Happiness

Sudama’s Penury

All that I have are four fistfuls of borrowed rice,
Fried, neat , packed in tatters, hid dark with dice,
In exchange for these, I hope to borrow some wealth,
Some relief from this frail but famished, hungered health,
Never mind that I starve, am a wandering mendicant,
With this little wrapped move, now a subtle supplicant,
Penury benumbs me but , hold! My partner weeps,
In sorrow and hunger even as she dream sweeps,
I am thus forced by this insecurity to set out,
Seek my friend’s clout for some sudden bailout,
His embrace shames me, my tears hide my guilt,
Mortifying warmth gnaws deep, now love quilt,
Cannot beg from a friend, so I shall retreat,
To forgive me, I shall beseech and entreat.
Krishna, you read my blank mind, hear my silence,
As you wish away my poverty, I have no grievance.
Save that if you gift me everything,
To think of you, I am left with nothing.

Author’s dilemma…

As I sit hunched over my laptop,
reams of drafts to choose from,
writ over several years,
some wasted breath,
some inacrnations of death,
some agonizingly, hopefully, alive,
I cling on, desperate,
shuttling between deletion and life,
deboarding trams midway, hesitant, lost,
scouring now, scurrying now, reviving now,
driftng , rudderless, unknown, compass stuck,
Rehabiltating all I can.
All I know is:
I have to write to move onward.
I am at the gates to the serene woods.
I can hear my soft knocks on creativity’s heart.

On Immortalizing

Strew them flowers on the streets,
Roll on them with enthused greets,
Draw her countenance on the hills,
Sculpt her on the waters in rare stills,
With every wave she will rise so high,
In silent dignity of tradition to the sky,
As every passer bye watches in awe.
Sketch her on every wall now in love
Graffiti in abstract bright and dull
Under every bridge an artists’ mall
Which connects my worlds so sooner
On every sail of an adrift schooner
Scream to every wind and wave…
It is only her and I can only strive.

Eine Erfahrung

I was a complexed stranger at Darmstadt railway station.
Did not know where to/ whom to turn.
Wanted to travel to Bad Wimpfen.
Also wanted to see Heidelberg.
Did not know much of German.
Could not understand maps well.
Sighted her, some stranger on the platform for help to board.
She looked kinder than other sterner looking, taciturn, Teutons.
She took the day off and became my guide to Heidelberg;
showed me the University town ;
a visit to the University bar;
up the steps to the Schloss;
gifted me a tourist book;
escorted me back to the Railway platform;
placed me on board the slow train.

I may have forgotten her name at Frankfurt hauptbahnoff.Ingratitude.
Nay, I have an autograph of Frau Gimpfel in the blank pages of my mind.
I recall her face. Smiling at me. Trying to help a lost soul.
How do I repay?
I wait at all railway stations for someone to ask me directions.

Wishes…

With you-

I could climb the hills,
Walk the forest trail,
Part, combed hot sands,
Tread softly on to a story,
Surf the beaches,
Stand on the beach,
Let foam wash our feet,
Park by the quay,
Count them waves,
As we sip trips of gossip,
Sit in the nutmeg shade,
Amidst strewn leaves and spice,
Talk in depth intimate,
In animate silence.

I am Happy! I am Happy!

I am thinking, I am thinking.
I am floating, I am floating.
I am drifting, I am drifting.
I am doubting, I am doubting.
I am cowering, I am cowering.
I am fearing, I am fearing.
I am slowing, I am slowing.
I am losing, I am losing.
I am breathing, I am breathing,
I am living, I am living.
I am loving. I am loving.
I am caring . I am caring.
I am daring, I am daring.
I am dreaming, I am dreaming….