"In the desert" from The Black Riders by Stephen Crane (1871-1900)

I have been thinking about those lines for a while now. Thought I would share it here with you all

"In the desert" from The Black Riders by Stephen Crane (1871-1900)

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said: “Is it good, friend,”
“It is bitter—bitter,” he answered;
“But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart.”

don't forget to get my cigars

Cemetery in Malvern by Doug Shaver

where have you led me
I don't see colours
green merges into browns
grays grow out of red

trees blur over my portrait
ghostly though I am.
a sideways mirror-
I like the macabre me

exhaust fumes
have marked headstones
as I am new corpse
mine is fairly clear

yet all this serenity
bores me to death
(oh I am already dead!)
come midnight, I come alive

hunting for new spirits
to feed on their souls
here in this cemetery
that's fairly easy

next time you visit me
don't get me flowers,
save too your precious tears
as your papa will die soon

"well, don't forget to get my cigars
and my new hat
and all those lawbooks
which helped me fleece people"

patronising darkness weakens me

darkness
patronises me
I weaken

under its spell
I clutch my purse
wearing heels

I go downtown
drinking like a fish
I pirouette

away my sorrows
flitting from body to body
seeking oblivion

"on my way home, I will steal the kids"

its' the flu that makes me blue

hammers are driving into my head
pins prick me all over
my legs are like molten steel
eyes pop out of my face
in this disrupted state
no love can exist, no flowers can grow
when bile rises all I want is to throw
spleen mingling with liver
dances in my innards
even if you sing a song for me
I wouldn't know it is you
If you really want to help
get me some chicken soup

"not that it would make any dfference who brings it"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So what do you think of the poem?

I have caught the flu. I am on leave from work. My reading/writing threshold has come down. I can't sit for long either. So I will make my rounds to your blogs as and when I can. Now all I do is sleep and drink lots of fluids. And read poetry in between!

clutch your fragrance to myself

in this timeless space,
aeons away from you
your fragrance drenches me
I clutch it tightly
wrapping it around myself
and wonder as always
how does a simple thought
brings about your scent?

"how and where in the world are mere speculations"

loves dances from a to z

angelically moving

like a belly dancer

who convolutes to a tune

she draped herself into him

her ethereal presence

formulated certain

gentle feelings

in that stone heart

inching towards his soul

he jack-knifed

knocking her

lovely form aside

as soon moribund

naked emotions

took over

progressing

quantifying

regressing

into sadness

like a heavy tomb

of umbrella.

a vellum fell from sky

walls demolished

x-axis of their love

intersected at y and z-axis.

"Love has to be three dimensional or may be four"

I cradle my swollen arm

Last evening (July 21, 2009) I was hit by fast moving bike. Apart from a swollen arm, I am ok. It could have been much worse if I had fallen on the hard asphalt and hit my head or something. But only my right arm was hurt and no bones were broken. And no bleeding either. There is a bit of internal clotting and of course swelling with a perfect purple bruise. I had dislocated the same arm three years back, in July 2006. It had mended nicely and when the bike hit me and I came out of the haze, my first worry was a fracture. My guardian angel must have been working over time. Yes, it is vey painful as of now, I cradle it gently but I am very happy to alive and thriving. With painkillers, sleep has managed to snare me into its fold. Thank my stars, for that!

Repost: Kill Word Verification---get rid of those little letters

This button was created by Bethany of B&b ex libris. In her own words "I have created a button, that hopefully becomes a movement. A movement for what? Well I am going to call it "Kill Word Verification: rid the world of useless typing."

I am all for it. I am joining this movement from now onwards. Frankly tell me, how many spam comments do you really get? I don't have word verification, neither do I have comment moderation. And truthfully I do not get spams. If I do, those are very rare and in between. I delete those instantly. So what is the big deal? So come shake it, folks! We need hassle-free blogging, i.e, commenting forum. Don't we?

I hate it even more when blogs have word verification along with comment moderation. I think that is being paranoid. However, many bloggers do not know that they have word verification as it can't be seen by blog authors.

If you have it and don't know it, then you should do the following steps:

Go to dashboard---->Click settings---->Click comments----->Scroll down to Show word verification for comments?----->Click No---->Click Save Settings and you are done!

Help spread the word about this movement:

Write a blog post about this and make use of the button. Down with useless typing!!

Feel free to voice your thoughts here. Be nice about it though!

I wish for no gentle epitaph

I wish for no gentle epitaph
as I drown in my sweat
I am now the stuff of lewd jokes
which will bring me shame
my inner voices compel me
to do the right thing and stand by it
today I am homeless in the world
tomorrow I would end up
six feet under the ground
various kinds of worms vying for me

"nature's choiciest plan for me"

acuity of touch

hearts slump against each other
lost in the seance of love
flaming sky loiters towards them
sanguine espression dissolves
ACUITY OF TOUCH
dissolved sanguinity
flames the loitering sky
love for lost seance
breaks slumped hearts

"crying against that fur is so comforting"

dragon rider

bluish scales turned green
black claws dug deep in sand
long spiny tail rattled
as it dragged after him
dragon was miffed at the dwarf
who clung to his back
tickling him like a caterpillar
a tiny drip of a creature
mightier than him
he flew high, he flew low
dwarf clung tight like a tick
dislodge him, the dragon couldn't.

"sulk all you can, till eternity
I have you in hypnotic hold-
it being ordained that I ride you"

the sky melts away from the earth

my arm creeps around your neck
I rest my head on your shoulder
and savour the tang on your skin

you look up from your work
turning my face towards you,
you gaze deep into my soul

rustling papers fall on the floor
the winds help us close the door
dreamy fantasies come alive

in that trice, the sky melts
away from the shaky earth,
the moonlight pins us down

when I find my moorings
and try to come out of the haze
you are watching me fumble

"sleep and dream on, you say, dreams are sweet"


"Dream on, for dreams are sweet:"

are the opening lines of the poem Dreams by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Do hop on aboard the Monday Poetry Train. Great place to hangout each Monday. What's stopping you?

that thin line

in those stones
between the cracks
I see history
written pictorially
the marks in the crevices
speak of a fallen world
I gently rub my thumb
it glistens like jade
I move around it
thinking of cymbals of time

when you call out to me
I am amazed to see myself
in a skyscrapper
staring out of the window
to a place that doesn't exist
in my hand, I am holding
a stone, that jade one
I had rubbed with my thumb
when I show it to you, your
indulgence turns to surprise

"voices in my head transfer to yours"

a day in a child's life

gloom has descended on that child
transparent tears pour over his cheeks
I kneel in front of him
wiping those as best as I can
HE IS UNCONSOLED
tears flow even after I wipe
he too kneels down
his espressions so transparent
loaded heavily with gloom

nothing is sadder for a little boy
other than a broken toy
I MEND IT AS BEST AS I CAN
he breaks down again
sadness replaces unbidden joy

abstracting

random papers
a few torn haphazardly
some cut precisely to size

lay jumbled on the floor
my nimble fingers trying
to bring some kind of order

that thimble-sized man
jumped into that disorder
moonwalked all over it

eyes fixed on its movements
I watched the fireworks
with a sense of wonder

patterns fell into place
with such grace and fluidity
papered into so much beauty

when he disappeared again
into my deep thoughts
I knew it was all unreal

"reality is creativity that comes from deep trance"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lately I am trying for abstract poetry. I don't know if I am succeeding or not. Feedback is welcome.

walk those miles and miles

his whole demeanor shouted weary
still he clung to the little strength he had
something pushed him to go on and on
he arrived into a deadly calm village,

Is there anybody there?" said the traveller,
knocking on a moonlit door
his hands fluttered from lace cuffs
casting long shadows on the floor

while he waited for the door to open,
he heard a tiny voice crying from inside
when he broke open the door
he found the entire family lost to the plague

with only the baby being spared
hastily he picked her up, her cries stopped.
within the warmth of his coat
she fell asleep just as soon

when he walked out of that village
after two days, he was no stranger
to the villagers, nor the infant
now sleeping peacefully in his arms

"many a times, the unknown shows us the purpose of living"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Is there anybody there?" said the Traveller,
Knocking on the moonlit door"

are the opening lines of the poem The Listeners by Walter de la Mare

equus asinus asinus

smoky mist blows from the greenish sky
giant scorpion falls on the marshy land
its legs pull out a weed,
the wetlands split into two
strange creatures stumble out
with unaccounted limbs,
"equus asinus asinus- homosapeons"
calls out a croaked voice
all exclaim and fall silent
scaly body of that man-animal
scares even the weirdest of those
the sky falls to embrace all
blue scales shine giving out light
"we have a mission, it says,
"to go out and spread our seeds,
make it as much as like us,
with as many permutations
and combinations as possible"
when it turns and spreads its wings,
that donkey-head on a man's torso
along with the fishy fins
doesn't surprise them any more
snaky lions, tigerish tortoises,
wolfish sparrow, turn upwards
walk into all directions
circling in, circling out
but converge under the red mist
shout as loud as they can

"equus asinus asinus, we found a leader in him"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I don't know what direction my thoughts took me but the photo made me write this.

sweetness of my yearning collapses

you are not here

I close the door,
collapse on the floor

you are not here

I clutch you kerchief,
yearn for your scent

you are not here

I walk into the kitchen,
bite into a peach

you are not here

I let the sweet juice
melt into my mouth

you are not here

I cherish this moment
thankful for the space

you are not here

I hear the bell peal,
open the door

now you are here