Choice

Cramped in the boundless space of the mind,
Hordes of thoughts - one will find.
Opportunities to achieve what one wants,
Insights to shed light on "can"s and "can't"s.
Carefully decide which path to take, for
Ends or new beginnings it can make.

Railway Station Ramblings

Anxious passengers
await
the arrival of their trains.

Bothersome salesmen
bark
to find buyers for their biriyani.

Carefree children
cry and whine
for the chocolates they didn't get.

'Dashing dudes'
develop tactics
to dazzle a prospective 'darling'.

Everyone is engaged
in some enterprise
or the other.

Some people alone
continue to sleep
even in the presence of light;
even in the presence of awakening light.


P.S: The last verse is a tribute to Robert Graves's poem "She Tells Her Love While Half Asleep"
Click here to read that poem.

Innocence

I see an old man lying lifeless,
With a group of mourners singing elegies.
His sons quarrel among themselves,
For a lion's share of his wealth.

I see a couple of young women
Talking about their sarees and fashion.
Their interest is immense
And glows brightly their passion.

A well-wisher comes with a garland
And lays it on the corpse.
Some people stand there restless
As if they were brought there by force.

The man playing the parai (South Indian percussion instrument)
Is unmoved by all the activity.
He is an intellectual and is
Aware of life's cruelty.

Deep in my thoughts
I realize that the body is what perishes,
Not the soul.
I learn to embrace life on the whole.

The gleeful laugh of an infant distracts me,
Instantly attracting me towards it.
Seeing its blissful, smiling face I understand that
Everything else dies, when innocence dies.
-Mr.ClAiRvOyAnT