Wednesday, February 28, 2007

The Buddha laughs

When the lights blow out
Urchins erupt in joy
As if darkness were godsend,
Candles disappear and when found
Bring the walls alive,
One's a child again
Marvelling at the shadows
One can shape into deer or hound...
The air hums with unheard sounds
The empty chairs glow with life
The Buddha stretches and laughs
The streets flow with chatter and laughter
As one sits and comforts
A dying flame

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Cooum

Near the cinema
Stripping women of their souls
The river quietly breathes
Stoic like a saint
Though dying of the city's sins
On the bridge
The harlot
Too weary to walk the streets
Stands staring at the waters
Mourning the river
She had lost
In her hamlet green
Where it skipped like a girl
Without a care
Frothing, foaming, giggling
Unlike the river here
Dying of the city' s sins
(Published in Kavya Bharati)