ERSATZ

Ah! The web of words

We weave

To stand by

For all things exquisite

That need to be said

In eloquent eyes

And fervent touches

And tender sighs

In the barest rubbing

Of cheek to cheek

In the slightest grazing

Of a moistened lip

The things that hearts give

Breathless flight

We cage, in pretext words…

Behind tangled veils we hide!

MS

EBULLIENT

Like a wave I rise
Euphoric
Carefree
Sometimes a tempest
Sometimes a mere ripple
Daughter of the wind
Born of the sea
If you would brave my storm
And embrace my breeze
You may surf my curl 

But I cascade free
I rise, and I rise
There's no stopping me! 

MS

CONFOUNDED

It's inexplicable
This agony
When walls stop me
From giving

When I shed
Fragrant petals
To fall…. softly
Upon your heart
Yet, they sprout edges
Somehow
That threaten
To rip you apart
When all those cool drops
Of dew
Like glowing stars
That forgot to sleep
Turn embers,
Searing skin
You burn
And my eyes weep

Would oblivion be easier
Than life?
This fusillade of twisting knives
It throws?
For the love that I carry within….
It stops me
From holding on, to you
It stops me
From letting go! 

MS

ME

I am a shallow poet, they say.

People are dying
Of hunger. Of war. Of disease and despair.
And of those who just don't care
And all I write of is love!

Guilty as charged.

I can write
About poverty and death
And greed and tears
About lies and hypocrisy
And deceit and fears
But will this heal the world?
Cure it of what ails?
It won’t.
We all see this, already.
But do we stop to change?
It’s always someone else's circus.
We cry hoarse, but stand motionless.

Strange!

So I write....of love, and hopes and dreams
I write of a truth we all want to breathe.
I write to build each one suffering
Strong and proud
So they can be the change they need
Shake off the sad darkness’ shroud

Yes! I write of love

Unashamedly. Unrestrictedly. Without a doubt.

For love is all there is to give

And love is all there is to live
Isn’t it love that makes the world go round?

Yes. It does!

In love I did transcend this life

And then in love, I forever drowned.


MS

PUERILE

The night falls softly

Quietly

Into a tender dawn

But I’m still lost, far

Somewhere

Within the darkened sky

Waiting desperately

To wish upon a falling star

My heart glistens anew

With lingering drops

Of dew

Turned to frost

Why do I still believe

In the healing warmth

Of an amber kiss

In a dream that was

In a winter, never paused!

MS

A TRIBUTE TO A POET

Can one die of ingesting poetry?

I hope not!

For you might have

A carpet of fallen hearts

In your wake

Their autumn come

Anon

And I for one

Would like to live some more

Breathing in your words

Waiting for life, and love

For those miracles I’m yet to know

However, dear poet

Don’t stop!

Just let your poems flow

And if they do kill me

Then carry me along, in your undertow

And I would revel in the thrill

Of passing

By your assassin rhyme

Oh-so-soft and slow…

Maybe

I’d rather

You drench me, drown me, slay me

With your poetic deathblow!

Maybe

It was just meant to be so

MS

SMILES : BEWITCHING LIARS

Every crack doesn’t show.

Every tear doesn’t flow.

Sometimes,

There’s so much in the heart

That never sees light

Every hunger can’t be sated

Nor all agony shaped

To script

That ink would write

Often, what is in sight

Is coloured by our needs

The aches drip crimson

The agony misleads

Demeanors can be prisons

That hold yearnings

Subdued

Maybe, what you see

Is just me

Trying not to kill myself

Over you!

MS

UNFETTERED

There's an answer in me
Even though unseen
For your every word and rhyme
For all your smiles and tears
Every ache and sigh
How can there not be!
For they have cages in the world
That minds perceive
Boundaries
Of land and sea
Caste and creed
Social mores
Responsibilities
But who could ever build walls
To imprison hearts
History bears it testimony
That hearts, in love
They always fly free
To wherever their mate might be 

MS

AURA

It’s strange
How thoughts can straddle two worlds 

And make them one!

Our worlds… disparate
We ne’er meet
In touch, nor sound or direct sight
But sometimes
It’s so easy to read
All those smoke signals
Or maybe, you would call them
Vibes…
As if your moods just come
And sit lightly
Upon my eyes
You sadness, your smiles
Your longings
Your rage… your tender gaze
Not seen or heard
But tangible…
As if, in every breath
It’s a bit of you I touch

What makes you so real
O mist of the dawn?
Maybe it happens
When the love of a starry night
Kisses a hesitant morn…

MS

LIVING LOVE

Soul mates are forever
And love never dies
So trust me
When we leave our bodies far behind
When the earth is too tired to spin
When the stars are breathing their last
You'll find me, still waiting
At the edge of the field of blooming embers
Their dying glow like fireflies
Hanging in the night sky
We'll hold hands… like we've done millions of times
In the depths of our thoughts
In our waking dreams
In our other-worldly memories
And I'll walk with you,
As we pick our way carefully
Through the shards of all things broken
Our hearts
Our lives
Our destiny
Until we're through, to divine lands
Of cool breezes and perpetual dawns
Will you then look into my eyes
And let me drink of your peace
While you read all that I've been waiting to say
Through aeons of being in love
Just you,
And me,
And breathless whispers of eternity


MS