Dhoop

Ek hawa ki chapet main
Kuch Ud sa gaya
Ek baarish ki lapet main
Kuch Beh sa gaya
Ek raat.

Chup chup ke, Darr darr ke,
Thodi si dhoop nikli to hai,
Kaafi arson baad.
Dheere Dheere chamchamati hui.
Rang fainkti hui.
Meethi si dhoop.
Kehti hai, abhi to aayi hu.
Thoda ruk ke jaaungi.

Goodnight

I finally see you dissappear into the fog.
It's a long cold night ahead.
But I am not afraid and now I know.

I circle my arms around.
Atleast I have myself,
The stars above and a ground below.

Kyu in tanha raahon pe apni khamoshi ke ilzaam lagate ho.
Ye Tanhanyi raahon main nahi, Khud main hai.

So long.

And my mind wanders back to you,
The same longing, the familiar pang,
Erase, Undo.
How? I wish I knew.

Exhausted, tired and spent.
I remind myself once again,
The storm's coming, but we have a moment,
I need that one last trifle of your scent.

I wish for you that I mean it.
As we repeat another Farewell, another Adieu.
So long.
So, long for me. As I will for you.

Sleep walking

Top most floor, third tower of a castle
A morning gasps, catching up with the mad bustle.
Mulishly, I turn the other side in my bed
Sigh! Another jet just test-flew on the top of my head.
Mercifully, a strange unearthly force gets me dressed
In my corporate suit - my weekday best.

I see other comrades rushing past
I run behind, I don’t want to be last.
A cold dim fortress awaits me here,
I serve my time counting each day, every year.
To think I had to face demons, walk bare feet on fire,
I was the lucky piece of furniture they decided to hire.

And seasons change under the skies,
Its long I lost track of when the sun sets or the stars rise.
My folks and I talk as such
We recognize voices, have forgotten the touch.
Then there is his pop-up or thought alert,
I like to dismiss these lest they hurt.

As fingers toil and brain nerves rot
Feels a battle is lost before I fought.
Then, like a ritual, comes that moment,
I want to break free, from the shackles, that very instant.
Before the impulse lasts any longer,
Mr. Greed and Ms. Comfort get bigger, and stronger.

I protest I don’t care, I am done.
Now I want to smell the flowers and feel the sun!!
Alas! The thought is killed before I know it.
'Trance'd back to "usual" mind-numbing, self-deteriorating Bullshit.
Within the fortress, I am the soul they slay,
I quietly accept my fate - sleep-walk through my day.


***Inspired by true story of a close friend :-)***