The Poetry Marathon

Beside the desolate park

with abandoned swings

and knee-tall grasses

stands an old telephone booth

covered in vines

It’s paint has faded

the wood is chipped

and no one knows when was it

Last used but if you

Look closely you would find

Messages of all kinds…

Written with pen

Or carved with blade

They stand the test of time

Alongwith the old telephone booth covered in vines.

Hand in hand we walked

Through paved roads

By the Gulmohar trees

The wind blew that day

From the west 

I remember the sunset

No words needed

The silence was all we had

Serenity, a sense of belonging

And then our time was up

Bidding farewell, we went

In different directions…

Never to see each other again.

Half asleep

You get up from your desk

Strewn with half eaten snacks

And half finished poems

Going out to the balcony

You look around desperately

For inspiration, an idea, anything

When you see it

A road leading to another road

The kids walking on it

You realise it’s just like life

Choices leading to other choices

And you have no choice but to keep moving forward.

At night, when you and I are sound asleep

The world changes around us

Gradually but steadily

New leaves turn

The old ones turn to soil

Insects come out and

Birds break out from their shell

Life and death is but a common occurrence

As Earth moves gradually but steadily

At night when you and I are sound asleep

That’s when life happens

Hic hic hiccups!

A lot of them too

Won’t won’t stop!

Oh what should I do?

I tried drinking water

Lots and lots of it

Hic hic hiccups

didn’t subside a bit!

I tried stop breathing

In hopes of getting better

Hic hic hiccups 

Still continue down to last letter

Hic hic hiccup-

Oh wait..  they stopped now

Maybe I only needed a rhyme

to make it work somehow!

Watering plants when sunset is near

is a blissful activity in Summer

the fresh smell of soil

the cool breeze the evening brings

brushing past, the colors are a delight 

too, You got green, bright and glowing

with red, pink and white of different flowers

all at the backdrop of orange sky

mingling with light and dark

Yes, watering plants when sunset is near

is a blissful activity in Summer.

I do

not have what it takes

I do

have what is important

I do

not think you would agree

I do

know that I am right

I do

because its me and who would know me better?

It was then that I realized

a bright light lay ahead of me

I felt cold and drowsy

but I kept walking

that day in April and when

I reached the end

the clocks were striking thirteen

to speak up

to stand together

to realize that we are one

and same, no matter what happens

because we are all humans

I have never been to sea

though I always wanted to see it

the vast ocean of clear blue

along the shimmering sand

and the breeze, offering a respite

under the Sun full of warmth

or so I have been told

I have never been to sea

only knew of it through words

and pictures and stories

of others

and I am lucky

finding something to look forward to

in a future where existence itself

is uncertain.