Simplistic depiction of a wedding

white flowing dress
dark glowing tress
chimes and flowers
bouquet and clovers
arches and domes
whispers and small chatter
and more audible patter
smile of hope
knowing glances
and then the vows
and applause
fun and frolic
dine and wine
and a pleasant wind
two distinct bodies
and a single mind

Boredom

boredom creeping in
moments of nothingness
some unknown thoughts
registered in memory and washed away
some unseen scenes
flashing and fading away
surfing through the cyber world
for unseen pages and images
slacking before the exam tomorrow
with umpteen slides galore
wasting away time
no inspiration
none
dull
dry
placid
stalled
and
...

Voluntary Boundedness

Classic cacophony
disturbance and chemicals
bounded bounded self
bounded bounded self
cynical world, manners to keep
social capital
burning sun, sweaty forehead
thirsty dry lips
patches of grass, white sand all around
bounded self but no compulsion
voluntary boundedness
dry straight road, waves pounding
the rock, and again voluntary boundedness

Symphony

I am for once intrigued
by the melodies created by musicians
by the picture made using notes in their key boards
and tunes from their violins and colors from
their guitars

and again the collage of different sounds
and emotions pasted together
taking from the palette of nature and
the genius of the creator

i wonder
where do these notes come from
how do they make a symphony
and take you to an unknown realm
how sometimes words join the symphony
with music encircling them
entwined in an erratic motion

words and sounds and colors
and the symphony of their moves
i wonder again
is it the genius of the creator ?
or is it the genius, the creator ?

peppy music

fallen leaves
lonely road
trees on either side
peppy music
floating through the air

early morning
warm sun
peppy music
floating through the air

warm coffee
pleasant rays of the sun
playing hide and seek with the leaves
trotting through the road
sipping in the caffeine

peppy music mixed with
the sound of waves lapping the rocks
sea shore in the distance
trotting through the road
sipping in the caffeine

sea gulls and crabs
sunbathing tourists
seashells and mystic curios
dancers in the platform
and peppy music
floating through the air

freebird

here i am
spreading wings far apart
flying across the blue sky
spotting fields of wheat
and stack of hay

here i am
a freebird flying to no place
nothing is binding no wind is forcing
me to fly to that place

here i am
a freebird
here i am

when you have nothing to do

when a child is born, it never had to do anything
it knew when it needed milk and cried for it
it knew what was pleasure and tried to seek it
and then it got conditioned
to do things for survival
to stand things which it did not like
and now...
...now it does not know what to do
when it does not have to do anything

phil

when it lasts

why do we need to lose something
before missing it?
why do they need to be away
before liking them?
why do we not value something
when it lasts?
why do we have to think back
and say those were the times?
why is life not joyful
when it happens?

passion

the sea was always calm
and played a melancholy silence
painted the dark blue sky with
touches of nostalgia and poignancy

and it slowly changed
and painted a scene
with blue and dark images of passion
with waves dancing full of life
and winds blowing in harmony
and the birds flying back in flocks

while the sun was setting ahead
the message was now different
that life is passion, it is not a struggle
an enactment of the search for beauty
full of energy and boundless charm
and to find the peace within
to see the world through a new lens
one which can see beauty and nothing else
maybe love and music and colors of trinkets
that the wars are not glamorous
neither honor, nor style
that the drops of passion that has fallen
into pieces of work, that drops of love
shared with people around
and that wakes you up the next day
full of boundless zeal and cheerful form

-phil

the branch

the universe has branched into two
the one where i am
and the one where you are

selective insulation

i am insulated
i am insulated to the war cries
to the hyperactivity
to the competition and the paranoia

i am not
to the beauty
and the laziness
and the toil which brings
about happiness
to the sweat in the court
to the pun in the theatre
to the taste of wine
and the rhythm in the dance floor.

selective insulation

nothing

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

I'd dare to make more mistakes next time.
 I'd relax, I would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip.
 I would take fewer things seriously.
   I would take more chances.
  
I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.
 I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
 I would perhaps have more actual troubles,
   but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.
  
You see, I'm one of those people who live
 sensibly and sanely hour after hour,
   day after day.
   
Oh, I've had my moments,
 And if I had it to do over again,
   I'd have more of them.
 In fact, I'd try to have nothing else.
   Just moments, one after another,
 instead of living so many years ahead of each day.
 
I've been one of those people who never goes anywhere
 without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat
   and a parachute.
If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.

If I had my life to live over,
 I would start barefoot earlier in the spring
     and stay that way later in the fall.
 I would go to more dances.
 I would ride more merry-go-rounds.
 I would pick more daisies.

   Nadine Stair,
   85 years old.

[Picked up a wonderful poem ]
Source : http://www.omidia.com/thought/p_nadine.html

prisoner of practicality

the world deserves no mercy

for why would the world deserve mercy
why would it deserve love
leave it to the chemicals that flow in the blood
and the nerves that let you move
the world deserves no rationality
the world deserves no fairness
leave it to the emotions that run in your mind
and the whims that amuse from time to time
for the herd will never listen to fairness
the herd is just a herd of animals

the world deserves no love
slaughter it when you are hungry and eat it
and throw away the bones
the world deserves no love
cut it and make pulp and paper out of it
the world deserves absolute negligence
for the world is not fair
and it is always the survival of the meanest

moments

for all we have is a bunch of moments
and for all we have
is a bunch of moments

for the daily bread

Image courtesy: lijo jose

i never knew that india was shining
that the economy is growing
that FDI is coming
that the stock market is booming

but i knew that the rangers are rude
for the blades of grass i take
that there are thorns and snakes
and wild cats that are awake

but my baby is crying and the
night is cold, the babus are not
coming back with their shiny smiles
and the ballots are gone
and i am left alone
to gather the daily crumbs
of bread

crossing 27

some say it is an inflection point...
i have had many...

anyways
happy birthday to me...

Life is in the mountains
with thin air and sherpas and monks
and bullets with little brake
winding down curvy roads

life is in the hamlets
with momo and noodles and omlette
each passing breath taken with
great pain

life is in those hot and sour
and the turbid waters
and the scary rapids

life is not in this flashy world
with sunglasses and attitudes
trying to make a point when there is none

life is in the mountains
where there is none to impress but you.

Quixotic pathways

i am amused at the quixotic pathways i have taken
brandishing swords and riding black horses
to take on standing windmills only to return
shaken but unscathed
and yet again start another voyage
but never been able to leave myself and my awareness
to completely blend in the quixotic journey
and be one with the journey
and make it no more quixotic

i hope i can look into the real absolute true me
and then set ahead with that notion
with something which could by itself take care
of its reward and its realness

i wish the next quixotic journey
turns non-quixotic and thereby real...

---Phil

Sunset in alleppey beach

the sun has paused in its way

just for a moment before dipping into the sea

splashing the reddish orange paint across the horizon sky

the world has paused for a second 

before moving to darkness

the waves lap a silent whisper 

on the shores of the sandy beach

cool breeze blow leewards 

bringing respite to the day's heat

an ecclectic mix of colours play around the shore

with kids managing to escape the wave

but getting wet on trying once more

vendors selling cheap sweets

and tourists gaping at the beauty and the diversity

some small architects trying their designs in sand

to be washed away in the next wave

by the never-approving sea

some brown skinned boys playing in the waves

while kites trying to hold up against the blowing breeze

with the light house checking the sanity with long bright beams

and the old coffee houses with occassional lazy travellers

the new age digital cameras clicking around to capture

the frame that comes once per day

the ecclectic sunset in Alleppey beach

---Phil

Image courtesy: Lijo

bland ?

i sit in my chair in front of ivory desk
with a pen in hand and open book
i look for creativity to come to my finger tips
sipping black coffee with shivering lips

they said cocaine is better than caffeine..
or let all chemicals run in my blood
with tabs to get rid of this lingering feverish mood
and memories they come in a long train

no i am bland these days.. with feelings replaced by logic
no more the weakling who used to feel
instead metamorphized into this blandness..
making decisions based on statistics

let the room warp into a hollow space
and let me curl into a small ball
lying in a corner with no thoughts
but visions and hallucinations running through

and let my body be lighter and let it float
through the start studded skies
still there is no color to taste
and no drama to enact with passion

and let me sleep bland
with this lingering fever and tablets in my blood

---Phil

a half written poem

you were the misty mornings
you were the chilly nights
you were the sweet melodies
you were the silly fights

the reason for unending walks
the season for unending talks
the cinemas that mock the audience
the dances that test your patience

the thousand nights of sipping coffee
and thousand fights over keeping pets

---Phil

spread the light

Image courtesy: Lijo Jose


share the flame
share the light
take it away
brighten the streets

spread the cheer
don't spread the blame
when you and me can
share the flame

when the world is hiding
in darkness of hatred
spread the love
spread the light bright red

don't divide in color
not in breed nor creed or deed
share the flame
share the light
take it away and
brighten the steet

---Phil

i'm liking me

the me who is always with me
the me who never complains that i am never there
the me who does not mind me paying the bill after a beer
or not paying the bill

i like being with me
through work, through play
with the crowd
and all alone


i 'm liking me
who gets angry sometimes
who gets sad sometimes
but mostly i am there
and i like me

All are terrorist

Some day back they killed Bob Woolmer,
And before that they burned Rajiv,
Even before that they killed Indira,
and after that they massacred sikhs.

Some days back they burned the hindus in a train
and godhra massacred muslims in thousands
and they hated tamils in lanka and tigers killed singalese
they have been killing jews in israel and bombing muslims in palestine
the same one's massacred pundits in kashmir

some days back they killed 100's in Mumbai
they bombed the Marriot
then they killed the policemen and wounded the cricketers.

the more cunning one's attack women and guard morality
attack Purdha and guard patriotism
hindus, muslims, xtians, jews, tigers, lions
maoists, naxals, fascists, sikhs, communists, zions
capitalists, moral-policemen
all are terrorists
and i am one among these men

I miss you like the desert misses the rain

Through dark nights and warm sun shine
I sleep away and smile to mask the pain
I walk away the shallow thoughts of mine
Still i miss you like the desert missed the rain

Through dusty deserts and lakes placid
Through windy roads and icy peaks
I wander around looking for that which was mine
And i miss you like the desert missed the rain

No day has passed without your face in my mind
No night without dreams of your smile
When i ride the roads with flowers along the wayside
I see that you are never there in my side

Sleepless nights and aimless days had passed
With no reason to smile and live for no avail
still i carried on to live another day
till you became a faded portrait washed away
by dripping tears and weeping heart
and life was again back to the same straight line
and i heard the song so dear to you
and then i miss you like the desert missed the rain

and i come to know that life is no magic dream
you never get those all who are left behind
all that comes back are days and nights in vain
and that repeats again and again
now there is no bleeding heart nor throbbing vein
but i still miss you
like the desert misses the rain

New Year Day

Image Courtesy: Lijo Jose

a new year full of fresh hope
of putting back the lost days
the falling shares, lost jobs
betrayals and lost hopes
forgiven stake that was never yours
failures and 'i did not try too well' s

waking up in the new year day
wearing off the vodka of yesterday
riding through the alleys of pines
with soft wind ruffling your hair, and the sun shines
the golden warm sunlight playing hide and seek through the leaves
sipping coconut juice, the elixir to wear off the hangover
to dance again to the same tunes, but with a smile
and sing to the tune of breeze or a gale

the year i sipped the hot and sour for the umpteenth time
to ward-off the mountain sickness
and rafted through the crazy river, to be scared for life again
the year of collecting the ashes; of running away from memories
of writing exams for unknown reasons
the year has burned off and all its seasons

a new year to live again
to dream again and try again
to dance again to the same tunes, but with a smile
and sing to the tune of breeze or gale
to run amok in the warm sea shore
and to love like never been hurt before