The Nomad

When our ancestors found that wheat

Was a good bread to eat

They settled in Jericho.

All of us are settled now,

But in our souls there is a great woe:

We don't know where to go.

I am settled in a fine place

I own a house, I live in grace,

I have a patio

But late at night when the wind lament

And  the garden shivers - my soul is rent:

I don't know where to go.

One day when I say good-bye

To life and wife, and die and fly

somewhere in a great flow

I shall be free to roam again

I'll try to find but try in vain

Where to go, where to go.

- Henry Shore

I found this beautiful poem in the biography of JRD Tata "Beyond the last Blue mountain".....and it echoes the very emotion of the nomad within my soul. 

That's the beauty in poetry...you read a poem and find the very emotions of your soul mirrored in the words of someone else and you know that you are not alone on your road, that there have been many before you and that there shall be many who shall come after you. 

कुछ लम्हें सुकून के

रात में ढलती सुबह 

सुबह में गुम होती रात के बीच 

सपनों की रफ़्तार से भागती 

इस ज़िन्दगी में 

dhundhti हूँ कुछ लम्हें सुकून के |

सुबह सुबह दौड़ते हुए 

गरम टोस्ट और चाय की दो चुस्कियों में,

हडबडाहट में निगले 

माँ के प्यार से भरे लंच के डब्बे में,

शाम की काफ्फी के अरोमा से  

गुम होती दिनभर की थकान मे,

dhundhti हूँ कुछ लम्हें सुकून के |

कभी,

किताबों के पन्नो में छुपी कविता कहानियों में,

कभी,

दोस्तों के साथ बिताये लम्हों में,

कभी,

गानों की धुन में बहते हुए 

कभी,

रात के सन्नाटे में बहती हवा के स्पर्श में,

कभी,

मोंसून की पहली बारिश में भीगते हुए,

कभी,

अपनी छोटी से दुनिया से परे बसी विशाल दुनिया

देखने की कल्पनाओं में, 

dhundhti हूँ कुछ लम्हें सुकून के |

छोटी सी इस ज़िन्दगी में,

सब सपनों को जी जाने की

बहुत कुछ पाने और कर जाने की 

इस मह्त्वकान्षा की दौड़ में 

क्षणभर को थमकर

दूर से

दुनिया के इस समंदर में,

बहती अनगिनत जिंदगियों की धाराओं की 

छोटी छोटी खुशियों में 

dhundhti हूँ कुछ लम्हें सुकून के |

In the Rain

I walked on,
leaving behind
the walls of the world,
I am caged in.

I walked on,
feeling the rain seep within
feeling the cold drops sliding down my naked skin
feeling the calm soak within, embalming my bleeding soul

I walked on,
letting
the song of falling rain,
drown
the noise of restlessness
threatening to engulf me in.

Breaking free

far and long into the rain.

I walked on,
feeling alive with every new step.

I walked on
till the fire
raging within turned into embers
to rise again,
from the ashes of Peace within.

Atlas bled

Day after Day,
the burden of choice grew,
harder to bear,
heavier to carry

Heart pumped,
Veins thrummed,
gradually growing tired

Atlas bled,
still holding up.

for him,
it was a duty sacred,
to be performed,
like drawing of breath

while every breath,
suck out of him
life
moment after moment
like a poison

Still Atlas stood,
without a moan,
enduring the wounds
bleeding silent tears of blood

'cuz,
the wounds to him,
were like thorns
of the flower blooming from
seeds
lovingly sown
tenderly tended,
laboriously grown.

Thorns of the flower of love.

beneath the dust

I wandered again,
in the maze of locked doors,
long forgotten.

turned a few knobs,
listening to the screams of past,
that broke free

wished,
I had left undisturbed,
the dust covered rust of memories.

Remembering,
why the knobs had been left unturned,
and memories left to rust
beneath the dust.

change

life goes on, 
joy comes by, so does sorrow 
love touches and passes by 
seasons come and go by,
people walk in and walk away,
only u remain changed, 
and yet chained
till death finally comes by.

Woods are lovely, dark and deep..

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost.

I first read this poem of Robert Frost when I was 8 yrs old, and I have been in love with it ever since, this poem was my introduction to the beautiful world of poetry and the beginning of my love affair with poetry.......Every time I come across the lines ' The woods are.....' my heart sighs...

'The Woods are lovely, dark and deep, and I wish I had no promises to keep'

Why did life have to make those woods so lovely, dark and deep and then leave me with endless promises to keep? is the question that is echoing in my tired heart tonight.

A stranger

Like a stranger
I walk,
amongst my own.
I speak,
hoping to be heard by ears now deaf.
I wait,
for words of care from lips now dumb.

seeking a warmth of understanding,
I run,
from the strangers silent and known
to find myself,
amongst strangers silent and unknown.

A stranger, I am
on a quest,
to find a place,
where I am a stranger no more,
where faces are warm and familiar,
where I can be me and not seem strange.

I shall walk on,
on the roads unworn...
to a destination unknown.

One Life

One life, to live
one life, to be.

One life, to dream
one life, to live 'em all.

one life, to make promises
one life, to keep them.

One life, to love,
one life, to be loved.

One life, to laugh,
one life, to spread the smile.

One life, to cry,
one life to wipe the tears away.

One life, to lean on,
one life, to lend out a helping hand.

One life,
to care,
to feel,
to share,
to give and to take.

one life,
to walk through the woods,
to swim down the rivers,
to climb up mountains.

one life,
to get drenched in the rains,
to walk through the falling snow,
to shiver against the touch of cold winters

One life,
to watch the day rise to the silent whispers of night
to watch flowers bloom,
to sing the song of grass and trees.


One life,
too short,
to be spent held back in chains

One life,
is all we have,
before the candle of life burns out.

One life,
to make it count,
while the countdown
of the clock that's ticking away lasts.

Fear

In the Nights dark and cold,

While the world silently sleeps,

I lie in darkness, 

screaming within..

afraid, 

not of nightmares,

but of desires and dreams..

screaming at me,

Urging me to grab on to their open arms,

While I,

chained to the world and duties,

lie helplessly twisting and turning,

watching 'em drift afar

Only for You

And if I were to ever bow down
and ask,
just one thing off life..
I would ask,
not for me..but for thee all the joys of life
'cuz in your smile lie hidden,
 all the treasures of my life.

Nemesis

I cannot turn around,
I cannot run away,
I cannot hide..

For me,
there lies no escape,

haunting me,
is a nemesis,
that is my own...
Not a shadow unknown.

The beseeching cry of my own soul,
mirroring,
the sighs of my bleeding innocence
lying stabbed,
with daggers wrought,
in the fire of the sins that were my own.

I Believe..

                                                            Only I can set myself free...
                                                            Only I can bring myself to peace...
                                                            and I refuse to yield the key...
                                                            Damning myself to this cage of pain.

A free bird

One fine day,
I'll simply vanish, 
leaving behind no trace, 
other than, 
just a memory, 
then slowly that memory shall also fade away...
                       like the wisps of hanging smoke.... 






Still,
somewhere,
high up in the sky,
far far away from all the world's cares,
                                                 free,
                                          unknown, 
                                     Un-beckoned....
                                           I shall fly


                                        Forgotten,
                                        by the rest,
                                        yet, still aware of myself,
                                                             of my dreams,
                                                             of my desires,
                                                             of my choices...


                                                             known only to myself,
                                                                          like a free bird
                                                                          I shall fly ,
                                                                          in the open sky,
                                                           in pursuit of my peace
                                                           spreading wide,
                                                           the wings of anarchy that burns within
                                                                          



                                                                                                                                                 



                                                                   
                                                                       
                                             
                                                              

 I walked in the dark nights,

 in the forest of myriad thoughts & dreams, 

searching..

waiting...

like a silent lamb,

      a barren tree,

              a deserted shanty...

I walked on in quest of my path, 

I heard the wind, 

I felt the earth,

                    I listened to the song of life..

and at dawn,

 lying in the embrace of the dying night,

being caressed by the rays of rising sun,

 I found my road.........

waiting to be laid,

 by the strokes of my hands.

Freedom

I do not fear the fiery storm,

nor the thundering clouds,

neither the wrath of summer heat,

nor the cold winter breeze;

I do not fear peaks of obstacles,

that will lie along my way,

nor the cold waves of disappointment,

that shall drown me again & again.....

while this flower blooms,

filled with,

sweet nectar of hope in my heart,

          as it dreams of soaring high,

          and flying to distant skies.

As my soul,

waits for the day,

it will be set free,

free from the worldly chains of,

                        fake ties,

                        endless lies,

                        faceless masks

from the cage of this pretentious human society,

Free to be what it wants to be,

free to live life,

the way it desires.

          

The pain,
It leaves me shattered.
It leaves me numb.

The pain.
It touches my heart,
leaving behind raw wounds.
It touches my soul,
and stirs a song,
              a sad lament,
              torn from the depths of my being,
              The cry of my weary soul,
              swimming day after day,
              in this sea of human insanity,
                                            hurt,
                                            and suffering.
                                        

A cry that my soul shall cry,
till it is laid to rest.
till it is laid to rest.
          

In a Moment

In a moment,
Somewhere a life is lost,
Somewhere a life begins.

With a cry, wheels of life are set in motion,
And somewhere with a sigh, a life ends.

A cry that, for some, begins a new dawn,
filled with endless hopes and happy dreams.

A sigh, that for some becomes a cry,
as A journey of dreams, hopes and efforts ends.

Moments come and go by,
In this circle of Life,
Time moves on without standing still,
and Life walks along hand in hand,
without pausing for breath.

In this constant tug of war,
between Death and life,
Where in a moment I find,
Death staring back from the face of life,
Or life smiling at you, while waving death goodbye.
I stand doing my best,
Not to fight Death,
but to give back life it's strength,
To fight away Death with  all it's might,
And begin again it's unfinished journey.

In this circle, taking tiny steps
I walk along all alone,
Creating my own destiny,
While still searching my road.

A lonely moment

As I find myself  standing alone,

In this sea of people known and unknown,

A sadness grips my heart,

To know that it’s still alone.

A tear falls across my face,

As I stand looking into the crowd,

waiting, For a warm embrace,

looking, for a familiar face,

Searching, for a friendly glance,

Anything that would drive my loneliness away,

But all that my eyes find,

Are cold and unwelcome stares,

In this vast sea of human faces,
Where i stand alone.

A journey through the sky

I sat wondering how to put into words

What my eyes had seen,

As we flew across the evening sky,

Like a bird flying to get back home,

After the end of a very long day,

While the day changes into the night.

As we floated away in the sea of dark clouds,

While they came to embrace us wave after wave,

I felt a purely childish glee,

Glee I used to feel as wave after wave, Washed over me,

while I lay on the sandy beach.

The delight I used to feel being tossed into the arms of the beckoning sea.

I could feel the same delight that the waves and the sea felt,

In the dark cloudy forms as we flew ,

 scattering them far far away.

As I glanced afar, and the clouds broke away,

I was mesmerized watching the colorful symphony,

That, the evening sky, the setting sun & the young night played.

I watched the orange flames rise to engulf the blue sky,

Till the young night caught up with them,

And brought down it’s dark curtains,

To begin the show again….

With the moon and stars.

But before the night could begin,

I glanced down upon an ocean of, Glittering golden lights,

As Not be left behind, human hand joined the play,

To set the night’s stage on fire ,

With it’s electrical display……

And thus I watched,

The perfect symphony of man and nature,

Being displayed, stroke after stroke,

While I wandered through the evening sky


(i tried to put into words a phenomenon for which words are not enough, rather there are no words....but if u could not understand what i was trying to describe above..it's something that u get to watch while flying at the time where the day meets the dusk and turns into the night..if u ever fly during this time do look out of your window and i am sure u will feel what i my words have faled to describe)