
Sinking hopes in
Hospital corridors.

Loneliness prances
Like a
Hell sanctioned,
Demonic Avatar.

And when it
Joins hands with,
The freak of
Re-enforcing silence..
The noise it makes
Is much more quieter.

Like it's a vacuum.
Sheer Emptiness.

Dust of separation

Dust of separation
Has smothered
My verses.
Stories prematurely
Die.

Has stacked 

Pile of time.

Colors have 

Abandoned my realm.
It's pitch dark.

A veil is spread
On my eyes.
Sight is murky,
I'm almost blind.

Dust of separation
Has taken over
My mind...
Thoughts are
Misaligned.
Sense of perception
Is gone.

Has opened some
Wounds,
I scream your
Name.. but
You're not around.

The dust must
Have settled on
You as well.
Are you too

Screaming aloud?

Stories

Some stories are

Written in blood.

Deep trails and

Sharp edges.

They're too much

Of a trudge.

Some are written

On water.

Invisible.

So forgettable,

That, they almost

Don't exist.

So brief was

Our union.

Yet, so intense.

That it was etched 

On a rock and

Later fed to lava.

Dead poets must

Have painted it.

Our story is just smoke.

It doesn't really exist.

But does it?

Save a Spark

Burn a mountain

If you want.

Chase away all

The cold wolves

On summer night.

Tame the dragons,

Or tumult yourself

In a sea that

Cries fire.

But save a spark,

For the winters.

To light the 

Vulnerable nights.

To fight the blue

Of the dark.

Aid of Divine

Her face is

Moonlight.

Her heart,

The blue sky.

Eyes are wild,

Tone is mild.

Her blush is

A killer when 

She becomes

A child. 

..

As sweet as

A butterfly.

As brave as

The late night.

Down the

Alleys of my

Confused mind

She seems to be

The Answer...

To all my

If and Whys.

..

She's such

A joy.

A touch of

Desire.

A miracle,

I'm not gonna

Lie.

A reason for

My loneliness'

Demise.

An inspiration,

Who makes me 

Fly.

..

Beyond the 

Mortals,

Close to Gods.

She's a fantasy

Divised by 

The aid of divine.

..

Hello

These bruises 

And scars.

Half-cut smiles, 

And broken stars.

Little insides that 

Die daily to 

Humiliation and

Self-sabotage.

The taints we 

Nourish to grow

Colors..

A slang from you,

An Arrow from

Another.

Our palette,

Full of blame 

Is pretty much 

Borrowed.

We're poets sire,

We paint in words,

Take on nerves and

Live in shadows.

You may not 

Recognize us.

We don't reside in

Hearts that are hollow.

Come and see us,

If you've time.

We're just a 

Thought away.

If you peep in 

Your head, 

In search of aesthetics 

In the dust 

Of your mind..

Hello..!

Bday Gone Wrong

It's her birthday

And she must
Be expecting a
Gift.

And I'm all
Caught up in
My head,
Preparing a list.
..
The song I
Wanted to write
Hasn't come in
Handy.

For the train I've
Been waiting,
The signs haven't
Been so dandy.
..
My rhymes are
Still broken.
Words,
Incomplete.

The tones are
Out of sync.
I have run out
Of ink.
..
It's been three
Hours,
Sky is turning
Pink.

She must be
Waiting for
Long..
Her hopes
Shouldn't sink.
..
The train did
Reach late and
She didn't quite
Really wait.

But I did sing
A ballad on 

How they kicked me
Out of her
Hostel gate.
..

Dance

Take off the veil

In your eyes.
Brush away the shade.
Color your gaze.
Tickle your desires,
And to the off-key
Music of your
Head,
Let yourself go.

It's time for you
To dance.
..
Breakaway from
The restraints.
Tear off the
Snares you wear.
It's time to stretch
Arms, to grow wings.

To the tunes of
Euphoria that
Bounces off from
Your redemption..

It's time for you
To dance.
..
Let go of the
Bondage of
Guilt.
Wash clean the
Slate of your sins.
Look yourself in
The mirror.
Hold yourself in
A prayer.
To chimes of
Promises you wanna

Make to yourself..

It's time for you
To dance.
..

Pain

Sadness is my

Old-time homie,
We eat for breakfast,
Our misery.

We go shopping
Insecurities.
When needed,
Plan a heist to
Loot pain from
People's treasury.

Demons lend
Ears to our jokes,
Death wants with
Us a fair duel.

The cold blue
Is our fuel.
Guileful smiles
Elevate our pleasure.

We kill ourselves
In our own stories,
To listen to fancy
Eulogies.

Gods bet against
Our fate.
People distance
Themselves,
Vulnerability is
What they hate.

You seem to be
Keen though.
Hurt? or hungry?

Burnt dandelions 

Must have prepared

A feast.

Let's have dinner-

On the other side 

Of a grave.

Lonely

Embrace yourself.

They said.

Opening my arms,

I wrapped myself.

It wasn't warm.

Loneliness is cold.

In desperation,

I rubbed my hands 

Hard.

They caught fire.

Though,

I'm all burnt.

The deep blue of winter

Is not yet gone. 

Father

Went to school via

An enchanted forest.

Fought with a 

Demon which is 

Still infamous.

A plot he missed

Decades ago is

Worth crores.

Could have married 

Someone better.

But was hitched to

My mother.

Snores so loud,

Roofs can collapse.

Belches so hard,

Even Jet engines feel 

The drag.

Shameless farts,

Deep thrust toothpicks.

Hunts ear-wax with

Almost anything 

That's sharp.

Head buried deep 

In news channels,

He has defaced

Pakistan.

Won wars against 

China and has

Defeated Corona

With blessings of

A local baba. 

With holes adorned 

White vest. 

Big belly is his 

Net worth.

Lungi as his Cape.

My father is a 

Superhero, who

Always swears. 

Desert of my solitude

In the desert of 

My solitude,

Winds are strong.

I fly kites.

In the desert of

My solitude,

Water is scarce.

I dig wells.

In the desert of

My solitude,

Roses are sullen

In memory of 

Your lips.

Sparrows have

Stopped chirping.

In absence of your

Touch.

So I string and

Un-string my desires

To place them in

Desolate tunes.

But I fail.

Nothing grows here

In the desert of

My solitude.

Especially hope.

---

ft Dasht-E-Tanhai by Faiz

Conditions Apply

What if our 

Thoughts collide.

Our footprints align

While we walk.

When filled with 

Desire, what if 

Our heartbeats

Synchronize. 

Overcoming all

Our imperfections.

What if our fingers

Perfectly intertwine.

What if my verses

Rhyme to

The tone of your 

Sweet voice.

Will you love me

Then? Or

You'll wait till..

Your mother agrees,

Father approves.

And the family dog

Sniffs out suspicion

For everyone in home?

Pain

Thousand nails pierce

Through roof of my

House.

It rains fire shortly,

Everything is charred.

Oh! Pain is an

Old friend.

He has a stylish entry.

You should see him 

Leave though.

Like an exit wound

Of a high caliber gun.

He snatches a pound of 

Flesh for his dinner.

He cooks it fine.

But the amount of

Salt he puts is extra hurt.

For which I'm not

That prepared.

I love shade

I love shade. 

Things with some

Degree of fade.

Worn out here 

And there.

Bruised, blemished,

Still their 

Entirety Intact,

Oozing life somehow 

From around 

Somewhere.

Like setting sun's 

Red on blue inlay. 

a memory on rampage..

Sometimes a pain,

Sometimes sweet

As rain.

On a stormy night, 

The ship that

Went on a sail.

Trails of longing,

On faded pic.

A lost love that

Sneaks past mid-night

To evade sleep.

Like the tunes of 

A song on tip of

My tongue,

That I fail to

Recall.

The days of

Childhood that

That seems to be

Escaping from

The clutches

Of my mind.

Blessing in 

One way,

From the other, 

A disgrace.

I love shade.

Things with some

Degree of fade.

In your town

The longing

That fleets in
These words.

The loneliness
That hangs in
My thoughts.

The insecurity
I often talk
About and

The sadness
I always
Reflect has

Shades of
Missing you.

A feeling of
Being lost..
Always clung
To the past..

Perception of
Reality is lost,
My reflection in
The mirror
Has started
Wearing masks.

I have been

Waiting on the

Park bench

For years now.

Can you come

And meet me
This time?

The seed of
The apple I ate
Yesterday, 

Is a tree now.

Prison of Perception

There's nowhere to go

But everywhere.

The moon and the sky

Seem dope but

The cosiness of this room

Is also fine.

There's nothing to 

Think about,

But everything.

Our nothingness in

The universe.

Death is inevitable.

But this material urge

Is beautiful too.

There's nothing to eat

But everything looks

Pliable.

Veg, non-veg and

The way I want to eat you,

Even cannibalism seems

Like an option.

This, that,

Either, or.

Neither, nor.

To the sway of mind,

Everything to nothing..

What's right and

What's wrong?

Upside down, even

Sea is an open sky.