Love !

Shape of still ,still warm caresses,
the body of a torpid mind,
eyelids ,dolorous ,dreamy ,dazed,
unformed hopes to deserts razed,
teardrop,shimmering, stark and free,
 eyelids ,half-shut ,dreaming me.

She ,the need of lonely love
coalescing ,causing coral crystals,
wilful ,wild with dancing wolves,
acquiesced, a-tame as singing doves
has the heart that brutally tames,
then softly whispers unsaid names.

She never is ,and ever was,
my dweller with the heathen hermit,
panting ,breathing ,forest fires
churning ,hush ! with silent gyres,
weaves a web of silken woof
and makes for me a homeless roof.

Eve and Eden.

And there she was ,that lucent fay
in lacquered,gold filigree wrought,
but often when the dream comes true
it is'nt what you always thought.

Thorns have grown around that memory
which once was my sportive meadow,
and where I did lose both my selves
one to shame and one to shadow.

Ye idols ! and all you feet of clay !
askew, a-cleat and unforgiving,
rejoice ,breathe, for now I turn
my ruined soul to the world of living.

Thou mournful land of doleful dirges
thou empty shell of Hadian clangor,
will thou let me hiss and whisper
my last two parting words in anger ?

Tenses..........

Would I herefore live my life
reaping,garnering,ripening days,
brooding ,smiling n' dreaming still
among misty,hazy ,mossy ways ?

 Like the one that once did dawn
dank and dark and dreary grey,
that smirking, crept on rat's belly
and snarling,stole my sun away.

Can it be the one that is,
this dancer on the fires
her footsteps,urgent, hauled-on-coal
heard silent, hushed, in warm desires ?

Or will it be that distant silhouette
deep-etched ,stretched on torture rack ?
`cause that'll surely far outweigh
the one that I would now want back.

The Last Milestone

Was it a new juvenscence
or just an old-age high
methought she paused,,shyly blinked
then...went on with a sigh.

A trusting heart, a double-take!
a flutter ,that climactic cry
so,so much like a waking dream,
did'nt I ,or did I really die ?

Oh! it was you ! yes, you
such aching pleasure nigh
Time it was that then stood still
`n' such-as-I' that passed it by ....

Lacerated.....

Did I think I would,
that I can
or I could
touch that fabric
spartan,
in shreds, un-dyed-in-wool,
and... weave a heart again?
And have I then,
blinkered,raw-fingered,
touched its beat
pulsating,
and then ......bloodied
drawn back,burnt, spattered
and in tears.......?

Was.....Is

Gentlly, gently, rubbing
the sunlight in my eyes,
the twilight in my dreams,
I knew,
the chimera
the dancer
the droller among the shades,
a filtered form, virginal,
a longing, a sigh ,an arm-stretch away.
And I a heart-wrenched wretch,
felt , a moment's stillness
a pulse-throbbed eternity
a string-taut wanting
and then, let it go
a believer in hour-glasses,
the next moonlight
the next dawn way............

And God for Everyone

Who would have thought that he would die.

He, who loved rajmah -chawal,The Robocop, Mr India and ...his dad.
Till he was floored by a fell disease. He went through all inefficient hospitals ,believing the fairness of the divine judiciary.....,and his dad, who said "this too shall pass"
It did'nt .
As he stood before the watchman of heaven ,he smiled.
St. Peter looked at him and said ,"see my lamb, I told you, always trust what papa says"
As the boy walked through the Pearly Gates, he turned and looked back.

St peter was in tears........

खुदा गवाह है :Over and Done With......

Grew older : in years. In soul.
Fell in love:surely it looked that way.
Diiscovered hypothesis :ugliness is never skin deep.
Watched loved ones leave:one by painful one.
Discovered self :woe betide!
Decluttered house , life ,heart.
Felt Need reduced to No Need.
Saw stupidity's resistance to be un-stupid.
Was accused, of skolership (sic )
Watched parents fading away: still watching.
And silent,say:
कई पा चुका हूँ में राहतें
अरमां भी कितने निकल चुके
ला फिर पढूं ज़रा गौर से
मुझ्र हसरतों की किताब दे ....
Ah! for a wish....!!

Lucky Lips.......!!

Ah ! would that she
in a moment's madness
move beyond the tangible,
hearken the unspoken ,
and,as a stranger ,
to words, to deeds,
to colours ,to rainbows,
dab the palette of life
with tender shades of silent love........
And then.....softly let
the brush of her heart
re-touch, and complete
the unfinished lines
of untraced lips ??

Born !Before 2ist of July

And then there was a knock.
On the door .On the heart .
With an effort of will he got up,
peeped out ......uncertain .
It was a shadow .....
and not a pale one,
not of a former self,
but, resplendent,
a streak from remembered rainbows.
Those smiling eyes,
that  quirk of an eyebrow,
a question in the way she stood.....
He stepped aside,
allowed her in .....silent..
An answer in his teardrop.....

Curtains........

Hiding;
hiding behind an arras,
a dissembling of faith,
I sensed them; those
daughters of flesh,
them bodies of love ....
Supine,stretched
on the rack of youth,
they,
cavorting, gifting
a life-time ,a fullness away.......
And ,manifest ,now,
I feel one shadow,
one panting heart
twice broken,shaft-pierced,
a cloven  mirror, reflecting ,
all at once,
a waning  moon,
a fading me ........

तुम पुकार लो ......A sonnet for These Times.

तेरे आशियाँ से मेरा घर
था करीब लेकिन हर डगर
जो चली थी उस जहान से
मेरी हसरतों के मकान से ;
कहीं पास आ के मुड गयी
किसी और राह से जुड गयी,
कहा कि "इतनी गुरबतें !
क्या करूंगी एसी कुरबतें ?"
में सुन रहा था यह सदा
वही काफ़िर और वही अदा,
इसी जिंदगी के सवाल पर
दिल-ए- वीरां के इसी हाल पर ;
तेरी रह-गुज़र को सलाम कर
हर ख्वाब तेरे नाम कर,
चंद अश्क बस लुटा के में
तेरा अक्स फिर मिटा के में ;....
लौटा हूँ आज फिर ,इक दिन तमाम करके
वही टूटे हुए सपने अब कल के नाम करके ..........

मेरे आंसूंओं में न मुस्कुरा ......

तेरे आंसूओं से जुदा जुदा
तेरी नम पलक से अलग-अलग
तेरे दिल की हर इक तशनगी
तेरी चाहतों में सुलग-सुलग ;
इक मोड यूँ ही था मुड गया
लगा ...इधर भी तू ही है
तेरे आशियाँ की हर डगर
इक कहकशां का सफर तो है;
जब इस वहम की छाँव में
जब गैर के दर-ओ-बाम में
वोह प्यार अजनबी लगा
वोह दयार अजनबी लगा ;
दिल ने कहा कि यार सुन
चल फिर हसीं सा ख्वाब बुन
पलट जा , जा पलट भी जा
है वही सदा ,वही सी धुन ;
तो लगा कि तू तो पास है
बस यूँ ही थोड़ी उदास है
मेरे यार ,चल अब छोड़ दे
इस राह को फिर इक मोड दे ;
क्यूंकि आज कांधा उदास है
तेरे आंसूओं कि प्यास है,
तू रो ले , पर मुस्कुरा तो दे
बुझे शोलों को हवा तो दे,
आंख नम है तो चल नम सही
यह जिगर तो मेहवेआस है ........

The Castaway.

Yes:There were they,
just sailing through,
a reflection ,a flare,
a war-dance away.
They:bit players, strumming
 a rhapsody of faith,
a litany of loss,
and,the dirge
of  a doleful giving -in.
And I ,
a bare-clad lad,
eyes welling over,
turned, lonely, inwards,
a real-life Crusoe,
said `yes' to my island,
feeding brooding swallows,
and weary,
just waved them away....

The Sea-shore

Floating far ,far above
the good-bye moment,
looking, longing ,
at retracting waters
of receding dreams ,
I smile.....sand in my shoes:
Take in the splashy spray,
the flume of colours,
the beading bubbles,
the empty sea-shell--
now a promise----
of a virginal pearl,
and ,bending,
lovingly trace
the soft contours
of an unwashed name........

बस

कभी कभी मुझे लगता है कि बस जी भी चुकें ......

खत्म हों यह सिलसिले रूठ जाने के
निपट लें दास्ताने फिर मनाने की
किसी आगोश में दम भर सिमटने की तड़प
रुख -ए-रोशन के आईने में संवर जाने की ;
खत्म हो मेरी मीना,जाम हों खाली
सब्र हो मुझे अपनी अदम सी प्यास के साथ
न कोई नज़र , न नज़र  में नज़ारे ही हसीं
न आज गुज़रे मेरा आज कल की आस के साथ;
खत्म हो यह स्याही ,सूख जाए कलम
न हाथ जुम्बिद ,न लब पे आह सी हो
न कोई देख सके फिर अजब सी चाहत से
न अंधेरों से नुमाया इक नई राह सी हो ;

कभी कभी मुझे लगता है कि बस जी भी चुकें.....

Between wake and sleep....

Would that I ,
in an apocalyptic
waking of the self,
wondering, rub my eyes,
erase crow's feet,
un-furrow the frowns,
straighten some smiles,
banish ghosts of yesteryears,
touch her eye-lids
to wish her a dream ?
And will I then,
quietly skulk away,
back and beyond,
to the darkling abyss
of a Hadian incubus
where, like it or not,
a vermillion dot
looks so much like
a bullet's red full stop ?

Glass Houses

Venturing beyond
the somnolent promises
of twined fingers,
a head on the shoulder,
a sleep....softly knit
in yarns of togetherness ,
and pregnant hopes
of shared lives,
he stopped: glances darting,
saw cadavers of faith,
bodies of love,
a bloodied kaleidoscope,
reflected , numerous, in
shards of shattered homes.
And, smiling thru' tears,
raw and wrenched,
step over hesitant step
walked on.....a stymied
victor of the rout ,
a hero of chaos.

Again....!

In the time-dissolving
everness of the Walk,
aching for a half-way house,
a heart -warmed hearth,
a sheltering eye-lash,
I heard a daring,
a seductive summon,
a whisper from the past...
And, teetering, on the brink
of bliss,on the gooseflesh
of caring caresses,I,
a spy of Reason,
reckoned the `Yes' of surrender,
the` No' of prudence,
and retreating....softly tapped
a self-willed knock
on the door of unhappiness.

Stupid Cupid..!!

Reverent, forsooth,
before the shrine of love,
this old fond heart,
a believer still,
in pending embraces,
soft-clenched  vows,
in ambrosial sweetness
and  gallant bows.
Right there: there she was,
beautiful as a blush, wire-drawn,
sunshines lambent in her hair,
ranged, rainbow like,
against the palette,
of a purple sky.
Rooted, agape, stood I,
her look, ah..! unrolled
the curled leaf of my life,
promised another April,
a second milky-way,
then.... turning slowly,
with knowing  steps,
and forlorn ,walked away...

Returning Melodies

Alone, aloof,
standing on the margins
of a love-song,
a stream of sonorous wavelets
softly soothing my ears;
a truth in the beat of each refrain,
a lie in the echo of every note,
point and counterpoint,
wish and fear, a balance
of delicate contraries;
a temptress: beckoning me,
to splash in its icy wake
to cuddle in its warm embrace
and be whole again...
And I, now a careful coward,
wary of lingering melodies,
dithering, paused awhile,
allowed, for once,
for this one day
the music-flood to swell,
sang, "Ah well, what the hell..!"
and let myself be swept
far, far, far away...

If you meet her....

If you meet her,
marooned on the cusp
of love and wisdom,
hatred and forgiveness,
clutching and letting go,
minus the sinful white ,
beyond  the pious black,
in varying hues of grey.........
And ,if you meet her,
when heralds of night
confront couriers of the day ,
her eyes a-smoulder,
melting green ,a foliant blaze,
face a-wash,cadent tears,
quenching miles of thirst,
and lips , a quivering query........
Wouldya please,
ever so tenderly,
take that hand,
turn the palm upward
and softly
trace the Life Line....?

My-Sore...!

And I have let
Paperweights of future
release pages of the past;
memories n' lost dreams
all a-flutter, floating free
clinging to the eglantines of hopes
perched on the shingles of bliss
over-vaulting steeples of ambition
dancing on the cloud of loves
floating on the waters
of a new Jerusalem...
No dead thoughts
overlook my shoulder;
Instead ,I sense
motley shapes, fingers
tingling down my spine
softly soothing stress lines
strumming sounds of silence
soft buzz of blooming blossoms
evoking a luminous halo
a star-lit chimera,
a dancer called 'Now'...

Climbers......

A  smile , a  face
the mirrors
of a warped soul;
a climbing creeper,
the sap-draining scourge
of the darkling Green.
Hope a-twinkle ,evil-eyed
strove upward, arms a-sky
reaching heavenward,
lip-smacking, triumphant.....
The tolerant tree ,a sudden blink,
a moment of  clarity,
like Atlas shrugged.
And there she lay,
grounded , coiled ,all-enmeshed,
useless confetti,
the aftermath of
a moment's celebration...........

My Son........

A lil piece of heaven was mine
the day that you were born
The Laurel tree,the wreath on brow
The Custom and the Horn.

Maybe I was'nt the daddy cool
with elan ,splat, the zoot n' zeep
and maybe my Rudolphs were'nt enough
to put my Riding Hood to sleep

May be I snatched an `everything'
when nothing was the gain
and maybe I put you in a spot
and split a loving heart in twain

Maybe I'd never make amends
that I lost a thing I'd never won
but of this, say I , I am sure
yes , ah yes `I am sorry my son'.

Words....

Woe betide those nighted souls
that bandy with them words,
their `whispering breezes', `speaking trees'
`weeping clouds' n' `larking birds '.
Alack the day I heard them say,
"the milky ways are ours,
with stars a-twinkle in her eyes
ah !  manna will rain in showers ."
Words , words and still more words,
O spare them me oh , please !
they steal the joy of a skewered heart
and leave me with a cruel peace...

और इक जवाब .....

हम आगाह थे ,था मालूम हमें
यह दिल टूटा ही करते हैं
यह सागर हैं ,रेज़ा -रेज़ा
सरे -महफ़िल बिखरा करते हैं ;
ऐसा ही हुआ ,कि इस दिल में
कोई शिकवा न मक्कारी थी
हर अश्क था मोती अपने लिए
हर जफा से पर्दादारी थी ....
ना कोई मुखोटा था अपना
न अफसाना गुमनाम कोई
न शर्मना दिखलाने को
न झूठी सी मुस्कान कोई ;
अब दोष नहीं धरना हर सू
अब कोई छान ना करना है
बस ख्वाब ही था अपना जीवन
यही सपना ले कर मरना है ......

यही सपना ले कर मरना है ........

इक सवाल ...

इस इश्क की बाज़ी में हमने
जब अपना पासा फेंका था
थी किस्मत अपनी मुट्ठी में
इक ख्वाब सुनहरा देखा था ;
यू लगता था बस नज़र मिली
और वोह अपने हो जायेंगे
कुछ सिमटे से लज्जाये से
इन बाँहों में सो जायेंगे ...
ऐसा ना हुआ,उन नज़रों में
चंद मीत पुराने बसते थे
थे हम भी कुछ अनजाने से
कुछ टेड़े मेडे रस्ते थे ......
अब जिस पर चाहे दोष धरो
अब चाहे जितनी छान करो
बाज़ी भी वही मुठी भी वही
क्या अब किस्मत से डरना है ?
अब तुम्ही कहो क्या करना है...

Shelley Narang, Rasveen Bagga and Prabhjot Kaur Bansal like this..


Amol Kaur- I still remember the first time I met you, Sir... Day of admissions... frenzy, confusion and amidst of it all, a kindred spirit... a completely lost, unwell and flustered girl who din't know what to do, where to go... He took one look at th...e girl and knew something was wrong...so He reached out and took her under his wings...



This song is for That Man, From This Girl... :---)See More

February 27 at 8:01pm · LikeUnlike · 8 peopleLoading....Zinal Singh suprlykd it amol......:) and d gleaming eyes wd wrds he sd.....M.A. eng. wale bche mere sath aa jao........:)

4m d heart wana say.........sir......v wana b wd u ever.......

THANZ 4 DEFINING SUCH A MARVELLOUS TEACHING......

hw 2 live lyf......

e...ver OBLIGEDSee More

Yesterday at 9:06pm · LikeUnlike.

गिलहरी

वोह इस मकां की
मेरी आखरी दोस्त ,
टुकर टुकर मेरे हाथों
से निवाले चुनती ,
हर अफसुर्दा-दिली
नज़र नज़र तकती
किसी तिफल की मानिन्द
छुपती दिखती ,दिखती छुपती ,
बीते कुछ रोज ,इधर
शायद  गयी थी किधर .
कोई तितली ,कोई जुगनू
परिंदा भी नहीं
कोई आहट कोई शमां
कोई नटखट ही नहीं ...
वीरां सा वही घर था
लुटा दर था ,कि चुप से,
उसी दरीचे से छुप कर
वोह बोली ,"माफ कर दो ना
में थी तो यहीं .....
अब नहीं जाना कहीं .......


बहुत भूख लगी है "

Brother....A Wish

Will cataracts of soul ever find
sizzling scalpels of desires
that sever a loveless blurriness
and slowly stoke its ashen fires ?
A scythe that will cut a swathe
thru' weedy furrows of the mind
shyly, strangely sowing spring
trailing autumns far behind .
Be there then a luminous halo
dreaming , unbenownst brought
who steals the wrath of spoken word
and lays a whisper in my heart....

कोई राह नयी

मेरे हबीब ,क्या तुम चलोगे साथ मेरे ?
दिल में फिरोजां इक उम्मीद लिए
कि खरामा ,खरामा कदम-ब-कदम
यह दश्त छूट जायेगा ;
दिल-ए -जारे मसाफत खत्म होगी
तो पहुंचेंगे उस गली में जहां ,
चंद गीत वफाओं के महकते हैं अभी ,
जहां कोई शाम रूठती ही नहीं ,
और कोई शब झूठ न बोले ,
गुज़रे जहां पे रात इस ख्वाब के साथ
कल होगा मेरे ही हाथ में हुज़ूर का हाथ ...

मेरे हबीब , क्या तुम चलोगे साथ मेरे  ??

An Eden No More

Round the shrine of joy I went
looking for a cheery harbour,
there nary was a niche , a nook ,
a chink in its stubborn armour.
Reached the threshold , ranted , raved ,
"wouldya please open them doors
let me feel the warmth of love
 and overcome the heart that gores"
Silence...and I retrace my steps
still haunted by my fears,
my shoulders slumped , face a-wash
with the bootless bygone years.
Tonight,as she wells in my eye
a droplet will I borrow
for the taste of joy must come to one
who slowly swallows sorrow.......

Beyond horizons....

Another dawn, and  I hearken back
at what was meant to be
it never was ;and never did
ah ! the failure to `see'.
Eyes a-blinker,and stone-tone deaf
un-abled by a stream of babble
I ploughed on , stumbled ,was whip-lashed
by that rousing throng of rabble.
Is it a leading from above
or fashioned by some hand
that this our life is an incubus
or a never-never land ?
Be there ever a jaunty day
when the hours are  rhythmic dancers
when questions that shyly swim in your eyes
are sweeter than their answers ??

Jerusalem

Eviscerated and bled awhile
in what was once called love
strangely , slowly ,spaced apart
by a real-life `turtle-dove '.
Besotted ,first ,and then impaled
on the truth-cross of a word
aghast, agape, at what really was
a rhetoric of absurd.
And yet, I , stand, a bare-clad lad
waiting, waiting, in real-time
for a healing hand, a warming look
and a hug that is totally mine.....

Facebook.....

I stare a-while at my profile
and steal a look at Yonder
the heart a-moment feels a shaft
and then I do so ponder...
A loving wish , fire and ice
some people that hate me not
they may say THAT is nothing much
but ain't it still a lot...?