Grief Is The Mother

of poetry

this is where you say

you cannot help

someone you love

from dying

it is so painful

it never stops hurting

you couldn’t save

the person

and the things

you don’t know

your helplessness

and you are inconsolable

your sorrow

as vast as the oceans

as long as your life

and your body

already diseased

your mind shattered

like a ball through

a window

and you lie here broken

thinking of death

under your blanket

there is darkness only

and that is the

whole universe

and you will

be nothing soon

and you think

of those kites

whose strings

got cut

and which fell

to the ground

and how you ran

towards them

and felt sad

when you found

them torn

and would not fly.

The Imagination

is black

and seems endless

formless

like a great cosmic dancer

and if you travel deep

into its territory

it turns red

and then becomes lifelike

and after that

you feel

everything is possible

you know the world

so intimately

and like a lover

you lie down

with the moon

every night

in the sky

and the twinkling stars

sing to you

as you make love

and when you’re done

you realise

you are their child

and you run

into their arms.

My Mind Is An Aeroplane

in the deep night sky

it flies

its lights blinking

and the darkness

is my element

where I find my way

in the air

above the clouds

and then I am also

this small boy

looking up at myself

the aircraft

and I remember

that day

and suddenly

my brown T-shirt

and red shorts

come to mind

and I am running

and here I am

in my chair sitting

and writing this

and I hear

the breeze

and it’s like

the sound of the sea

and my heart

is the engine

of the aeroplane

and my arms the wings

and my great happiness

the windows

shining golden.

Again The Heart

is uncomfortable

like it was suffering

from cramps

and your face

always strained

and your mind

a place you simply

cannot reach

you are hanging

from the sky

and you seem like

a trapeze artist

trying to hold on

to life which keeps

slipping from your hands

and you are sliding down

like nobody’s business

and your howl

is heartbreaking

and terrifying to hear

and once you were

so happy

and your life such

a beautiful thing

like a flock of birds

like a beach with people

like a festival

like your body was yours

like your mind too

like you were someone

whole and clear

like your face

lit up with love.

And Early In The Morning

madness broke

like a spike through

my head

and then it pierced

the sky

and destroyed it too

now I am dead

and so is the world

and my ghost writes

this poem

in the ghost universe

where everything

keeps vanishing

and just to think of it

so many people

fathers mothers

brothers sisters

all mean nothing

words like water

wash away

and you face

your true element

and you bow

before this nothingness

which is so strange

and you don’t know

what to say.

Silence Is Sweet

it is imagination’s

final destination

it covers the universe

becoming its quiet

tongue in my ears

resting as in a bed

and I think of the Earth

its peaceful muteness

and the world becomes

a yellow butterfly

in my eyes

it doesn’t make a sound

and it is so beautiful

I become a boy in Bombay

and there behind my house

where the jujube tree is

I have just caught

the cosmos

a yellow butterfly

in my fingers

and I learn what love is

and let it go.

Yesterday

while Claus Omana and I

were on their terrace

we were generally

enjoying the view

of the green mountains

and in the distance

brown cliffside

buildings with

old brown tiles

I particularly liked

and Claus pointed

out a school to me

and he said

a Catholic nun

was the principal

and sometimes

she came out

with about

10 children

on the terrace

of that

big white building

and they swayed

their arms

like they were flying

and I thought that

was really cool

and then soon

we saw

two children

on a roof

a small boy

in a white T-shirt

was jumping

up and down

and Claus said

he thought

the older child

was a girl

and he asked me

what colour T-shirt

she was wearing

and I said light blue

and then I looked up

at the sky and it

was also light blue

and seemed as

innocent as those

children

while cool

breezes blew

and we all agreed

that it felt nice.

Mad Burning World

your fire destroying everything

such tales of horror

lurk in the air

the silent screams

of so many dead children

the heart has been shredded

it has lost its function

so that makes us dead

we are ghosts talking

and we are so useless

we just worsen things

see what life has done to us

see what death has done to us

and how painful to know

there is nothing in our hands

they are just smoke

and when we howl in terror

we have no voice

and soon the entire universe

is ash grey ghostly

and crumbling in the wind

and in seconds

we are all gone.

The Sun Comes Shining

and then it darkens

this goes on and on

like a heartbeat

as I feel the heat

and the coolness

of the forest

the breeze

is the breath

of the universe

freshness blowing

as my neighbours chat

boys in fact

and one of them

was riding a moped earlier

and the birds chirp

adding such sweetness

to the day

and now

the boys are laughing

and their mirth is mine

and I look outside

my window at

the golden sunlight

and I can feel

the Earth turning

around the sun

and I smile at

the silence that

it creates

and the sky

is a light blue drink I sip

and now I glide

down the valleys

the forests where the tiger roars

and my heart jumps in joy

and there I am flying

over the mountains

so high

I can see you

reading this.

The Forest Woke Up

to greet me this morning

all its trees swaying

and I in the midst of it

experiencing the magic of green

also this morning was special

because I woke up to this cuckoo singing

and the song was so sweet

its notes so melodious and beautiful

and varied like the world

I was waking up to outside

no musician could match it

and I felt my heart  become

a conch the bird was blowing

and I merged with the sound

of the universe breathing.