The Taste of Summer

Summer tastes like mangoes
Sour raw mango pieces drying on the rooftop
Waiting to mingle with oil and other spices in pickles.
Their sharp aroma would fill the house
And make its way into conversations.

Summer tastes like mangoes
Ripe golden Alphonso pulp blended with sugar and cardamom powder
And served as Aamras with meals.
Its intensely sweet and luxuriously creamy flavor
Made each mouthful feel like a royal treat.

Summer tastes like mangoes
With an extra salty zing of sweat
Because they were stolen from the trees in the neighbor’s orchard
With friends as company on lazy afternoons.
Each bite was worth the mad dash to the fence to escape.

Summer tastes like mangoes
In my grandmother’s pickles, mother’s Aamras, and those shared with friends.
Summer always tastes of love and memories.

‘Til Infinity

If the inkpot was the ocean,
Then
Not all the ink would be enough…

If every quill was a raindrop,
Then
Not all the rain would be enough…

If each page was a flower petal,
Then
Not all the blossoms would be enough…

If every moment was a breath,
Then
Not all the lives would be enough…

To express my love for you.
‘Tis as simple as that –
I love you forever and ever and ever.
‘Til infinity.

Defying Odds

Once you understand that
In this Universe, which is 93 billion light-years in diameter,
With a 100 billion galaxies,
And 400 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy,
With 8 planets revolving around the Sun,
And 5 nonillion living entities on our planet, Earth,
With 8.3 billion humans,
And 22.5 million people born on the same day,
You are the only you,
Then, you have already defied all odds
To just …
Be.

So just …
Be
Your unique self
That completes the tapestry of humanity,
The cherished Earthling,
Spawn of the Sun’s starlight,
Full of galactic stardust,
With matter and antimatter,
With vacuum and plenum,
Everyday…
Just be…
You.

Listen to the Garden Sing

Listen to the garden sing.
Listen to the garden sing as it heralds a new dawn.
A new dawn that echoes the koel’s melodious songs
That are the harbinger of love and hope.
Listen.

Listen to the garden sing.
Listen to the garden sing as the colors splash across the skies.
The colors splash across the skies, and in every dewdrop
That shines on the roses, leaves, and blades of grass.
Listen.

Listen to the garden sing.
Listen to the garden sing, and now, can you hear the silence?
Can you hear the silence of the buds that fell to the ground
Never to unfurl their petals and bloom?
Listen.

Listen to the garden sing.
Listen to the garden sing amidst the sad silence.
The sad silence of each life pushed to the edge of extinction.
Who created the garden?
And who has the right to destroy it?

PS: This poem is an Anaphora

The Dream

Once upon a moonlit night,
I walked beyond the hillside.
And, came upon a place of light
Where everything shone so bright.

A golden car whizzed past me
With the rider grinning gleefully.
Everyone was dressed beautifully
With smiles as perfect as can be.

Cafes were bustling with activity
As everyone sipped the best coffee.
Wearing diamond and gold jewelry,
They ate out of shiny silver cutlery.

All of a sudden, it started to pour,
And they sat with umbrellas unfurled
Upside down on the marble floor
To catch all that fell from Heaven’s door.

Those who wanted money, got it!
Those who wanted fancy things, got it!
Those who wanted success, got it!
Those who wanted love, got it!

O! it was beautiful beyond compare!
A place with happiness everywhere!
It was then that my eyes fell on her.
I thought I’d seen her somewhere!

Why?! That girl looked just like me!
Perfectly successful and very happy!
In that instant, I recalled my dream
That I had long abandoned, regretfully.

So, this was the place where they went!
Unfulfilled dreams that were unattended!
Dreams that could never be manifested!
Dreams that were somehow neglected!

As dawn broke through from the east,
That place vanished with the breeze.
I turned to leave, sighing wistfully,
Reminiscing the promise I couldn’t keep.

The Whispering Woods

The woods of my dreams are dark and deep.
And, ever so often, they whisper to me.
A magical breeze blows through the trees,
And as it swishes, it beckons me softly.

The evening sun casts a glow on the olive leaves
As fireflies message each other in a code binary.
The path strewn with dry twigs crackles under my feet,
And the cool air, with the scent of flowers, is heavy.

The woods, to my heart and soul, gift peace.
They take me to a place more real than reality
Where life springs forth from every nook and cranny,
Where hope sings songs untethered and free.

In those deep and dark woods, it’s myself that I seek,
And in the stillness, I can see my true self revealed.
When Life throws me to the ground in a mangled heap,
These whispering woods give me the strength to heal.

The Art of Letting Go

The ones who read will say
That the ocean covers 71% of the Earth’s surface,
And the rest is land.

The ones who see will say
That the ocean is the final destination
For rivers that flow from the mountains and plains.

But the ones who know will say
That the ocean has mastered the art of letting go
With every wave that rushes towards the shore.

Yes, it lets go of grains of sand
And those, in turn, build the coast.
Yes, it lets go of precious shells, pearls, and many more.

And, it’s worth giving a thought
To what would have been if this were not.
What if the ocean held everything inside itself?

The answer, my friends, is very simple.
For, if the ocean hoarded it all,
It would cease to exist and completely lose its form.

So there it is, now you also know –
Letting go is not a recipe for loss,
But a path for life and growth.

Floccinaucinihilipilification

When you felt sad and lonely,
I spun rainbows from the grey skies.
When you wanted to pour your heart out,
Even at 3 a.m., I was always around.
When you were filled with resentment,
I was your source of happiness.
When your eyes were full of tears,
I chased away all your fears.

The thoughtful, little unexpected gifts,
The boxes of roses and chocolates,
The attention to all you spoke,
The sweet messages I wrote
The moments that to you I dedicated –
Yes, you were the center of my galaxy.
The entire world was a witness –
My love was the truest and deepest.

But it was so easy for you to leave
Saying I’d be over it eventually.
You never ever really loved me,
Never understood how deep I was in it.
You left me to drown in regret
Without realizing I’d die in the process.
Because for you, oh for you, my loved one
It was a fleeting and worthless attraction.