Mother’s embrace

Her mellifluous melody was mesmerising

though the tongue was indistinct and unknown

as the young mother crooned softly

cuddling her cranky bundle of joy

it reawakened so many bittersweet memories

I curled myself into a fetal ball

letting her melody wash over me

her sweet voice reminiscent of the warm embrace of mother

and her gentle hand on my brow

cleansing my battered body and my tattered soul

yearning as I was for a healing touch

I could feel tears course down my cheeks

her universal berceuse gradually rocked me to deep slumber

cradling my fragile self tenderly

and in my dreams the lullaby carried me home.

Written for Sadje’s wdys.

Dream binary (a pantoum)

Trapped within the binary of a frangible dream
I ride to the skies on butterfly wings
guided by a stray, aglimmer moonbeam
the rainbow a divine ditty hums and sings

I ride to the skies on butterfly wings
bedazzled by the zillion glittering stars
the rainbow a divine ditty hums and sings
the zephyrs strum along on the guitars

bedazzled by the zillion glittering stars
floating on the cushiony, candyfloss clouds
the zephyrs strum along on the guitars
but before I can pluck a star, mist shrouds!

Floating on the cushiony, candyfloss clouds
guided by a stray, aglimmer moonbeam
before I can pluck a star, mist shrouds
I am trapped within the binary of a frangible dream.

Written for Sadje’s wdys, Eugi’s moonwashed weekly challange and David’s W3 for Aditi’s prompt.

Enigmatic Earth

No voodoo, no sorcery
magical or mythical
maybe otherworldly, who knows?
mysteries of nature mesmerize, tantalize
mostly unfathomable
enjoy the enthralling show!

Written for Sadje’s wdys.

The Highwayman’s horse

As he lay in his blood on the highway, with a bunch of lace at his throat
I clattered into the darkness, draped on my back was his cloak
He was a just and fair master, he loved me like one of his men
No man was more dashing than he
No lover was more loyal than he
Dearly he had loved pretty Bess, though at his feet swooned a gaggle of comely women.

Poor Bess could not overcome her grief, swung from a rope did she
I roam rudderless and forlorn, though amongst my brethren I be
‘Tis peaceful and quiet here in the meadows
But there ne’er will be a man like the highwayman
A daring and swashbuckling highwayman
Thinking of his daredevil ways, my poor heart often overflows.

Anyone who has read The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes, would know that my first line is borrowed from the poem. I know nothing about horses. The little I know, is from this poem, which is my favourite and from the novels of Dick Francis, I read as a young girl. I have written about it here.

Written for Sadje’s wdys.

Dreams

Nestled amongst the twigs of sleep every night
amidst stockpiled straws of stolen sunshine
adorned with knick-knacks of living
my dreams lie cushioned comfortably
ensconced within them is my fledgling poetry

Flapping tenuous wings of a new sprung idea
my verse hesitantly will start its lone flight
never ambitious enough of owning the lofty sky
striving to float free of encumbrances
then happy to home in to hospitable hearts.

Written for Sadje’s wdys and Eugi’s moonwashed challenge.

Whither freedom?

Drowning, drowning, freedom is drowning
in the quagmire of falsehoods foaming around
perfidious promises keep plundering hope

They want freedom to be tongue-tied and servile
to seek permission to express itself by their rules
drowning, drowning, freedom is drowning!

Freedom is bloodied and pulverised
its face dunked in the dirt of unkept undertakings,
in the quagmire of falsehoods foaming around

But freedom wil not give in easily. It will surely
fight back and expose oblique oaths and the
perfidious promises that keep plundering hope.

Written for Sadje’s wdys and David’s W3 (for my own prompt).

Sharing at dVerse OLN.

On Rakshabandhan*

Dear brothers, I guess, like always, I will have to make the first move
I forgave mom on her deathbed for always coddling and favouring you two
I guess ’tis time to move on and forgive you two too!

Mind you, what you did was unforgivable and despicable
but over the years life has dealt unfair hand after unfair hand
you miserable dogs, I relent, I’ll no more grandstand!

Of late, my mind has been traversing the untrodden alleys of past
strangely, those happy, carefree childhood memories
are undimmed and undiminished by time’s vagaries

Dear brothers, I am sending you rakhi** after all these years
may you be bestowed with compassion, sensitivity and longevity
I couldn’t let go of this occasion to bless you with my magnanimity!

Written for Sadje’s wdys.

*Rakshabandhan will be celebrated on 11th August.

**Rakhi – sacred threads to be tied on the wrist.

Blank space

No hues can paint again
the blank canvas of this heart
a vacant, empty, forlorn space

how can I ever forget
those beautiful flowers;
your jeering parting gift to me

with a nonchalant twist
of your delicate wrist
you had bid adieu forever

your sharp, jabbing words
used with utmost dexterity
still cause my heart to bleed

I know now what it means
to have no one by my side
and a gnawing emptiness within.

Written for Sadje’s wdys.

Change for worse

At night the psychotic wind went berserk
the evasive brown grass waved crabbily
bits of paper twisted and turned curvy
like energetic juveniles
the urban jumble whispered grumpily till dawn

in the morning bathed in the alluring golden glow
the sentinel trees stand quietly watchful
monsoon’s remnant lies undisturbed
but these dregs do tell a bitter story
of displaced and moody seasons
waylaid by human greed
chagrined seasons restlessly look for home
having lost their compass  they have turned bitter with malice

no cooing flocks of doves
to offset the terrifying truth
the deserted path tells a tale
that has no listeners.

Written for dVerse poetics. Also inspired by Sadje’s wdys and Jane’s random word generator. Today’s host at dVerse, Lillian, says: Write a poem on any topic in any poetic form, that includes at least one of the flavors of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream in the list. You can check the list here.

…and the music died

Poised on paper the pen ponders pensively
waits for words to flow uninhibitedly
but my constricted throat won’t let them pass

A sad tune plays plaintively in my head
the notes refuse to grace the white sheet that’s spread
poised on paper the pen ponders pensively

The heart feels emptied of all its contents
the mind is a cauldron of simmering intents
I wait for words to flow uninhibitedly

There’s rain that falls inside but eyes don’t stream
waiting for words is a sisyphean dream
‘cos my constricted throat won’t just let them pass.

Written for Sadje’s wdys.