Happy New Year

She is lonesome this New Year's night
Sits by her window 

watching the distant moon
There is laughter outside
Sky glows with sparkling colored lights
Young boys and girls dance to a loud tune
Music distracts her

Transports her back to those glowing days 

When surrounded by friends, 

dizzy with love
Popped one grape with every gong..

Clock struck twelve 

dancing began..

drinking champagne all night....

hundred handshakes to welcome fresh twilight
Everybody shouting at once

 "Happy New Year!"

Where are those friends 

she knows not
Too weak to help, 

crackling bones, 

no money to spend,

 vision cold.
What worth is she for this selfish world

She sits alone with her shadow by her side
"Happy New Year" she sighs

One more year has gone by
Many lessons learnt during hits and misses
Dreams and fantasy evaporated in thin air

Everybody walks on same path but few steps
Then moves on to another world
Of greener and brighter hue
One who has nothing to offer 

must sit in solitude 

twiddling thumbs
Croon a melidious song
Alone

1

Open Mike Poetry Performance

At open mike poetry performance 
Poets bare their soul, 
Expressing emotions 
In wildest tone. 
They come from all walks of life, 
Observant, 
Silent,
Clown,
On stage in front of audience,
They speak very loud,
World is unfair,
There is too much sweat,
If they could twist the world,
They would surely oblige
But helpless they are
No powers, only blokes
Just few verses of poetry
They wear it like a cloak.
Like superman they fly
For three minutes short,
Shred off their emotions
Ask for applause,
There is reward for one,
Who carries words from their nest,
A large cup of Suleman chai
A reward for the best.

Bake a Bread

She has a recipe
for every bread
from the peep hole of her kitchen
I see her
Knead, knead, knead, 
Poke the dough hard, 
She stretches it on the tables 
Rolls its body back, 
With her palm, not fingers, 
Massage, massage, massage, 
Till the dough is smooth and elastic, 
All the air trapped, 

For two hours it is covered, 
Till it bloats double in size, 
Now she shapes it small pallets, 
Thin, smooth, round 

Into oven it sits
Puff puff puff
Take a deep breath 
Smell the aroma
Look closely! 
She baked a  bread....

Self Employed

Self employed. 
No hours to work 
No boss to please.
No christmas gifts 
No bonus released. 

Fly with ur own wings 
As far as u can, 
Flutter ur feathers, 
Drop the excess in a pan. 

In ur warm nest 
you cuddle to sleep..
Take hot coffee 
When you feel sick. 

Work you must.
It must be done...
You maybe bored to be on ur own. 
But at the end of the day 
You are relaxed 

You still can stretch 
And work to ur max..

Auto Wallahs

Ah! These autowallahs
They get on my nerves
Sitting lazily on my bright blue vein

I wait endless at the cross road 
Requesting for a ride
After 100 tries one relents 
Asks my destination 
Then decides 
(yes...he has no patience).
Will horn at every stop..
(look man...I scream ...its not green but red) 
But he loves the music of his terrible beep
Takes turns and twist at break neck speed
Bumps high 2 meters upon speed breakers 
Without any guilt 

At the end of the trip 
I am fully shaken
(I think my kidney stones escaped my system)
Finally, when at the end of the journey 
I pay my fare 
He has no change of Rs100 , nor he cares

Now thats not rare..

I Have My Own Happy Tune

I ripped off 
The list of desires
Tore them in tiny bits..
You have million 
Friends and admirers 
Who endlessly dote around you..
But if I yearned 
For respect you get 
I would have to ape you. 

I am what I am 
I cannot be like you.
Full of fault...
Imperfect..

I have my own happy tune..

Woman Soup

The Magic Recipe
by Rehail

Disgraced and rejected,
Not sensitive to her feels
You still found her delicious
At the start of the supper
No apology suffice
For your cruel act
She could have served you better meals

Moon Plays a Dirty Game

You believed
You could walk without any strain
No fear, no doubts. 
Decision was made.
One must wet the tender feet
To reach to the other side of lake
There are ripples
At the back of your mind
Moonlight quivers under your feet
As you wade through cruel life

But then who has had an easy life?

Worshipping Stone

Know not I 
do you dwell in stone
do you hear my plea
or read my thoughts?
deep within my heart, 
I hear
sound of your presence
when my mind is blue
I rest my cheek against
marble floor
i feel the bliss
even though
its just a stone

Sand Dunes

Camel ride on volcanic lava at Lanzarote, Canary Islands

No ordinary sand dunes
small granules of dark grey lava residue
stinging the eyes
with strong breeze everywhere
wobbly steps, unfocussed balance
constant fear of being blown away
A steady seat on hump of the camel
could afford the panoramic view of the hills

Sista's Day Out

Simple lunch 
I decide to have 
Two soft chappatis with potatoes and spinach
One glass of buttermilk perhaps
When out of blue my mobile rings
"Whats for lunch?" my sista squeals
"Nothing special just an ordinary meal. 
If you come over i will be pleased.""
"Oh! Lets go out for fancy meal 
There's new restaurant where i must eat"
"No no!"
" Yes yes!"
 "No no"
 "Yes!"
Finally its my sista whose proxy wins. 
In goes potatoes with spinach in fridge
We are sitting for spicy meals...

Dry Days

Dry days 
dry thoughts
no droplets of ideas
creativity at a pause
maybe I need a walk
by the seashore 
Watch the waves
see how playfully they erase 
the thoughts etched on the sand 
leaving behind an empty slate
of golden yellow sand 
smooth and spotless 
waiting for yet one more thought 
to be carved on its bosom 

The game goes on and on 
by not so dry waves....

Fragments of Memories

Today I cut into pieces the memories of you
They are scattered all over in the room
I am walking over them 
they sting under my soles
Some stubbornly cling
At the edge of my skirt
Unwilling to be carried away in the dustpan
That memory that was so difficult to forget
Even in its tattered fragment,
It tugs at my heart
reminding me
that all is not lost
some memories
refuse to fade away

Believe In Me

You said you believed in me
I wouldn't let you down
Do you remember those late nights
many summers ago
board games we played
guessing word perhaps
I had cheated
on a sly I peeped for answers
just to give you an impression
that I was intelligent, smart
You applauded
but I was miserable
I had betrayed your trust
although it was just a game
couldn't look into a mirror again, till
on bleeding heart
I made a cross
I would never let you down.

My Guiding Light

You may be intelligent or stupid, 
only you know the truth.
 Age does not matter, 
you may be just a child. 
But there is someone out there 
who is watching your every move, 
clinging to the every word you speak, 
wants to fit into your shoes, 
someone out there admires you, 
wants to ape you, 
is inspired by you. 
You are their guide, 
their shining light..
there is something beyond intelligence
 that inflences them..
its the love in your heart 
that reflects from your eyes
.its the smile 
that makes you look so bright...

In solitude

I often retreat to my own private island
Block myself from the mainland
Sit I in solitude reading my thoughts
Undisturbed by outside world
The peace i get from blowing wind 
Of the happy times spent in bliss
Its is just me, n my pleasant memories
Under the friendly clouds we sit

Mumbai Rains

A view from a balcony from a distance too far
I see
Images on net of my town submerged in misery
Rain is lovely but there is no escape for water to run smoothly down the flowing drains
Images of clogged water at places blocked by thrash
Broken roads open potholes,
Traffic slower than snail
At signal they check their mail of latest updates on twitter to find the road that is safe
Perched here in my balcony some thousand miles away glad to escape the discomfort of Mumbai rains

I am Guru

I am my own Guru, 
I control my mind, 
I can weigh the right from wrong,
My thought can be called divine.
I look out of my window, 
there is solitude in the air, 
the sea and sky is calm, 
the birds sing freely with flair...
The universe takes care of me, 
It listens my whispered tones, 
I have no need to worry
because I am always with
My self......

Lazy Attitude

What you do with your time
there are so many hours in a day
no time you complain, really?
I often see you
laze

Maybe you have no time for me
its all excuses you make
its your loss, i believe
from my mind you soon will be
Erased

Dreadful Poem : SunSet and Moon

there is a moon outside my window
its not indian
there is no woman waiting on the terrace
to offer it water or milk
no pampering or fuss over it
it stands there alone over the horizon
watching its own reflection in the sea

It winks at setting sun
who cares not for an ardent fan
blushes too much on its own
in its self praise
spreading its red color
over the bosom of clouds

Moon just shines
unlike its cousin in India
that entralls people on every festival
this Spanish moon
seduces only me....

Barbie Doll

why should Barbie doll be slim and beautiful
why doesn't her flaws show?
why does she always have a kindness writ on her fact
why does she seem so perfect?

Millions of women across the world
of various colors, shapes and hue
are accepted in society for their talent
its nothing to do with her physical attribute

but they never manufacture a barbie
that limps or retards or has a missing finger
its always (like on FB) a photoshopped profile
that is easy to accept.

Are they afraid, it will not bring sales
it will lie for ever on rejected shelf
like recluse woman, judged and stoned
because she belonged to strangest clan

Experienced Cook

nobody is born cook
one learns by experiments
little burn, little cut
sometimes salt much too much
practice makes one perfect
its the art that grows with interest
just lentils and rice is also meal
but variety is break from routine
cakes, sweets, happy desserts
briyani, puloa a royal treat
flushed face, greasy hands
warm heart, tummy full
a talented cook brings joy
a grateful smile that warms the soul

Listen

Listen! 

There is no need to purse your lips

its people that tweet and birds that greet

Don't raise your brow

you read between lines

analyze the rest from words in rhymes

Frowns have changed 

so have smiles

tears go unnoticed for thousand miles

Each on their own

with liquid mind

trust me and let me on my own

rewind

Nonsense Verse - Broken Eggs

Thousands of eggs 
fell off the truck on a sunny day
Crashed and immediately 
turned into omelettes
Laid flat, 
stretched leisurely on a tar road
Till the baker arrived 
to lift them off into their breads
Sandwiches were made and 
served from diamond studded plates
As morning breakfast 
for rich babus and 
lungi dressed heavy shiekhs.

Nonsense Verse - Books I read

Long time ago enid blyton
i did read
When there were 
no million checks and greed
Not even portly
in my news feed
Those were the times 
I wrote prose for my writers breed

Wrote i thousand pages 
with closed eyes
Nobody guessed true stories 
behind my lies
Friends bought chocolates sweets 
infested with flies
I would celebrate my success 
in club with guys

Alas in rough times now we live
Prose has changed to portry..
can u believe

Burn I the oil to write and rave
But earn no penny, 
nothing to save