divisive

Photo Credit: Donn Coppens

you divided the earth
beating it down to splinters
it can not hold the filtering water
that rain trickles from up above
I see beyond the mountains
I wish to see fresh dew
but get a glimpse of the sky
split into two-
by that rainbow

"as if there was not enough hatred down here"

while the instrument plays

The Snake Charmer, Henri Rousseau, 1907

I yearn for an opal ring
with a verve
I want to strengthen my bonds
with that snake charmer
I fake a yawn
while my heart races
he rubs his fingertips on his instrument
while I pick the threads
in the mirror of snake eyes
his muse has raw edge
in the corridors of betrayal
he offers sheep to the snakes

"I find omen in that dull opal ring,
thrust that dagger deep into him"

thigh high

I declare open war
why don't you buy me a car
controls vibrate my thigh
In the autumn I feel high
if you think that's swell
I would settle for diamonds as well

...............................

WRITTEN TO THE MELODY OF: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

stapled maples...

Photo Credit: Reymundo

I haven't shed leaves yet
although it is that time
I look at my branched feet
look again up the sky
I, my brothers live in harmony
our branches embrace each other
some kid nailed ceramic sun
we are lucky to have him so near

"watch out, our branches might fall on your glass house"

spoken inside the head

I tackle the pawns to the ground
the rook runs backward
I move forward with ease
it is like a movie you know
where pictures overlap
I may work for the king
but I covet the queen
she ignores me in the day time
yet night's distractions make her close
I might have taken to the robes
you don't understand my secret desire
the pace is slow or fast,
let the queen decide
as I don't care for omissions

"I like to see things from cock-eyed perspectives
slithering up the diagonals"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't take credit for the last line. I edited it just a bit. It came from someone who creates pictures for us, where the beauty and ugliness of the world go hand in hand. He makes sure we understand. I can't name him here but he will know when he reads my poetry.......

an elusive world lurks

The Revenant, 1949, Andrew Wyeth

you gave me black eye
but I had a good fight
I like to show of my bruises
standing tall in my whites
my dirtied whites
yet I cause a sensation
wherever I go
women swoon over me
I sway in that adoration
and corners of the room
hold me upright
but when I look into your eyes
I see scorn in the blank stare
how much longer 
do I endure black eyes
to see a smile on your face?

it never comes
I know it will never ever come
but behind your pummeling
I can see your raging emotions

shreds

a roaring sound
you can still hear
in the eerie silence even now
I am scared of a simple jolt
my dignity lost in the debris
mother, may I hide in your womb again?
(my life as simple as before I was born)
build me a new world
a bold world
where I can walk without an urgent need to escape
mother, please tell our leaders
to cut out the theatrics 
scrape the old laws
protect us from their evil designs

"but if they do that , how would their pockets get filled?"

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

There was a bomb blast outside the high court in New Delhi on 7th Sep, 2011, killing 13 people, injuring more than 60. Our government is totally useless and we are left to fend for ourselves.You can deduce the apathy of the Govt from knowing that a similar blast took place on 25th May, 2011 at the same place, and political leaders saying these blast are normal!! Do the power that are care? I don't think so...

My poem pours out from there, raw, unedited.......an anguish that can't be explained.....

invasion

you are not here-
you are here
my notebook knows
invisible words form there
emotions jump all over
spilling into my space

you invaded it, 
now refuse to let go

noting it all down

my notebook collects dust
papers flutter
the corners get folded
I move the dust with my fingers
cool air from the ocean touch me
the open window calls out
my eyes move over my notebook again
this time, it is electronic,
a very flat surface

"particles drift into each other
pour into impersonal electromagnetic aura"

hitching a ride in rusted trails

abandoned to erode
that wheel has tales to tell
I don't care to know
I think of all that I lost in snow
hazed snow of the mind
layered by layered
light is my focal point
stirring from dawn to dusk
resting in the darkness
to rejuvenate the heart
when I pick a rusted nail
I sandpaper it
observe the rust fall to ground
I still don't care.

"Can I hitch a ride from you to go to the next town?"