in and outof my thoughts
come only your thoughts,
I surrender my dreams
to your thoughts,
thinking someday
you will look around for me,
feeling my presence
in my absence,
a day – when it will be
just you and me,
weaving uncountable desires
i just think of you,
faraway when the first light
will filter through these clouds,
till the snow moon will appear
from my window to your window,
i will live with your thoughts.
Archana Kapoor Nagpal
Archana Kapoor Nagpal
Archana Kapoor Nagpal is an internationally published author of four books – '14 Pearls of Inspiration', 'The Road to a Positive Life', ‘A Haiku Per Day’ and 'The Fragrance of a Beautiful Life'. She often participates in the short story competitions, and her winning stories are now part of international anthologies - 'New Love: Anthology of Short Stories' and the ’12 Facets of a Crystal’. She has seen her short stories, poems and Haiku published in other anthologies as well – ‘A Pinch of Love, Peace and Humanity ’, ‘Atoms of Haiku’, and the ‘Ripples of Love’. She has also been actively involved in the editing, proofreading and book designing of these three anthologies. She has also seen her poems published in numerous other literary journals, blogs, websites and anthologies including Friday Gurgaon, Whispers, Writers Asylum, VerseWrights, The Bamboo Hut, Frogpond (Issue 37-2) – The Journal of the Haiku Society of America, Under the Basho, Asahi Haikuist Network, HOO-Knows Home & Family Magazine, Harvests of New Millennium (Art & Poetry), Gems (An Anthology of haiku, senryu and sedoka), Taj Mahal Review (An International Literary Journal ), Frameless Sky, Tamarind Magazine, A Hundred Gourds 4.1, DailyHaiga, brass bell: a haiku journal, UHTS (United Haiku and Tanka Society) Cattails, Tulip, Paper Wasp, Prune Juice (Journal of Senryu Kyoka & Haiga), Gnarled Oak, Faces and Places – Haiku Anthology, The Mustard Grain, Ershik #9, Modern Haiku (45:3 Issue), Issa’s Untidy Hut, hedgerow: a journal of small poems, NeverEnding Story (Butterfly Dream Haiku), Chrysanthemum 17 and many others. Her haiku and senryu are translated into Chinese, German and Russian as well.
Hour 11 – Prompt
In the mirror I see myself,
There are wrinkles around my eyes,
My black locks are no more black,
They appear like salt on pepper balls.
I squeeze my eyes to try to read,
And search for my glasses – here and there,
Quite often I ask my family,
The same question again and again.
Small things appear much smaller,
Also I try hard to listen something,
Every morning I write my to-do list,
Yet I find myself doing nothing.
Some days I am left alone –
Other days, I am alone at home,
Every day I am told –
That I am getting old.
Yet in my dreams
I relive my old days.
Once when I was young,
And my spirits were high.
Time has changed everything
My people have changed sorely.
No wonders, every day I am told –
That I am getting old
Hour 10 Prompt – Colour
Holding the first light,
In their white petals,
These summer flowers,
Quite often talk to me.
The sudden pull of emotions,
Or hammock of thoughts within me,
Silently the dewdrops unwrap,
And as I drench in the fragnance,
Quickly they hide behind the mist again!
Hour 9 Prompt – Spider
What I see is an illusion
Everything wrapped in spider’s hammock
Behind the rusted lock
Still fresh are my memories
My doll dressed in years of dust
And the grandfather’s rocking chair
Sip of the petrichor in my tea
And this dew upon the barren garden
Everything has changed in real
But it’s still the same in my illusion.
Hour 8 Prompt – Through Her Eyes
I brought her into this world,
But she is like a mother to me,
Darkness is the only colour for me,
Though I see the beautiful world,
Through her eyes only,
Every morning she holds my hand,
She walks with me in the garden,
Tells me the beauty of nature,
I see the magical creation of God,
Through her eyes only,
She sits next to me,
Tells me how water changes its colours,
When sun’s rays fall into the pond,
How swiftly the fishes change their directions,
There is only darkness all around,
Though I can see some light of hope,
Through her eyes only,
I can smell the roses,
I can feel the intense heat of the sun,
I can listen to the mystical sound of chimes,
But I can see none of them,
She clasps her little fingers around mine,
And makes me see beyond the darkness,
I remember to live every day,
Through her eyes only,
I cannot see my child,
But she is the apple of my eye,
I live because she is in my life,
I feel my existence in this world,
Through her eyes only,
I might give up on life,
But her indomitable will,
Helps me to survive,
I fall in love with the darkness,
Because it brings me closer to my child,
And I can see a beautiful life ahead,
Through her eyes only!
Hour 7 Prompt – Inside Out
What shall i write
What shal i write..
When the world is upside down
What shall i write
What shall i write
When everything is going wrong
What shall i write
What shall i write
There is nothing left from inside to out.
Hour 6 Prompt – Let me born
Please mother let me be born,
I might shine bright like a diamond in your crown,
I want to see the world,
I can anticipate,
It must be a beautiful place,
I can feel within you – as I also participate,
Please mother let me be born,
I might shine bright like a diamond in your crown,
I want to see the birds,
I want to sail a boat,
I want to smell the flowers,
I want to see a cluster of stars,
Please mother let me be born,
I might shine bright like a diamond in your crown,
I want to fly a kite,
I want to see the rainbow high in the sky,
I want to hold your hand,
And walk along the beach side,
Please mother let me be born,
I might shine bright like a diamond in your crown,
I want to play with you,
I want to stay with you,
I want to hug you,
I just want to be with you!
Please mother let me be born,
I might shine bright like a diamond in your crown,
I want to get drenched in rain,
I want to fall in love – again and again,
I want to be a mother,
Of a wonderful daughter,
Please mother let me be born,
I might shine bright like a diamond in your crown,
Why do you want to kill me?
I am your daughter!
Your mother did not kill you,
She brought you into the world,
Hour 5 Prompt – Backyard
In the backyard
Under the mango tree
Still are written the words
That you never said to me.
A branch leaning over another
Tells the story of our childhood
When we fought to grab the swing
And how everytime you used to win.
In the backyard
Under the mango tree
I still wait for you
To play with me!
Hour 4 Prompt – Everything Will Be Perfect
One fine day,
- Everything will be perfect,
One fine day,
You will shine like a star,
One fine day,
There will be no war,
One fine day,
There will be no worries,
One fine day,
There will be no failures,
One fine day,
You will get a hug,
One fine day,
You will fall in love,
One fine day,
Parents will be respected,
One fine day,
Women will not be exploited,
One fine day,
You will live with pride,
One fine day,
You will take everything in stride,
One fine day,
You will learn not to cry
One fine day,
You will learn to strive,
One fine day,
There will be no fight in the name of religion,
One fine day,
Together, we will pray to – Allah, Jesus and Ishwar,
One fine day,
You will stop feeling miserable,
One fine day,
Life will be beautiful,
One fine day,
Everything will be perfect!
Hour 3 Prompt – Hypnotized
PS: I opted for image 1. Assuming I am watching people in this image I have written this poem….
At times, I just watch people
Like now – I see a pregnant woman
I think, what she must be thinking
Maybe – ‘ whether it’s a boy or a girl’.
Crossing the waves,
I see an old man talking to his wife
In so many years of togetherness –
he still finds her benign.
As I sip my lemonade
My eyes fall on a couple
Both are sharing the same table –
yet conversing through their mobiles.
Eavesdropping upon the conversation
A daughter tells to her father
The best new year gift for her –
if he stops smoking forever!
I stop looking around for a while
And I close my eyes to realise
There is a world inside me –
that the adversity just hypnotized!