Sobriety

One wakes up when the things go wrong

Leaving no option, but to bear awhile

What use is the wisdom after the event

When  in need , it stands not by your side

One is wayward whiling away his time

Why regret, when opportunity thus slips by

What use is the sobriety in grey haired

When one is past his prime

One is obstinate and of rigid mind

And  learns not when still there is time     

What use is the flexibility in old age

When no one heeds your advice

One is bad mouthed and cursing all the time

He stands isolated ignored by every passer by

What use are sweet words that sound artificial

And reveal a shallow heart and narrow mind

One is over confident , no thought of God in mind

When comes an adversity ,no help comes from any side

What use is that prayer that comes loaded with wishes

From those who are of ungrateful  kind

There is some use for each and everything

But each one at the appropriate time

Before time, a fruit is unripe and not yet in shape

Also fruitless is much grind and shine, in the autumn of life!

March afresh

It was well begun

With intentions good

And steadfast will

Picture shown was perfect

Like a new dawn

Knocking at the door

A few steps more

And we shall see

Everything fresh and pure

The path was rough, no doubt

In midway it lost its way

The picture of promise

Dimmed and then fizzled away

Nothing new we see

Where it went wrong

Lust for power

Or ebbing resolve

It is time to introspect

And to take stock

Movement is important

Let it not lose its steam

Dedicated men and women

With crystal clear objectives

Each one makes a difference

If one tires and needs some rest

After putting everything to test

The other should  take over

And continue with more zest

With status quo we won't rest

We have reposed our faith in you

And our trust is in your hands

We have once seen that

Which you have in you

And we want to see it once again

Don't waver or go wayward this time

Together we can make it happen, we promise

And usher in the much needed change

Time is also on our side

No one can stop this mighty tide

We have risen together and shall not rest

Till we march into the new dawn

Which was our hope and promise

And which now comes soon to enthuse our hearts!

Words matter

Teenagers we were then

Privy to our words and tricks

More we dabbled with them

Closer we became in everything

Who were restrained then

Strangers in their own den

Early years they lived only half

And grew up, but less than full

Old habit shows its glimpse

Loose words give tongue a slip

A slip that shows here and there

And a new but ill fitting underwear

A snapped back string on top of that

Leaves one much embarrassed

And red faced too

Let there be only good words on our tongue

Bad habits and epithets be far enough

We shall then be at peace inside  

And grow more in love without any fuss

Where there is no you and me

Hearts sing, wake or sleep

In maturity we hold our tongue

Yet a child in us remains

Playful and naughty too

Yet careful enough, not to spill the beans!

Innocence

One who is new is innocent

Knowing nothing is innocence

One who knows much is knowledgeable

But where goes his innocence

A child is curious and innocent

Learning tricks yet innocent

It is his age which is innocent

Years wear away the gift of innocence

Worldly wise are of two types

Ones who shed their innocence

And others who in wisdom remain  innocent

Untouched by ego and crookedness

God made us simple and innocent

As a child is pure and innocent

It is we who go astray as we march

And seek everything but innocence

The world is full of complexity and selfishness

Everything for grabs  and to share emptiness

Depression, sadness and much unhappiness

Where is hope , innocence , promise  and brightness

Simplicity and innocence shall stage a comeback

The way the world has gone has proved fruitless

It is imperative that we go back to our roots and flourish

For there we shall find only purity, innocence and exuberance!

Ennobling the mind

What we do and how

Seeds are sown in the mind

Watered by one's heart in love

They sprout well and fine

When mind ignores the heart

And what it feels and says

One misses the big picture

Seeing only the colour and paint

Mind is restless and  powerful

Keep the heart's strings tuned

In synch they stir the soul

With a melody that  soothes

Mind is ennobled with truth and foresight

A  contented heart resides at peace inside

Beating gently at each and every step

As the mind sings and shakes its legs

Heaven and hell

They are in the mind

When heart takes over

The mind soars high

Hell is the refuse of the heartless

In Heaven lives a noble mind!

A caged bird

When freedom is taken away

One's needs looked after any way

None is poor, and a few rich

Rest all are in the middle way

Pride of motherland keeps one going

Though the wings are clipped half way

To fly but a little and then pulled down

So that no one dares to go its own way

Slog and dance as the master wants

What you want matters not

Your movements under watch

Swallow your thoughts, express them  not

They speak on your behalf

You authorise them or not

Open not your mouth

Lest you are caught

Treason be the charge

There is no escape at all

What is this all

You have no control

Over your own thoughts

Left hand snoops

What right hand does or not

Alas! How long will it last

A caged bird for long

With sad and heavy heart

Loses its zest to live

Before it is too long

If lucky it is

It shall slip away

When cage door is loose

And the master looks away

Home is a home

Where lives one's heart

And his mind free

With its thoughts

A little will do

But my freedom

Cut it not short

My life is my own

Answerable to him

I am every moment

I dance on my feet

A song on my lip

With a grateful heart

Thank God! A caged bird I am not!

Nature's lessons

Let us watch and learn from nature

To be calm, creative and subtle

Secrets there are many unknown

And mysteries profound yet to be explored

Terrible it is when provoked

At times going awry of its own

Its fury being unimaginable

Sweeping whatever comes in its fold

Incomprehensible is the vast reality

Earth shakes and heavens roar intensely

Nature assimilates all that happens

As  ripples become one with depths watery

Wise are those who fine tune  their role

Blending it with nature as it unfolds

Shocks ,the world invariably undergoes

But they bear with fortitude all kind of storms

Nature is our perfect teacher

A good pupil follows its dictums

Lessons there are many to be learnt

To become whole and better humans!

Go green

Go green by all means

But become not a freak

Let your needs be limited

And make technology clean

Dryer over tissue

Heat over cool feel

Bake oneself no end

To reduce carbon footprint

Sanitise, no soap and water

When hungry, pluck and eat

Let everything become digital

No paper, no fabric

What nature has made

There is a meaning therein

Taking  only a little bit

What a large bounty it gives

If we can live but naturally

And make surroundings green

Carbon dioxide shall be no problem

The more we control our greed

Go digital, go green

But limit your need

Indulge, but a little

No saint, no freak!

A good writer

He writes what he sees

And in that, what he feels

Nothing dictates him

But his conscience and will

His mind works furtively

He wakes up in his dreams

Everything is noticed

Nothing shall he miss

A new world he creates

And compels us to see

So that  we  understand

What really are we

The vision that he  shows

He reaches there before

If we read through his heart

We get a glimpse of his thoughts

He writes not to impress

But to satisfy his thirst

As he writes, he drinks

Yet it quenches not his thirst

He lives in our memories

And we live in his works

His works live eternally

Thus immortal we become!

Adolescence

What he does

And why he does

Makes no sense

Do what we like

Say what we may

To him all is useless

What is not right

To him it is no wrong

What is nonsense

To him it makes perfect sense

He gets hell out of us

We nag him no less

We are fed up with him

He is fed up with our taunts

We quarrel with him

He gives more in retort

Whatever way we go

He doesn't understand

Adolescence shows its head

Or hides its effects

One is neither here nor there          

Tongue caustic, mood bombastic

Headstrong and unreasonable

On top of it

He demands everything as a right  

Poor parents helpless, and their plight

Give in they lose

Deny and it hurts their pride

Child is child, whatever way he is

He is no man that sensible he would be

He is asserting to find his place

Within his own home

Or on the street it may be

Patience, dear parents

Our child is so dear to us

As we  were to our own parents

This child shall become a man

As a man should really be

It is in this growing up under watch

That he learns, pinpricks and all

He will later look back and remember

As a parent of an adolescent, who takes hell out of him!

Palm and fist

Closed fist

Does not give

Loosen your hold

So that some may slip

With open palms

The poor lift

The ship of gold, which of its own

Moves not an inch

Goodness of the poor

Their hearts big

Hands that labour

Make rich rich

Those who take

Hardly give

Richness and progress

Are not the same thing

Poor remain poor

Rich are more rich

Progress is no number

Or richness of the rich

What matters is how we lift

Millions who in penury live

Hands are the same

Palms to show or make closed fist!

Transformation

Teenagers we were then

Privy to our words and tricks

More we dabbled with them

Closer we became in everything

Who were more restrained then

Strangers in their own den

Formative years they lived half way

And grew up not whole but anyway

"Old habits die hard"

Accidental slip costs a lot

As we grow into men

And father figure later on

Let the epithets dear to us

Slip away one by one

We shall still be ourselves

And love one another as before

Where there is no you and me

Hearts sing, wake or sleep

Praises to Him on every lip

Love is everywhere and everything!

         

    

               

Devil's due

Give devil his due

Nothing more
Loosen the leash
And he runs amok

Raise the bar
If  he crosses one
What gain is doable
That everyone does

Pull in the reins

Lest he goes astray
Devil is no dog
Which has its day

Naked we stand
Shameless to say
When devil in us
Dances unabashed

Make the devil run
Gallop and straight
Never off the mark
His due he shall get
With due respect
And warm handshake!

 

If life were an orange

Pluck them not

Ripen they soon

And become useless

Oranges are like that

One must eat them

At the right time

Not raw or ripe

But in between

Bitter is their peel

Yellow or green

Soft inside, sour and sweet

Appearances deceive

What is inside

They don't reveal

It is all a gamble

Jackpot by luck

Or just nothing

If life were an orange

Not raw or too ripe

Bitter in tongue

But the rest be fine

Sour occasionally

Sweet most of the times!

Nurture friendship

Friends are human first

They may agree at times
Or disagree many a time
But they always stand by each other's side

 
If they err, so be it
Even gods are not perfect
Nurture friendship lest it sours
As we please gods whatever happens

See what is good in friends you make
Never hurt their feelings in zest or being knave
Accept them as they are
Good friends come rare and far

Expect not from them, anything as a right
But they shall never leave you high and dry
When things don't work , however much you try
They shall walk with you, till you see some light

There is no rule or law to guide what they do
Nothing forces them as to what they should do
But they do so much without a word or whisper
What others shall not do, and yet make much murmur!

 

Are you married

Two is company

Opposites stick fast

But not for long

They find each other wrong

Far from perfect, full of faults

No more at their best

Rather the worst they can get

They are not what they were

What they tried to be, not at all

It all boils down to, my friend

Shut up and get lost

Single one was and felt lost

Now the two, tear each other apart

This is the truth, yet blind we are

Love and company is all

We yearn and in its grip are caught

One is not one, what one was

What one could be, remains in the thoughts

Friends are friends, all else is naught

Be what you like, it is fun much sought

If you are married , it matters a lot

And if single, laughter such that it ceases not!

Questions

If a child raises questions

It is good, he thinks

But if one answers him not

A lot he would miss

Question one must

Before he accepts and trusts

One who follows blindly

He learns not slightly

What one doesn't understand

To him it makes no sense

One who questions till the end

Him no one shall misunderstand

Questions are many but all don't need an answer

Some questions are such, one has to find answers

Wise are those who ask and articulate the answers

For if everyone asks only, there would be no one to answer

One who replies truthfully

Viewing the question from all angles

He may be called a crazy fool

But only such fools uphold the truth

Those who lead face many questions

But answer to each is in their actions

Questions make them what they are

Adrift they would be if there were no questions

A question may have more than one answer

But there is one Question beyond human comprehension

The essence of being and universal existence

The ultimate finality that remains unanswered!

Fear the simple

Straight are not the ways of the world

And what all games people play

Simple abhor the manipulations

And keep themselves away

It is now no more the same way

They have entered the fray to change the old ways

Fear the simple, Oh! you crooked

Who have misled the simple, time and again

Simple may be naive, and get stuck in the whorls

That their own brethren cleverly create

But He brings them out, Who guides their way

Baton shall pass into their hands, who shall lead the way

Simplicity is good per se, but it does not carry one far on the way

Simple have to learn the tricks and ways of the world. not to indulge

But to stop worldliness from making any headway

Worldly wisdom can't do, what wisdom of the simple does straightaway

Power when it comes in the hands of the simple

They have to doubly watch their ways

To never let it corrupt their thinking and actions

As simple they are good, and let them so remain!  

Misunderstanding

Relations are so weak and fragile

It takes years to build them up

Watering, pruning and constant care

But it takes a moment to goof them up

However much one takes care

Not to hurt or annoy others

Misunderstandings develop all of a sudden

To their dismay who care for each other

Watch your words and how you conduct

Communicate so that doubts are cleared up

Even then one is understood in different ways

As are various minds and their different states

Emotions make or mar the show

Without emotions life is a joke

Indifference and listlessness suffocate and choke

Let emotions flow freely, why poke one's nose

Understanding is by far limited and conditional

Interpreting sameness in quite different ways

Universal understanding one should aim at

Viewing things differently, yet interpreting the same way

Unintended misunderstanding hurts a lot

How one interprets it was thought not

What we see and think, that we say

But that we don't perceive, it makes a difference

Interpretation or misinterpretation of things matters a lot

But what matters more is that eyes and minds we close not

Life is made rich and spicy, by good works that we do

And with some controversy and misunderstanding to which we all contribute!

Loneliness

One is lonely, life a prison

Ask a king, or who is not someone

Loneliness strikes when nothing appears right

One makes efforts, yet is left high and dry

Life as we live is a rat race

Most lose while a few win the game

If winner feels lonely, he mostly is to blame  

Because he gloats in his win and flaunts his fame

Conquer peaks as many as you may

But show not the conquests on your face

People flock to one who is approachable and looks the same

One who moves with them freely , and is yet great

Loneliness is only in the mind

As one feels cut off or deprived

Free mind knows no loneliness

It builds not walls, but unifies

Man is essentially social ,not a loner in the least

This keeps him in senses, and he becomes not a beast

But if loneliness comes somehow and whatever be its cause

Get up and sprint away before in its grip you are caught!

Taming of the tongue

One who bridles his tongue

Half the war of life he has won

Rest is flexing of arms and legs

And how well he uses his head

However much gifted one may be

And luck and time  on his side be

If he offends with his speech, he stands to lose

However good his intention may be

Hold your tongue , it is better to be mum

When speech is not right, smaller you become

Think, prepare and articulate well before you speak

Words well said, even a few, a lot they mean

A few good words are soothing much

Like cool breeze with its gentle  whisper

 As pearls much precious adorn a crown

Good words, well thought of, do a man proud

Tongue that is well tamed

One's stature it highly elates

With humility and confidence

A million hearts it elevates!

Sleep

Work as much as you may

Many laurels may make your days

But  if that snatches your sleep away

You need to think to change your ways

Money and wealth one may accumulate

Peace of mind is bartered away

One wishes to have some sleep

Which comes not near any way

One may like to do whatever and all

But much of that needn't be done at all

Do what you want but as much, that's all

That you have time to rest and introspect, after all

They sleep well who have nothing to lose

And who distribute all what they can otherwise lose

Pills and potions for sleeplessness adorn one's bedside

Who yearn for some sleep, while tossing  from side to side

Sleep is a wonderful gift

After a day's arduous grit

Let it be soft and sweet

So that you wake up rested and fit

Why do something

That robs your sleep

And if it is done by mistake

Never repeat, and soon get past it

Prepare well to have a good sleep

It is no mean task, as some may think

Gold and silver may tempt one much

But they are nothing before a good night's sleep!