The Old Banyan Tree

The old Banyan Tree

In my village

Fell with a thundering noise.

People ran helter-shelter

many made a profit

And to many it saved

a month’s fuel

that was all.

The greatest Banyan tree

Of the country

The Mahatma

fell or rather was felled

it was 1948

that was not at all.

Till date

 his burnt-up limbs

are used and reused as fuel

 in all our politician’s career

to keep alive their cooking flame

A proverb comes here :

“Dead or alive

An elephant is worth

A thousand gold sovereigns.”

My Vision

The obscure sky shadows 

My reckless efforts 

And  I stumble again 

Hitting against the 

Hard rock of fate 

The wound is raw

The heart broken 

Yet I gather each fragment 

with much care and solicitude

in case a tear may block my vision 

Winter Sky

Not a leaf stirred

winter sky standing still

in an unbearable silence

like the burdened soul.

Distant thunder

threatening to unleash

the torrential 

downpour,any moment.

How will  I face you

after years of placidity,desolation

I am so used to

my limits of solitude

your domain

spreading to eternity

so much freedom,so much space.

I feel lost

like desperate hands grappling

with uncontrollable waves

of the vast turbulant ocean

and time stood still 

like the overcast winter sky.

Books and Me

When I fell in love with books

fell madly, passionately in love,

you didn’t tell me that

I can’t live without books.

When you made the introductions

that I was committed

to the little kitchen set

in my toy trunk

that it was only

a matter of our

growing up.

Now that I blame you,

but it’s just that

bookcases don’t fit in kitchens

and

it’s a long walk to the library.

Besides,

who doesn’t know that

love and loyalty

can be tiring,

tearing,

when they are different.