Memories of the past surround me.
Sometimes, I’m sad; sometimes, elated.
The paths of Fate are indeed cruel.
They meet only to be separated.
When I saw you first,
my world became anew.
I had never guessed
my heart was going askew.
Shy as you were
like a beautiful deer,
You were always close to me
and so very, very dear.
When you laughed,
the strings of the sitar rang.
When you talked,
the notes of the flute sang.
When you would cry and shed a tear,
the music of the veena filled the air.
So simple you were.
Unaffected by modernity,
and yet complete in every way.
You were an ocean of beauty.
Your eyes were like unfathomable lakes
At the bottom of which shone bright stars.
You were my true inspiration.
I was a lock, and you – my key.
Your unending love always besieged me.
I loved you, and you loved me.
Your face is engraved in my dreams.
Your memories, in my heartbeat.
My mind will always search for you
when cruel loneliness surrounds me.

O golden Sun!
Why do you blush
as you say goodbye
in the evening skies?
Are you in love?

O silver satellite!
Why do you smile
as you shine bright
in the nighttime?
Are you in love?

O blue ocean!
Why do your waves
rush to embrace
the shores of sand?
Are you in love?

O crimson rose!
Why do you bloom
unabashedly bold
in the winter’s cold?
Are you in love?

As I wonder
about the answers,
one thing becomes crystal clear –
Myriad are the colors of love.
You only need the eyes of a lover.

Love is in the air.
It makes me see you everywhere.
And even though you’re far away,
This is what you will hear me say –
My darling, I love you.

Love is in the air.
With you, this love I want to share.
Let not this moment go to waste.
Feel my heart beating as you say –
My darling, I love you.

Love is in the air.
A love that’s timeless and so rare,
that even diamonds and roses pale
when we kiss slowly and we say –
My darling, I love you.

Love is in the air.
We are the ones who put it there.
And we won’t ever let it fade away.
With every breath we take, we’ll say –
My darling, I love you.

Let me gift you today
my love in a bouquet.

No flowers do I bring.
They wither in a blink.

No soft satin ribbons.
As they end up fraying.

For you, I have moments
etched in togetherness.

Kisses, hugs, and smiles
for your entire lifetime.

I will listen to you speak
about all of your dreams.

I bring to you my heart.
I accept all that you are.

And I know you feel, too,
this love I have for you.

For you only, is my bouquet,
and it will never fade away.

Sorrow lays seige on my mind
like an army outside a fortress.
Darkness descends like the night.
Into corners recedes happiness.

Tears try their best to negotiate,
but all they can do is flow away.
No reasoning can cure the ache.
Words and wails – they both fail.

And then comes an arrow of light
striking the dark with all its might,
like the sunrays in the dawn sky –
A look of love that ends the fight.

If we ever meet again,
I’d hold your hand and never let go
be it blustering winds, hail or snow.

If we ever meet again,
I’d walk with you on the sandy beach
and listen to you tell me your dreams.

If we ever meet again,
I’d capture your picture with my eyes –
the way you laugh and the way you smile.

If we ever meet again,
I’d spend all of my moments with you –
forget the past, make memories new.

If we ever meet again,
I’d tell you my secrets – my heart’s truths.
And waste no time to say – I love you.

PS: This poem has nine syllables in the second and third lines of each stanza.

The pursuit of love is as old as time.
It needs no words, songs or rhymes.
The ephemeral mayflies know it well.
So do the whales that in oceans dwell.
And humankind would not ever exist
if the first pair was spared from this.
Sometimes, it leads to happy endings
At others, there’s war and destruction.
Like the gaily colored flitting butterfly,
one cannot know where it will alight.
Will it fulfill dreams or cause confusion?
Will it foster happiness or delusions?
But, as long as there are stars above,
so will be alive … the pursuit of love.

Worried about the future –
about all that it holds –
you visit astrologers,
gaze into crystal balls.
All of that is pointless.
Just see the little ones.
The future lies in them.
The future is in Love.

Who’s that a knock-knock-knocking
at the valves of my heart?
Like the raindrops a drop-drop-dropping
making me want to dance.

Whose name is a drum-drum-drumming
in the corners of my mind?
Like a tune that’s a hum-hum-humming
on my lips all the time.

Who’s that a smile-smile-smiling
in my sparkling eyes?
Like the moon that’s a shine-shine-shining
keeping me up at night.

And if you are a guess-guess-guessing –
Who that special person could be?
The one who sets me a spin-spin-spinning
is you…yes only you…my baby.

Love me forever like
the wind loves the rain;
like the warp loves the weft
in a long woven train.

Together, we’re the best
like wine and cheese;
a meld that allures
like musk and sweat.

Love me endlessly like
the cold loves the winter;
like the Sun loves the Earth
in this vast universe.

Love me with a love
that’ll always be true,
for this is exactly how
I will love you too.

My heart yearns for your love, dearest.
like a desert awaits the falling rain.
I long and long to hold you
like the night embraces the Moon.
You are the one and only one
who brightens my life like the Sun.
I will love you forever and ever.
As long as I live and even thereafter.

Love – like flames burning
charcoal hearts turning
them into cinders.

Love – like tsunamis crashing
on soul shores turning
them into watery crypts.

Love – like hurricanes blowing
over mind memories turning
them to ghost towns.

Love – like tremors shaking
Atlantean promises turning
them to scattered debris.

Love – leaving a trail of Devastation
or paving the way for Creation?
The conundrum.