We stare in disbelief
At life that slips away
Who knew just a breath
All that it takes to be alive
We stare in disbelief
At all the lives
Washed ashore
Becoming nation's memories
We close our eyes in disbelief
When we cannot take it anymore
Confined in our safe homes
We turn into living ghosts
We stare in disbelief
As humanity fades away
We who love wars and winners
Are the tired vanquished lot
We stare in disbelief
As leaders trade away our lives
And our deaths
To build their empire of glory
Month: May 2021
Dreams
I take long walks
In Latin quarters in Paris
I enter a random church
Someone is playing Ave Maria
I climb Sahyadri hills
Feeling free and fatigued
I walk along Marine drive
Watching rains approach
I am stranded in deluge
Waiting for a transport home
At times I am sailing
Along Tungabhadra in Hampi
Or I am listening to a stream
On some river bank in Bhutan
Or I walk and sob on a beach
Unsure of taste of salt
It could be sea
Or my tears
At times I am trapped
In Escherisque space
Or walking on a
Mobius strip
I am lost and then
I am found
I reach yet
I don't reach
While Uncertainty is
The only certainty
Waking hours
A prolonged nightmare
My escape and freedom
Is in my dream
Selfish it may seem
I don't want to be awake
I don't want to talk
Of nightmares today
#covidtimes
Just Like a Driftwood
Don't behold me
With contempt
Because I floated in
Just like a driftwood
I had a name
Born to someone
Isn't it enough
To qualify as a human?
Do not fear me
Do not hate my folks
Simply they couldn't afford
- love, pyre or a grave
They probably thought
Water should be my grave
Instead of fire or earth
River being the river
Did what it does best
Buoyed me back
Just like a driftwood
I had love to give
But there were no takers
In the land of hate
River could have set me free
But it returned me to you
As a nameless corpse
To be counted among
The countless
River will remember me
Even if you don't
This beloved river is
Our memorial!
#CovidDeaths
If Dead Could Speak
If dead could speak
I wonder what would they say
To every
'Rest in Peace'
They gasped for breath
They waited for beds
They trusted
They hoped
They left behind
Mounting sorrows
And bills
And plans
And dreams
They simply got erased
Without farewells
They got dumped
They got duped
Don't ever think
They are
Resting in Peace
If dead could rise
From the ashes
And graves
And rivers
They would certainly
Rise in rage
Mad Decadence 