Words

Have you ever counted,
The number of words,
You exchange,
In a day?

Have you at least,
Made a note,
Of how many you uttered,
Carelessly away?

No? The words,
They sit like dew,
Some strike thunder,
Lilting at bay.

Greater than those,
Remain the silence.
In another universe,
Unheard, unspoken.

Our Song

There are songs,
Singing our life,
And there are some,
Even as we ambitiously try,
We cannot forget.

The song that was ours--
Its depth kissing our souls,
And cadence caressing,
Wingfully, fluteishly,
Finding us there.

We were sinking stars,
Happily tied to the song,
While the night ran out
Of its darkness,
We were awake,
Forgetting the rest.

Today is here, and bright,
Today is you without,
Even as I forget the rest,
Ours was a song,
I long to forget.

The Upper Hand

Hours hunched over papers,
Hours spent devising,
I want to write this,
And for that.
Yet, nothing leaves the ink.

Once I wanted stacks of money,
Then I wanted undying fame,
Soon I wanted boundless love,
I had to rewrite my dreams
Again and again.
The words ran out on me...
Who was I to blame.

Once I tried to work at it,
As hard-work is meant to be,
Then I tried to feel like others,
And soon forgot my self.

I waited for consents,
I longed for praise,
I become another of my kind.
Bright for a day,
Soon forgotten away.

Till that day when I shed,
The mask of civility.
Embracing back
Like an old friend,
Long lost and well loved --
My insanity.

I should have known better,
Language is an art,
Born of its whim.
You fondle it too much --
It calls upon itself
An untimely death.

Days engulfed in sloth,
And deliberations,
And conditions,
Yet,
When it bursts out rushing,
It does,
In spite of everything.

It unwombs and becomes,
Teases the mind,
Builds the voice,
Out on its own.
Shining, burning,
Slightly smiling,
Always knowing,
Who had the better,
Upper hand.

When it Rained

Some monsoons back,
A garland of clouds
Showered life on me,
As I breathed in love.

Humming strolled in,
Lyrically,
Love song like.

Afternoons were alive,
Thundering abound,

A symmetry of smells.