The Poetry Marathon

Constellation

The sky is alit with
A million tiny lights
And there in the vast infinity
A few look exceptionally bright…

If you look closely
You will find
A bear, a hunter, a snake
Or even dragons and centaurs

Look closer and you will find
Even more constellations
Full of imagination
And wonder

You will see the zodiacs
With the twins and water bearer
You will see the spirits of yonder
And foxes, eagles and swans

Queens and maidens
And musicians with lyres
You will meet them all
Once you look carefully

At the sky alit with
A million tiny lights…

Hair swaying in the not so gentle wind
As feet fly up to reach the sky
It’s not the creaking of the old swing
But your laughter that I hear
As I stand across the sunflower field

I see the flowers facing
Not sun, but you in full radiance
As your happiness warms up the sorroundings
And remind me of a forgotten time
When I was there on the other side..

Not a spectator of present
Not a spectre of past
But there just in the moment
With hair swaying in the not so gentle wind
And feet flying to reach the sky.

I reached the edge of the Earth
The very end
And leaned a little to look down
But it tilted and I fell
Down, down, down
Till pitch black turned to
Hues of sunset and pink sky
And stars turned to the other side
And I fell on doft green grass
Finding myself on the other side
I reached the edge of the Earth
The very end
Again, I’ll say, for I lost count
How many times has it been already.

The coffee pot’s empty!
Oh, what a tragedy!
Who could that monster be—
To empty the pot and not make more coffee?

And right there!
A clue I find
That would lead me to
That inhumane fiend

Grease on the handle
I think I know who it is
The preposterous being
Eating fries while stealing!

No more evidence is needed
For right there he is
On the couch, munching away
Watching game while sipping on MY COFFEE!

Brother, I warned you plenty
Now prepare to pay for your sin
With your life, I say
As I yell for mum to come and see

And in she comes with a broom in hand
A solid weapon ready to strike
As she asks menacingly…
Who drank all the coffee?

Between life and death
Lies a place
Of warm sunshine
And gentle smiles
A place with no grief
Nor sadness
Nor despair
A place of serenity
Of quiet
Of perseverance
Between life and death
You are safe
From miseries of living
And regrets of dying
Safe
And sound
And secure
And dreaming
Between life and death
You can just dream
Of a warm, quite place
Before waking up
And finding yourself
Back in the cold clutches of hell.

I saw the leaves shading a puppy
From merciless winds and cold rains
I saw the flowers reaching out
To a tired bee and let it rest
I saw the grass gently guiding
A lone rain drop to mother’s embrace
I saw the clouds hiding a traveller
From the Sun’s fearsome gaze
I saw the moon lighting up
A lost fairy’s way
I saw me and I saw you
Thriving by nature’s grace.

When I look at void
It looks back at me..

— No, that’s actually abyss

Oh right!
When I look into abyss
It looks back at me
Then I get tired
So I shout into it

— Um… that’s the void

What’s the void?

— the one you shout into

Oh..
I shout into the void

— why are you shouting into the void?

Because you said I can’t shout into the abyss.

— Yes, but why shout at all? That’s not very nice.

But then how would I express myself?

— Can’t you just whisper gently?

…. Okay….

I stare into the abyss

— Staring is rude

Ugh! fine!

I gaze into the abyss
As it gazes into me
Then I whisper to the void
And it listens
Silently.

A blank wall is all I need
To let my imagination run wild
To conjure up images
Human yet divine
To come up with colour palettes
Somber yet bright
To tell a story
Dead yet alive.

A blank wall is all you need
To let your voice be heard
To create a symphony
Known yet unheard
To bring to life a tale
Of everyone yet none
To write a poem
For all yet just one.

To the dumb, impulsive, impressionable me

From 10 years ago..

Get it together, girl!

You gotta go, keep moving on

The world won’t give you time to breathe

Nor does it do that favour to anyone else

So get it together girl!

Make your own impression

And learn to hide your impulsiveness behind words of reason

The world doesn’t forgive

But, you can

And start with yourself

With the fact that even 10 years later—

You are still your dumb self.

Something lost,
something found

Oh well, that’s life..
Why was it not just last year that

I found a job
But lost all time

Found stability
But lost spontaneity

Found a niche
But lost warmth of home

Found acceptance
But lost individuality

Found a way to live
But the will..

Oh well!
Something lost, something found…

Ain’t that life?