A summer day

Taking halting baby steps

the day crawls at a laboured pace

sapped of energy, it barely breathes

sun’s wrath like fire in the sky

stripping it of its usual zest

the wind lies curled beneath a barren tree

looking for sanctuary amongst parched grass

the denuded earth, without its green canopy, sizzles

unable to regenerate itself enough

a few clouds rushing to escape the heat

moved by its pitiable state, shed a few tears

which are like the kiss of life

helping it to reach dusk before fading away

it will be back tomorrow, for that is its fate.

Eugi’s Weekly Prompt “Summer”, June 22, 2020

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My poem in Free Verse Revolution

Performers

Underneath the bravura posturing 

lies a conniving, craven cardiac core

wont to deceiving, disseminating delusional designs

Read the rest of the poem here.

Contrast

Finally! free from the drudgery

of cleaning, sweeping, swabbing,

doing utensils in four households

her heart exhilarated!

but loss of monetary independence

now dependence on dwindling doles

perturbations pained her mind!

The thing that bothered her most

a housemaid for the menial chores

lockdown gave her the chance

to break this last shackle of injustice!

but mired in all the chores from morn till night

she wonders

where her “own” independence has disappeared!

https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2020/06/18/reenas-exploration-challenge-140/

Words…

Mostly, I like my words naked,

plain and simple

sometimes straight shooting,

raw and palpable

at others sharp and jabbing words

with their asperous edges

leaving blisters on my palms and fingers

hot-headed words, scalding my tongue

but the feeling in my bones is indescribable!

Oft there are days when I have to eat them

the lacerations on my throat then

leave me abstaining for days!

thus I shun bitter, acidic words

letting them stew in their juices

just to make them more palatable.

I do dress them prettily in metaphors too

to preen and please and garner some applause

also sometimes in malaphors to generate weak laughs

usually poking fun at self

which leaves my ribs a bit sore.

I hide behind obscurity too

for sometimes their forwardness

startles and baffles me

I fear then, I give away too much of me!

I paint surreal images too

but the orange pain that warms my skin

prefers not to hide behind lace-like layers

that tries to curtain it

thus leaving me exposed.

leaving them hanging in air does not help

they follow me like question marks

demanding to be articulated

playing with words all the time,

I become a plaything for them.

Driving ms. uncertainty

Though I still seem to be in the driver’s seat alas! the controls have been wrested from melurching jerkily forward into the ominous darknessthe unknown road is uneven and untrodstriking fear in my faint heartthe rearview mirror shows blurred and murky imagesI know not what I seein a daze I watch time whizzing pastswallowing all memories in its wakehowever hard I try, I am unable to apply the brakesI want to pause, take stock, think and catch my shallow breaththe uncertainty sitting with certainty just above the edgeterrifies and troubles mebut inexorably, we keep moving aheadwho knows if we will reach an enchanted landwhere everything will be alrightwhere butterflies with glowing wingsand blue tipped flickering moonbeamswill dance with delightor a tenebrous abyss will gulp us downannihilating us forevercloistered mind can almost losethe thread of maturity and sanityswinging from being pensive to exuberantbut curiousity gets the better of meI am ready for this ride till the end.https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2020/06/15/what-do-you-see-34-15-june-2020/https://onewomansquest.org/2020/06/15/vjs-weekly-challenge-100-pause/

Sea and surf

Amidst the downtime that he thought he was enjoying

it called out to him intermittently at first

he brushed it aside as his mind playing tricks

when he heard the sweet song of sirens!

disregarding it, he busied himself fixing things

but it became incessant, as time went by

the roar and the quiet of the surf crashing all around him

waking him in the middle of the night

keeping him on tenterhooks

he looked at the woman lying next to him

her arm curled around his waist

a serene, sweet look on her face,

oblivious to his burgeoning turmoil

unaware that the sea was serenading him

inveigling him surreptitiously

torn between the two, he felt helpless

like watching sand slip through fingers

a heavy weight keeping him anchored

while his soul was writhing to experience

the salt spray on his face, the cool breeze in his hair

as well as the white crested cyan expanse around him

away from the quotidian caterwauling

into the serene tranquility and the company of the porpoises,

oh, the porpoises!

beckoning him and enticing him

bit by bit he was like the living dead

she noticed the faraway look in his eyes

suddenly in the throes of passion

his withdrawal and his cacophonous silence

she did not want to live a half life

with the shell of the man she loved

thus she released him

to go back into the arms of his first love

The sea.

Written for Kate’s Friday fun.

I weep not for me

I weep not for me

I can endure the pain you give me

I am eternal and immortal

even when destroyed, I reinvent myself

under that gushing waterfall

do you see that lone tear

silently slipping down?

It is for you

for what you have become

for the depths to which you have plunged

your life tangled

in the brambles of living

your naked wantonness

circling like ravens and crows

if only you had been

intelligent like them

been without fears and prejudices

you wouldn’t have caused

so much misery to yourself and me

I will recover and replenish myself

what pains me is that you call me mother

then attribute retribution as one of my qualities!

which mother would harm her child!

I weep for you my child

for what you have become

your uncontrollable greed and hubris

has brought you to the brink

step back my child

mend your ways untangle yourself

I wait for you with open arms

I weep not for me!

speak to me …

Corvid-2020 Weekly Challenge #13

Isolation

Today a young, successful actor in India committed suicide. The reasons are not known and maybe will never be actually known.

The room is full of people; clinking glasses and laughter

I have thousands of followers on twitter

everyday I get so many likes

my whatsapp is always buzzing

but I am feeling so empty inside.

I have an opinion on everything

my insta is updated every hour

I Photoshop my pics to my liking

I follow all who matter in the showbiz

but why am I so unhappy tonight?

My parents are simple people

I am too ambitious for them

my bff too is a small town person

who wants to be bigger than me

I have scores of work friends

we hang out everyday after work

but I have no one with whom

I can share all that troubles me.

I have to be ahead and better

I can not lose this race

I have to beat others at any cost

I can’t bear to be a laggard

I have to have all I can have

and then some more to top it up

but whatever I have acquired till now

gives me no pleasure any more.

No one knows the real me

no one cares for my feelings

no one can hear when I cry within

No one has time for me

I myself have completely lost touch

with the person I actually was.

I want to lie down for a while

I want to cry my heart out tonight

I want to scream and be heard

I want answers to my whys

But most of all I want to be just me

I am tired of not being me

I want to curl up and die.

Awol thoughts

When thoughts suddenly play hooky

then words are apt to go belly up

uttering incoherent sibilant whispers

they willingly withdraw into wilderness

called by a god, maybe!

you then become inured to vacuity

still you grieve, getting your knickers in a twist

you believed thoughts were at your beck and call

writing was your well-deserved privilege

oh, what a shame!

solitary confinement does not help

nor does seeking inspiration from other’s work

the brain refuses to comply with orders

you risk teetering on the brink of going beserk

you strain yourself, work up a frenzy

however hard you may try to coax

thoughts are in no mood to comply

content to curl up in suspended animation

and you end up feeling like a hoax.

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #99: privilege

https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2020/06/11/reenas-exploration-challenge-139/

Drama of life

The stage is set
the masquerade begins
don’t forget your masks
as well as the elaborate costume
the charade starts as soon as you arrive
and you have to keep the facade
till it’s time to exit
don’t try to look for the real persons
you will find none
acting has become their first nature
they have forgotten their true self
blend in, in this costume drama
or you will stand exposed
and standing exposed under the arc lights
is so damn lonely!

https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2020/06/05/reenas-exploration-challenge-138-our-roles/

( Sorry Reena, I am late!)