Competition Entry

amidst clusters of clouds, you came
streaming torrents of sunshine
and I see the sun rise in your eyes
the sun rays reaching out,
stirring a broth of emotions
in the deepest chambers of my heart
and I cry tears –
tears which do not reach my eyes

no intentions for an emotional adieu
fingers shall sail through timetables
no longer will my finger pause
at that one box
my cozy world shall spill from boundaries
it will leak into a facade
and then, I shall look at
this glimmering oasis
and, I shall cry tears
tears which do not reach my eyes
frozen between heartbeats
as I struggle to brush them from
tightened heart sinews

who looks out for an eidelweiss?
I shall!
and with its petals, I shall make crowns
crowns that crest my walls
And then I will think of the eidelwiess
these tears which do not reach my eyes
shall pose as –
moist rainbow dew drops
for these petals lacking dew

white doors, normal doors,
ordinary doors, hospital doors
office doors creaking
blurs of confusion flitting in and out
and when, on its hinges
the door pauses

Indian ladies are always –
a blur of colour, so I heard
every blur of colour making me stop –
I pause, I think and then I smile
the frozen tears holding
onto heart strings
tighten their grip

Diwali night, I shall be staring –
an arch of sky curving overhead
the only arch without light
and yet this arch stretches on
extending into infinity
how futile every Diya seems,
this arch is stretching
thinking of her expanse of sky –
how futile an oil lamp of gratitude
in this extending stretch –
the frozen tears holding onto heart strings
melting

looking up at the illuminated sky
and amidst the stars, her star
still twinkling –
reflected in my tears
forever shimmering
and starshine in her eyes
the next day when we met
in school

The apple sings,
The banana runs.
The pear has wings,
The mango makes buns.
The kiwi wears rings,
The orange brings.
Altogether they are Fruit Alive!

My beloved cat,
That is ginger,
and also very fat,
is a crazy ninja!
He kicks,
He punches,
he scratches,
He bites.
Watch out,
or you’ll be in one of the fights.

Oh, dear Rainbow,
Please show us your end,
Show us the light,
And the heart of a friend.
Show the brave knight,
Show the pot of gold,
Show much greatness,
And courage of the bold.

My secret is made of…
The last breath of King Tut
Before he passed away
And the golden sand shimmering
On the secret tomb of Tutankhamun
A drop from the powerful River Nile
Crystal crumbling from a hidden mummy
The tip of the tallest golden pyramid
And the last journey
Into the underworld.

My secret is made of…
Sand crumbling from pyramids
Like snow falling from a house
Nubis’s last words fading into
The fast flowing river
The Nile biting the golden shore
Glistening in the sunlight
And a scarab beetle
Crawling across the sandy floor
The Boy King curse
Heard across the giant world
And the treasures long lost underground.

I have two ponies
Beautiful and gold
Their hair glistens in the beaming sun
They wave their heads around
All day long
Jumping over and over
Like stones skimming on the cool water
On a summer’s evening
The sound of their hooves
Clicking against rocks
As I ride across the sand –
These are my favourite things
To think about.

Sad emotions moist eyes
Coz missing a person who is my life
My fighting partner who is a gangster
My crime partner that back bencher
My bench partner that snatcher
Who stole my things much faster
From holding hands in the ground
To punching a face in the crowd
Dreaming together, looking at the clouds
And then laughing with proudly
The shoulder I used to sleep on
Is now what I am craving on
Coz unfortunately she is on her way
But for which I have to walk a thousand miles on
That eye contact and smile
Those epic jokes in my mind
Those bunking places we used to find
We were so lit and kind
My biggest support indeed
She is the purest soul whom I still believe
And a list of haters lead
Who don’t understand our insanity
People say we were slayers
And the attitude is still famous
She is still my best friend my everything
Yes you heard right, my everything
The reason for my smiling
It’s lame, but still stunning

Make my one night less lonelier
I know it’s starting but
I think you need to know
Even though you will find it
Not important. These words
Insist that I say so
I know this will take time
Each and every phase
Are running to get spilled out
Because I have to rewind, pause and replay
And queue them up, so that
I do not hesitate. While talking to you
I need to tell you about days
When my pillow soaked up my tears
Every night
I need you to know about how
Each weekend I have re-lived
My childhood with my grandmother
Telling tiny naughty tales of herself
I need to say about the day
I’ve attempted to write the perfect
Suicide note and was terrified
To find it in my mom’s trembling hands
I have to tell you about those
Google search histories
That said “how to differentiate
Between depression and sadness”
Make my one night less lonelier
Listen to me I will
Surely feel better

I knew we were done
Yes we had enough
You were on my path
I was on mine
Waiting for our paths to cross
Hoped to meet again
I saw our paths intersecting
But turned I knew
Yo would blame me
For all of our pain
You wouldn’t look into my eyes
See the fear of making new friends
You had pushed me away
Hoping that I would run after you
I had lost all my senses
And no one was there to pick me up
Forgetting this I ran back to you
Hopping that you would hug me
Talk to me and love me the same way
Unfortunately our friendship had changed
Everything had changed
I saw you laughing with someone else
The same way we used to
Memories trembled down my spine
And rolled through the cheeks
I stood there for hours motionless
Taking a journey through memory lane