pain – Fleeting Muse

The lament of the Grape

Plucked from my mother,
Thrown with my kith and kin,
My flesh,
Crushed and pressed
In dark dungeons,
As my blood flowed into
Wooden barrels,
To be aged,
Bottled and corked,
And be sold, and
As you open the bottle,
And pour,
You sniff my blood
And exhale, satisfied;
And my blood touches
Your lips,
And you swirl it, slowly,
Ever so slowly,
You sip,
As my blood course
Down your throat,
The sugar courses
Through your vein,
And the warmth radiates
Through your body,
Don’t pontificate that
I didn’t feel any pain.
In your satisfaction
Lies mine,
Remember, for your satisfaction,
I gave my life,
Acknowledge it,
And my sacrifice, my life,
Won’t be in vain.
But never again do say,
I didn’t feel any pain.

this poem is the result of a lively discussion between vegetarian and non-vegetarian in a WhatsApp group.

A Poem is Born

The ink dried long ago,
Pages left blank,
Thoughts buried
deep under,
Heart aches,
The pain festers,
Silently drips the blood,
Slowly becomes
A torrent.

The world turns,
and somewhere,
exuberant keystrokes dance
a rhythmic dance,
words flow across a screen,
unknown, unloved,
A poem is born.

Feelings of the Heart – a ghazal?

I wrote this ghazal in my mother tongue Axomiya (Assamese) yesterday and tried to translate it to Hindi. After a few futile attempts, I gave up as I just could not maintain the rhythm. Today I tried translating it to English and found that it was flowing much more smoothly though I should not call it a ghazal. I tried to follow the rules as closely as I could but not sure if I succeeded. Hence the question mark in the title. I post the poems in the order written.

Hidden Gems

Barren is the heart
that poured everything out,
and waits in solitude;
Tears run dry,
heart does not bleed,
silence reigns.

Keep some hidden gems,
A few pains,
and in time,
Nurtured by the agony
of the tortured heart,
Diamonds will shine,
and who knows,
a few pearls,
scattered,
will be left behind.

Uninvited guest

Update:

Edwin Alvarez was the kid I wrote about in my poem below today. Please read the request below from his friends trying to arrange for his funeral.

“Hey guys. I believe everyone is aware already that on Friday night there was a boating accident after which our friend Edwin unfortunately passed away. I don’t know however, if everyone is aware that he comes from a very humble family and I don’t know up to what point they relied on Edwin’s income. As far as I know, he was paying for his brother’s education, bootstrapping a business with his dad who works in construction and looking for ways to also help his mother, who is a maid, to find an alternate source of income.
Needless to say this is a life-altering situation that is going to be incredibly difficult for his family to overcome. Eduardo (one of Edwin’s friends who helped us contact his family), started a GoFundMe to help them out with the funeral expenses. Any help will surely be greatly appreciated. Here’s the link https://gf.me/u/ykvm62 . He also mentioned that Oscar (Edwin’s brother) is already aware of this effort.”

I write about current events, my poems are fiction, penned during my flights of imagination. The poem below is based on a tragedy that happened two nights ago. A young soul was called back too soon by the Lord. He was my son’s friend. I never met him but heard about him from my son. A hard working, honest, fun loving friendly guy. These are the times one questions, why? Why? I guess there is no answer.

a day in a life of hope

started with fun and frolic,

a boat ride down the river,

azure summer sky pierced

with laughter and singing.

sun moved slowly

to the western sky, Continue reading “Uninvited guest”

Shooting from the heart- Ten Intricate One Liners

My first attempt at writing one liners. I always liked poems for the brevity of expressions. One liners challenge the poet to say what’s in his mind in as few words as possible but still be meaningful to the readers. Hope my readers will find these meaningful.

Poison

Trapped by your charm, drank poison.

******

Silver Bullet

Your heart hides my silver bullet.

******

Pain

Pain of separation ravaged my heart.

******

Prisoner

Imprisoned by your charm, I’m blind.

******

Hurry

Hurry, the bell tolls, why dither?

******

Temptress

Temptress, your arrow pierced my heart.

******

Tears

May deserts bloom from your tears.

******

Nectar

Your kiss turned hemlock to nectar.

******

Mellifluous

Your mellifluous voice soothed my journey.

******

My Life

Hidden in your smile, my life.

The Hidden Pain

the pain drips slowly

as the words flow smooth

deep down is solace

things will change

may be for the better

while remaining same

serenly flows the river

hiding pent up frustration

till the banks overflow

mayhem ensues

words do not soothe anymore

alter of greed

to be cleansed

by blood of the innocents

while Nero fiddles

everything burns

sychophants out in hordes

looking for scapegoats

years change as do

place and time

alas, everything remains

the same

the river flows serene

carrying in its bossom

the hidden pain

Till it erupts

Am I wrong to love my muse?

This poem started as a comment to this question posed by one of the most talented poet (thelonelyauthorblog ) I have the good fortune to interact with. Thank you Drew. The title of the poem and the first line is the question and the poem was my spontaneous response. I was not thinking of posting it as a stand alone poem till today morning when Drew asked me if I have posted this. Hence posted without edit.

“Am I wrong to love my muse?”

If yes

Then may be

God was wrong

To let love flow

Because it’s beyond

Us mortals

Not to fall

In love

And suffer

The pain

That opens

The floodgate

Of passion

And every drop

That bleeds

Adorns the pages

And the clouds

Carry the silent cries

To my muse

Shattered dreams of Super Bee Man

I was stung by a bee
Yesterday after lunch
I was hoping when
I get up in the morning
A new superhero will be born
The amazing Bee Man
Floating like a butterfly
And stinging like a bee
Alas, only lingering effect
A sight dull pain
Neither can I float
Nor can I sting
Shattered lies my dream
Of being Super Bee Man
Oh, if only I would have left
The stinger in place
And not pick it out
Of my flesh
I could have written
About the exploits of
Super Bee Man