all things

to step back to see life happening, 

to feel lives living through you - 

this silent communion with the world

there is an overriding peace here, 

a distilled joy and a sense of satisfaction

even as there is nothing you can claim. . .

suddenly, all things 

that remind me of my mortality 

become very dear to me

A Dream, A Prayer

It's never too late to have a dream. Have a dream.

Have a grand dream. A prayer.

And let that dream, the prayer create your future. 

And the future of many, who may not even know you or your dream. 

Or your prayer. . .

Grieve

when the world is grieving

do not complain

you are feeling low

it is meant to be so.

Grieve –

it is the time to grieve

shut the music off and grieve

for our own wrongdoings

for the wrongdoings of our own race

to open the doors of an illusory paradise -

a farcical comedy! 

At home. . .

at home,

this vast silence, 

then the sound of a soft rain, 

an occasional wayward 

wind blowing through the leaves,
into its non-existence,
and then again...
a bird, two or three chirping,
to each other,
or to their own selves
someone talking to someone
out there
about some causality,
a pleasing austerity
that surrounds it all
. . .that's all there is
. . . .that's all there is to it!

Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu

ask me not grand questions

on the purpose and meaning of life

and existence, I do not know,

not a thing more than you,

seeking the essential facts of life

to the thick woods I have been

and the seas and deserts

spanning horizons; wisdom

of the recluses sought:  

know the happiness of being-

as I am just happy to be here

on earth, in the humdrum of being 

breathing, just breathing

in the glory of all creation

freeing myself from the mundane

burden of existence

breathe, breathe, seek nothing

or seek as much you wish

but return to

the happiness of just being-

live, love, laugh

in time

pass away

proffering a wish,
always and ever:

‘Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu’

'Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu' ~ the Swasthi Vachanam which translates as: ‘May happiness be unto the world’

Photo courtesy: as per original copyright at:

http://wallpaperstock.net/through-the-trees-wallpapers_w6763.html

Where there is love,

‘Where there is love there is life.’ ~  Mahatma Gandhi

through the evening fog

I see her, at the far-end of the park

a little girl, another pale flower

standing by the winter flower-bed

her fingers soft, delicate

caressing the flowers –

her little hands,

I imagine, tender and red,

as I rub my time-worn hands together  

to ward off the December chill

her name I know not - I call her Hope

one more look and she’s gone

leaving a pallid sky

aglow -

for another day

Photo courtesy: as per original copyright at:

http://www.floralencounters.com/Seeds/seed_detail.jsp?productid=87974

Looking for You, O'

Looking for You, O'

Me and You
Life and Death
We walked together
Coolly so far
Hand in hand

‘You are so frail’
You would trap and tease
‘No worry,
You are so strong’
I would free and ease

And then
In a tease
You left me
To play
Hide and Seek

You became Terror
I became Fear
In the lasting game
I play with you
You play with many

You hide
Somewhere
In those bags
I look for you
In a child’s toy

You pat me,
From nowhere
I turn in vain
Round and round
Looking for you

You hide again
Somewhere
In those bins
I look for you
In a stranger’s eye

His eyes meet mine
Fear greets Fear
We smile in vain
And pass
Looking for you…

O' Death,

Fearlessly...

Coming to terms with terror and death,

on the streets in Delhi

after terrorist attack…..

Life gets back to normal,

yet one can't help

looking for bombs, death

in roadside bins, children's toys,

stranger's eye....

That's not easy.

Death with me hand in hand

was much more....

Photo CC:
Top: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1342/1269000637_6973655cef.jpg?v=0
Bottom: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1260/627119069_97494f685c.jpg?v=0