gum tree loved by the sky by Raj Arumugam

gum tree loved by the sky by Raj Arumugam there’s this gum tree that stands alone its skin and bark white as bone and its leaves quivering in the wind shimmering in the sun; and it’s so pretty and tall and proud the blue sky says: “I’ll come stand guard over you embrace you full […]

good bye, my sweet angel by Raj Arumugam

good bye, my sweet angel by Raj Arumugam goodbye, my sweet angel you and I now must part; the sun sets gently and so it does too in our love goodbye, my sweet angel the ocean waves come to play along the beach but soon they retreat; and so too now we go in our […]

four legs good, two legs badOwl Hoots and Grasshopper Sings by Raj Arumugam

four legs good, two legs badOwl Hoots and Grasshopper Sings by Raj Arumugam Owl slept in the tree’s hollow but the silly Grasshopper on the branch outside made incessant noise ‘Kind Sir,’ said Owl, ‘would you stop singing and allow me to sleep? I’m nocturnal and sleep by day and so I need some quiet […]

four legs good, two legs bad by Raj Arumugam

four legs good, two legs bad by Raj Arumugam four legs good, two legs bad you believe in God good if not you believe in the Devil it’s this or that, you see? four legs good, two legs bad what I know is right you are wrong cos four legs good, two legs bad you […]

five moons for earth by Raj Arumugam

five moons for earth by Raj Arumugam sometimes I wish dear moon sometimes I wish the earth had five moons and all so positioned we can see one every night and then in twos and in threes never four (just so for mystery’s sake) and then all five all in perfect alignment once a year […]

Female ghost in the moonlight by Raj Arumugam

Female ghost in the moonlight by Raj Arumugam OOOOhhhh…..eeeeee…..oooeeeeeyoooo…. O moon, pale and alone like me O inhabitant in deserted skies as I in lonely wilds with my ghost baby; let us put a charm together a curse on men who betray their wives and who put their seeds in young unwise girls and run […]

emotional bond by Raj Arumugam

emotional bond by Raj Arumugam O setting Sun do not drag my heart down with you; for it’s known in nations where you do not shine as often you bring cheer and smiles away till you come again; do not let then my heart dear Sun sink with you Copyright ©:  Raj Arumugam ————— The […]

doughnuts for sale by Raj Arumugam

doughnuts for sale by Raj Arumugam O come buy doughnuts doughnuts doughnuts doughnuts for sale sweet ones, ladies and yummy ones, gents; precious doughnuts you’ve never seen in your lands I made them with my own hands each sugary and yum to the core round and hollow in the middle each doughnut like Einstein’s universe […]

different lovers by Raj Arumugam

different lovers by Raj Arumugam they reject different lovers that’s lovers who are different, don’t they? but we are different in their eyes though our hearts do not tell us so and we love it’s you and I and though the world may point to color and language and region and put up barriers of […]

did you die, Ophelia? by Raj Arumugam

did you die, Ophelia? by Raj Arumugam did you die, Ophelia? did you drown yourself? I heard you looked pretty and glorious in your best dress and with flowers all ready to meet your Maker; they tell me it was so beautiful one could only cry to see you in the water… did you kill […]

dear owl, forlorn like King Lear by Raj Arumugam

dear owl, forlorn like King Lear by Raj Arumugam dear owl, where is your home after all the day and night of rains that you should sit forlorn like Lear on the pavement this cold, sunless morning? you will make one again dear owl and you will hoot again in nights and stay discreet in […]

dear moon, you will understand by Raj Arumugam

dear moon, you will understand by Raj Arumugam darling moon dear moon do not be offended we have stripped you down to rock and a plain face and we show pictures of you in black, gray and white; and though a writer of verse, in this verse, I strip you of your romance and aura; […]

days of quiet by Raj Arumugam

days of quiet by Raj Arumugam here is the forest the world withdraws a little; quiet, silent and calm the trees wait in their own nature The morning is beautiful, the progress of the day smooth and the evening pleasant and the nights pensive and still. Time moves slowly and thought is as radiant as […]

dance of life by Raj Arumugam

dance of life by Raj Arumugam we bring you life today sway right and left and forward and back and gyrate and turn and twist; and life is fruit and flesh and it is pleasure and joy too and we bring in our bodies in our bodies, in our nakedness we bring you mystery and […]

Daddy, daddy, I can’t go to school by Raj Arumugam

Daddy, daddy, I can’t go to school by Raj Arumugam daddy, daddy, I can’t go to school why darling, what’s wrong with you? I’ve got a runny nose, daddy – can’t you see? and my cheeks are blue I just think I’ve got the flu but sweetheart, you look as fresh as the rose outside […]

complete text of the discovery of Kama Sutra by Raj Arumugam

Part 1 At the Saint’s Book Store (Singapore, 1970) when I was just 15 and just after a trip to the National Library I saw a slim volume at the Saint’s Book Store (named after a TV series and true to the borrowed name, a second-hand book store) and its spine said: Kama Sutra Now […]

come, sun rays by Raj Arumugam

come, sun rays by Raj Arumugam come, sun rays kiss my naked feet bite them, if you think them sexy; put your warmth in every toe and re-kindle the flames in my blood; kill the fungus if you find any there under or on the nails – and Oh, I so love your touch and […]

come on in, baby by Raj Arumugam

come on in, baby by Raj Arumugam come on in, baby it’s your world too come in and have a seat take your place; it’s not just passive: take what you need and give what you can there are no in doors and no out doors as you can see, though each will have one’s […]

Come home, sweetheart by Raj Arumugam

Come home, sweetheart by Raj Arumugam Come home sweetheart wherever you may be today; though you may lie in a corner of the streets and call strangers family; or live in the country or go moving about from place to place – you still have a home and mom and dad and your sister and […]

Colbert Report: Australia by Raj Arumugam

Colbert Report: Australia by Raj Arumugam Talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey with her entourage is going to Australia and it’s timely now for a quick Colbert Report on the state of the colony of Australia Colony? Yes, that’s right Australia is still a British colony – How else do you explain it? as the Head of […]

an evening’s music by Raj Arumugam

come, it is a cool evening; it is time for the body to rest and the mind to withdraw within; let us play then a raga for this evening: notes and a rhythm and a flow that shall bring quiet, peace and calm in one’s being; and perhaps as you play the melody and magic […]

ah poor moon by Raj Arumugam

ah poor moon by Raj Arumugam ah poor moon you’re just hanging around and through no fault of your own you attract all these weirdos these lunatics and the vampires and the blood-sucking bats and the sleep-walkers and murderers and the flesh-eaters (the moon made me do it!) and the lunatics and the werewolves and […]

ah, happy crow by Raj Arumugam

ah, happy crow by Raj Arumugam ah, happy crow (uncaring that humans may not find you very pleasant) you sit on the branch of that shady tree and you peck at a bone you’ve brought yourself and you are busy, busy, busy eating; and I, happy too, sit here at a table, eating my sandwich […]

absent-mindedness; or I Dream of Spices by Raj Arumugam

1 My mother would say: “Little boy Raj… Go to Muthu’s and get some cinnamon, betel leaves and ginger and garlic” And so I go to the shops singing all the way and when Muthu asks me what I’d want I rattle off a list: “Sesame seeds, onions tomatoes and pickles” And back home, Mother […]

a walk in the forest by Raj Arumugam

a walk in the forest by Raj Arumugam the forest takes one for a quiet walk in the morning; of oneself and the solitude and the path and the trees and the air and the stillness and the undefined sunlight; a moment of lightness, an instant of calm; did one come from the walk? Poetry […]

a maiden’s broken heart by Raj Arumugam

a maiden’s broken heart by Raj Arumugam a maiden’s heart broken we bury here in the grave; we bless her and wish her god speed and that she leaves all pain here on earth and we pray that all blessings be hers as she goes forth to meet her one true Lord in Heaven a […]

a laugh song by Raj Arumugam

a laugh song by Raj Arumugam laugh a day laugh it now laugh as loud as you want; it shakes up your body lets good things flow through your veins; don’t think about it just laugh a minute or laugh a day laugh long as laugh-time you and I come let’s laugh ha ha ha […]

a gentle day by Raj Arumugam

a gentle day by Raj Arumugam easy and smooth the day comes and goes like a falling leaf or a graceful cat on the roof; perhaps like drops of dew drip drip drip gently into the lake of time below; dawn morning midday afternoon evening sunset dusk twilight night and I’m left in quiet and […]

a delicate beauty along the shore by Raj Arumugam

a delicate beauty along the shore by Raj Arumugam the sky hangs over her and the waves come near; and the delicate beauty walks alone pensive, self-absorbed and distant by the shore what is in your mind pale beauty? do you sigh over wasted time and the pain of distance shores? what is in your […]

Virtuous Love by Rajendra Ojha

I love myself, so I love you I know meaning of love. But Listen before thinking me mean, I am not being mean, rather being factual; And showing you the world that is actual From deep inside my heart, I think about this issue. I’ll think again and again, One, Two, Three, Four, Five- Till […]

Tidy by Ralph Angel

Tidy by Ralph Angel I miss you too. Something old is broken, nobody’s in hell. Sometimes I kiss strangers, sometimes no one speaks. Today in fact it’s raining. I go out on the lawn. It’s such a tiny garden, like a photo of a pool. I am cold, are you? Sometimes we go dancing, cars […]

The Unsound Utterance by Raju Baruah

mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; color:#222222;mso-ansi-language:EN-IN;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA”>With the melancholy of glimpse You closed the door of fragmentary hope mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:”Georgia”,”serif”;mso-fareast-font-family: “Times New Roman”;mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;color:#222222; mso-ansi-language:EN-IN;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA”>  “Times New Roman”;mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;color:#222222; mso-ansi-language:EN-IN;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA”> Dust and dream In the whirls of whim Scattered in the horizon of candle light smoke Hardships of life sculpts my countenance The lone […]

The Storm by Rainbow Reed

The Storm by Rainbow Reed On granite rock, The woman sat. Damp hair trickled down her back, Azure highlights glimmering, Golden curls shimmering. Seaweed sparkled; waving wildly White foam horses rear and pound, Surging through the rocky mound. Crashing against the sleeping stone. Woman sits and Stares alone. Black cloud glares, Fog horn blares, Lightning […]

The Mystic Isle by Rainbow Reed

The isle arose from swirling mists, Slicing through the broken skies, Lurking beneath the whitened waters, Dark hungry fangs of piercing stone Impatiently waiting for their prey: A trawler beached on Mystic Rock. Darkened creatures with heads of foam, Shake seaweed hair and madly moan. Watch wood crash into surging tides, Splinters fly, while the […]

Spiritual Memories of Mother by Raj Napal

She bore me, she nurtured me, and she cherished me. Danced with me in the rain, cried with me when I was hurt. Cooked hot meals on cold wintry nights, tucked me warm at night. Cared for me always in that warm nest of her love. A warm blanket, a shield against all things bad. […]

Primrose Rose by Rainbow Reed

Primrose Rose by Rainbow Reed Silently, they stopped to stare, At the freak with raven hair, His eyes rings of Dante black, Angry looks burnt through his back. Strange black clothes flapped in the air. Flying back to darkened lair. Primrose Close, closed its eyes, Abnormals were despised. Close people; pillars of good, Bedrock, of […]

Prayers by Rainbow Reed

Jimmy Choos’ stalked across the floor, Ripping, clawing against the antiqued oak, Stuttered, stiffened; listened to deep silence Then slowly circled, nowhere once more. The gold straps coiled around her calf’s, Winding, binding, painfully twisting… D. and G. suit clinging about her, Her grey silk blouse rustled in the breeze, While around her stalk, staccato […]

This by Ralph Angel

This by Ralph Angel Today, my love, leaves are thrashing the wind just as pedestrians are erecting again the buildings of this drab forbidding city, and our lives, as I lose track of them, are the lives of others derailing in time and getting things done. Impossible to make sense of any one face or […]

Man in a Window by Ralph Angel

Man in a Window by Ralph Angel I don’t know man trust is a precious thing a kind of humility Offer it to a snake and get repaid with humiliation Luckily friends rally to my spiritual defense I think they’re reminding me I mean it’s important to me it’s important to me so I leave […]

Breaking and Entering by Ralph Angel

Breaking and Entering by Ralph Angel Many setups. At least as many falls. Winter is paralyzing the country, but not here. Here, the boys are impersonating songs of indigenous wildlife. Mockingbird on the roof of the Gun Shop, scrub jay behind the Clear Lake Saloon. And when she darts into a drugstore for a chocolate-covered […]