POETRY COLUMN

POETRY EDITOR ANANYA S GUHA’S NOTE:

 Aruna Dhir’s poems have a meandering note and are marked by lyrical poise and movement. They are philosophical and contemplative. They raise questions regarding relationships and human nature. Ostensibly simple, they are wistful and etched with memorable lines.

 ~ 

ILLUSION

Like a whiff of fresh air

you came into my life

And vanished with a sudden sweep of the breeze

 

Like the soft shining dew

on the face of a petal

You rested on the surface of my palm

 

But one ray of sunlight

And you just washed away

 

Like an early morning dream

You blinked on the lashes of my eye

But disappeared into oblivion

With the first woken moment

 

You were there yesterday

Next to me in flesh and blood

 

Today you are lost

Wrapped beneath the sands of time

 

You hummed in my heart

Like a tune echoing in the woods

 

But amidst worldly din

You turned into silence of the dead

 

Like a lone, exquisite icicle

You hung from the isolated

corner of my mind

 

But onslaught of maddening thoughts

And you melted away

 

Like an illusion harbouring on the subconscious

You played with my life

 

But a return to reality

And you were nowhere in sight.

~

 

I AM ANGRY

When I spend a couple of thousands for a meal in a day,

And million mouths feel the pangs of hunger;

 

I am angry

when I work hard for my living,

And see bureaucratic India setting back the clock

not by hours and days but years and generations;

 

I am angry

at the bastardization of my culture,

5000 years old and rich in tradition;

 

I am angry

we wear personas so many,

With no face to back our words;

 

I am angry

our words have no meaning,

And our speech is dispassionate and hollow;

 

I am angry

as a country, we instead of blossoming to the world,

Are increasingly becoming inwardly drawn;

 

I am angry

we have lost our values,

Somewhere in the crowds of a billion;

 

I am angry

we have double standards,

One for ourselves

and the other for the rest of the world;

 

 I am angry

we sometimes trade our souls,

For lucre and lust

that remain elusive as ever;

 

I am angry

we are not beleaguered by real problems,

and rage on petty and non-issues;

 

I am angry

we are presenting a world to our children,

That we did not inherit from our ancestors;

 

I am angry

we have added to our woes,

By losing the “e” from human;

 

I am angry

that in order to keep a balance on the surface,

We have stopped to stir up a storm within;

 

I am angry

we wait for destiny to knock on the door,

And fail to step up and take charge;

 

I am angry

that in the struggle to survive,

We have lost respect for the world we live in

For the people we live with

And most importantly for our own selves.

~

WATCHING LIFE GO BY

How many times have I stopped to smell the scent of a flower;

How many times have I seen through the clarity of water and peered into my soul;

How many times have I stopped to listen to the silence of the woods;

How many times have I asked ‘How are you?’ then genuinely wanted to know;

How many times have I appreciated the honesty of a child, may have, the bluntness hurt my pride;

How many times have I corrected myself setting other things in order;

How many times have I looked at the complete picture filling in the shades of grey;

How many times have I watched the first rays of the Sun and marvelled at the miracle of life;

How many times have I given a part of me, not for the goodness of it but simply to share;

How many times have I painted my dreams in wet colours not worried about the stains;

How many times have I heard the music and waited long enough listen to the notes;

 

How many times have I cared to laugh from my heart smile with my eyes;

How many times have I lived life to the fullest not simply watched it go by.

~ 

 WILL THE TIME STOP FOR AWHILE?

 Like sand slipping through the fingers,

time trickles while you wish that it lingers;

 

All appeals lost amidst the din of

seconds, minutes and hours,

Soon disappearing into years as a pleading eye

that precious moment scours;

 

I have seeds of hope to sow,

and dreams to grow;

 

Admire the dewdrops on the face of a petal,

and rage towards the sun before the

dust begins to settle;

 

I’d like to see eyes not steal furtive glances

but sparkle and smile,

Would like to lay stones of good deeds

at every mile;

 

Time, stop for a while as I take

the myriad hues of the rainbow in,

And chase the waves back into the sea

before you begin to spin;

 

Time! will you be on my side as I

dust my favourite dancing shoes,

Hold happiness in the cup of my hand

and bury the blues;

 

Move with me time as I scale

my mountain of ambition,

Give me a hand as, for the values of life,

I polish my passion;

 

Let me pave the way towards

the road less travelled,

And unravel the desires

in the bosom of my heart so secretly held;

 

Time, while I live my life,

allow me to make a difference,

Lending a meaning so special

to an otherwise ordinary existence!!!!!

~

MY FATHER AND MOTHER!

My Father lived and died a man,

while I whimper and whine in vain;

 

My father stood up to challenges

and squared up his shoulders in courage,

While I beat up the dark and the negative

and flare up in rage;

 

My Father lived a life of responsibility

with arms spread like a giant umbrella,

While I cringe and corners cut

a shame ’am not a patch on the good gone fella;

 

My Mother spent her life alone

but never was she lonely,

I set out to live amongst a crowd

but remain isolated amidst many;

 

My Mother took on burdens with glee

and thrived on a sense of duty, merrily,

I trudge along and crush under the weight of goodness

wearing righteousness like a bloody harness;

 

My Mother abstained from little indulges

and lived a life of divinity,

I crave heights of love and attention

and hark untiringly about faith and conviction;

 

My Mother preached ’bout the virtues of frugality

while giving thought and lucre to the needy,

I subdue myself to the everyday pleasures

and rein in my mind as with temptations it staggers;

 

My Mother shunned religion

while giving into spirituality,

I chant mantras a couple of hundred times

and become subservient to idolatry;

 

My Father and Mother were two of a kind

they lived a life exemplary,

I enslave myself to the emotions of this world

while aspiring to live in the pages of history;

 

My Father and Mother, now angels in heaven

send blessings and watch over me,

While I live in conflict with the worldly beings

and count the trees as the forest I forget to see.