Dinner Date by Rainbow Reed
Silently he stalked, Where the nameless walked Patrolling midnights beat With heavy, dragging feet. Creature of shadowland Lawman, with gun in hand. Fog smothers everywhere Shrouding the killing lair. Evil prowls the dead street; Echoes of muffled feet, Silently, people past, Dripping hearts, racing fast. Poster on shop window peers, As photo fit face leers. […]
Catching the Rain by Raj Napal
I catch the rain, speckled – droplets of life on my skin. The pure water that instills life in our beings, soul, our kin. I catch the rain on my face to feel the wetness in the heat of the yellow sun – in that brightness. I embrace the dark wet earth as it envelops […]
An empty photo album by Raj Napal
Dad picked up this cheap photo album at Winners. Brought it home, looked at it as he sipped whiskey and rye. Felt empty with all the hollow wallets for 500 pictures of memories. Then his imagination became ripe with pictures happy sad and wry. Album sat in his study lonely with no memories just hollow […]
In The Bazaars of Hyderabad by Sarojini Naidu
Richly your wares are displayed. Turbans of crimson and silver, Tunics of purple brocade, Mirrors with panels of amber, Daggers with handles of jade. What do you weigh, O ye vendors? Saffron and lentil and rice. What do you grind, O ye maidens? Sandalwood, henna, and spice. What do you call , O ye pedlars? […]
Transcience by Sarojini Naidu
Dawn will not veil her spleandor for your grief, Nor spring deny their bright, appointed beauty To lotus blossom and ashoka leaf. Nay, do not pine, tho’ life be dark with trouble, Time will not pause or tarry on his way; To-day that seems so long, so strange, so bitter, Will soon be some forgotten […]
Past and Future by Sarojini Naidu
And so the past becomes a mountain-cell, Where lone, apart, old hermit-memories dwell In consecrated calm, forgotten yet Of the keen heart that hastens to forget Old longings in fulfilling new desires. And now the Soul stands in a vague, intense Expectancy and anguish of suspense, On the dim chamber-threshold . . . lo! he […]
Palanquin Bearers by Sarojini Naidu
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song; She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream, She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream. Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing, We bear her along like a pearl on a string. Softly, O softly we […]
Nightfall In The City Of Hyderabad by Sarojini Naidu
Jewelled with embers of opal and peridote. See the white river that flashes and scintillates, Curved like a tusk from the mouth of the city-gates. Hark, from the minaret, how the muezzin’s call Floats like a battle-flag over the city wall. From trellised balconies, languid and luminous Faces gleam, veiled in a splendour voluminous. Leisurely […]
Leili by Sarojini Naidu
The fireflies light the soundless panther’s way To tangled paths where shy gazelles are straying, And parrot-plumes outshine the dying day. O soft! the lotus-buds upon the stream Are stirring like sweet maidens when they dream. A caste-mark on the azure brows of Heaven, The golden moon burns sacred, solemn, bright The winds are dancing […]
Indian Weavers by Sarojini Naidu
Why do you weave a garment so gay? . . . Blue as the wing of a halcyon wild, We weave the robes of a new-born child. Weavers, weaving at fall of night, Why do you weave a garment so bright? . . . Like the plumes of a peacock, purple and green, We weave […]
Indian Dancers by Sarojini Naidu
Drink deep of the hush of the hyacinth heavens that glimmer around them in fountains of light; O wild and entrancing the strain of keen music that cleaveth the stars like a wail of desire, And beautiful dancers with houri-like faces bewitch the voluptuous watches of night. The scents of red roses and sandalwood flutter […]
Indian Dancer by Sarojini Naidu
Drink deep of the hush of the hyacinth heavens that glimmer around them in fountains of light; O wild and entrancing the strain of keen music that cleaveth the stars like a wail of desire, And beautiful dancers with houri-like faces bewitch the voluptuous watches of night. The scents of red roses and sandalwood flutter […]
In Salutation to the Eternal Peace by Sarojini Naidu
And all life’s ripening harvest-fields await The restless sickle of relentless fate. But I, sweet Soul, rejoice that I was born, When from the climbing terraces of corn I watch the golden orioles of Thy morn. What care I for the world’s desire and pride, Who know the silver wings that gleam and glide, The […]
In Praise Of Henna by Sarojini Naidu
Lira! liree! Lira! liree! Hasten, maidens, hasten away To gather the leaves of the henna-tree. Send your pitchers afloat on the tide, Gather the leaves ere the dawn be old, Grind them in mortars of amber and gold, The fresh green leaves of the henna-tree. A kokila called from a henna-spray: Lira! liree! Lira! liree! […]
Autumn Song by Sarojini Naidu
The sunset hangs on a cloud; A golden storm of glittering sheaves, Of fair and frail and fluttering leaves, The wild wind blows in a cloud. Hark to a voice that is calling To my heart in the voice of the wind: My heart is weary and sad and alone, For its dreams like the […]
Young mother by Sunil Sharma
The Tiny Dark Girl Hardly Seven, Carries Her Famished Crying Five-year-old Sister On Her Slim Back Encased In A Torn Frock, To The School Distant Caring And Loving For Her Little Daily Burden, And Forced To Become A Concerned Mother At A Tender Age To Her Crying Sibling, Forgetting Her Own Pain. Sunil Sharma
Winter dusk at the railway halt by Sunil Sharma
The dusk Would arrive At the halt, As Abrupt And Quick-footed As the Pink-eyed Rabbit Restless Glimpsed For a second, in the Tall Green Grass, The wintry Dark would Descend fast And hug The lonely Shivering Railway halt, Awaiting The passenger train, In the swirling fog, Near the Red signal Would be A figure Frail, […]
Valley-dawn by Sunil Sharma
The valley-dawn Is a drastically different one, Heralded by the bird-songs, Scattered in the crisp air, And before being carried away To the next verdant dale, is Heard by a restive city-sleeker, Escaping from the fever of city, Dreaming of drowning in the sea, And woken up abruptly, By the sweet songs dispersing as dulcet […]
The workers by Sunil Sharma
On the construction site, In the central suburban Mumbai, Female workers working as a team Pass on the heavy red bricks to the other, Every movement graceful and precise, Like the steps and movements of Ballet dancers agile; These ballerinas rough but full of life, Their heads covered with torn dupattas, Against the howling wind […]
The light from an earthen lamp by Sunil Sharma
On A Wintry Evening When dark falls quick, On a Winding Trail Amid Trees and shrubs, Searching for a House Nestled in a Village, Cheered by The songs of The returning birds, The Solitary Traveler Finds The sight Of A Flickering Earthen lamp, Kept for Such lost Wayfarers, In the Alcove of a Tiny shrine, […]
The humble earthen lamp by Sunil Sharma
The humble earthen lamp— Fragile, brittle in rough and cruel hands, Of clay baked And fortified in furnace-fire, Then shaped and painted By the veined potter’s expert hands; The little lamp from rural India Small and insignificant relic For the gentrified, Still Lights up the dark sanctum sanctorum Of a temple for its faithful In […]
The Chant of the Indignant of the World by Sunil Sharma
Let there be constant rage among us, mates, It should not be allowed to subside at any cost; Let it flow fast and furious and then go global, mates And let the angry youth Occupy Wall Streets In the 1000 towns from Madrid to New York; May 15 is scared for us as It all […]
Relations by Sunil Sharma
The relations in urban centers Are like the hulks of graying Cars seen rusting on the roadside Garages of big/small-town India, Only gaping hulks you find there in those Junk yards that hog the roads, Stripped of metal and polish and shine And the empty shells get abandoned by the bored owners Searching for quick […]
Pharaohs, Protests and Public by Sunil Sharma
Hark! New Egypt has woken up—finally. The old pharaohs look down upon the Tahrir Square, While the modern pharaoh runs away From public fury. For 18 days, Starting January 25, 2011, Cairo erupted in protests and rage, Millions staged a dramatic scene of Solid solidarity and unity, Spontaneous People power at its best. Children of […]
Morale by Sunil Sharma
Life Is Like A Motorcycle Driven By A One-armed Biker On A Rough Terrain, Seen Daily By The People Early In The Morning, Going Up To The Shrine On The Steep Dense Hill. Sunil Sharma
Finding freedom from invisible bonds by Sunil Sharma
Two young girls riding bicycles On the dusty suburban street, School bags strapped on their backs, Shrieking in pure delight, Racing furiously and Dodging dogs and unruly bikes Driven by youngsters on a high, Chasing each other, These two girls, close friends, On the pot-holed street, Happy to fly at their pace, Smiling, despite the […]
Birds heavenly by Sunil Sharma
A bird flying in the air Is kinetic poetry Sheer and stunning Of the blue vault; The tiny colours And flapping wings Moving against The vastness of the clear sky Against the powerful wind, The radiant creature little, Singing, Soaring, Giving visual delight To the earth-bound watchers Of these heavenly flights. Sunil Sharma
Afternoon song by Sunil Sharma
In the coastal town, In the silent afternoon shops That yawn on semi-deserted roads, The power outages common and long, And the humid day drips droplets of sweat A dry hot dust-devil swirls up fast, Leaving layers of dust everywhere On the trees and houses, A miller reads on a hard bench Under the shade, […]
A daily prayer by a kid by Sunil Sharma
Every Morn Is A Gift From The Loving God. So, Dear God, Please Tell Dad Not To Worry About The Pay-packages Fat Given To Others In His Cussing Office, Or, Maa Complaining About Her Own Meager Jewellery Or, Salary And Both Mum and dad— Always Bitter About Others In The Housing Society Or Joint Family. […]
A beach dawn by Sunil Sharma
The dawn tiptoes Like a maiden dark, Collecting the sea-shells On the morning Deserted beach, Watched by the swaying palms, The breaking waves singing a song For the shy maiden From the nearby fishermen’s village, A flower garland in her black hair, Kohl-lined eyes darting here-n-there, Like a frightened rabbit crossing a road, The dawn […]