Past and Future

Just turning the calendar page,

does not a new year make,

promises made not promises kept,

new year will come and go,

nothing will change if we don’t.

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Photo by author today morning.

Extravagant

O thou extravagant,

with the luxury of time to waste

to indulge in nostalgia of

a bygone past,

spare some of it

to explore the beauty

of the present,

and nurture it well.

reach out and embrace

what is,

lest the future passes you by,

and you are left with

the luxury of time,

to waste and rue,

what could have been,

what could have been!

Life – A Unique Feeling

I was sitting on the breakfast table with my first cup of coffee in hand. My wife was on the phone with her sister, visiting my eighty plus mother-in-law. Physically they were some ten thousand miles apart but modern technology had made it easier to stay connected. They were discussing how to make it easier for my fiercely independent but increasingly feisty mother-in-law navigate the impending two weeks long lock down to be implemented in a couple of days to combat increasing cases of COVID -19. Bits and pieces of their conversation that I overheard resulted in my mind digress from the cup of coffee in my hand. Result, a cup of cold coffee and the random thoughts below.  I wrote the poem in my mother tongue Axomiya (Assamese) first and then translated to English now. Here the order is in reverse.

Life -A Unique Feeling

Because no straight lines in nature,

Life to tread a tortuous path?

Does it make any sense?

 

*****

Day I learnt to measure life

In terms of material wealth,

Life became worthless.

 

*****

To make one understand my desire, not my responsibility. 

Expecting everyone to understand me,

Foolishness or  my audacity?

 

*****

Past and future unknown mystery, in between treads life,

Tomorrow everyone will go their own way,

For the ephemeral moment, why the illusory attachment?

জীৱন – এটা অনুভূতি

প্ৰকৃতিত  হেনো সৰল ৰেখা নাই,

সেয়ে জীৱনৰ পথ হ’ব ঘূৰণীয়া, জটিল,

কিনো মানে হয়?

 

*****

যিদিনাই শিকিলো টকা পইচাৰ তুলাচনিত

জুখিব জীৱনৰ মূল্যবোধ,

জীৱন হ’ল মূল্যহীন।

 

*****

মই কি বিচাৰো বুজাব ৰাইজক নহয় মোৰ কৰ্তব্য,

সকলোৱে বুজিব মোক আশা কৰাটো

মোৰ মূৰ্খতা নে ধৃষ্টতা?

 

****

আগলৈও নাই, পিচলৈও নাই, মাজত সীমিত জীৱন,

কালি সকলোৱে আকৌ আপোন পথত,

দুঘড়ীৰ বাবে কিয় এই মায়াৰ বান্ধোন?

 

Moments

I made peace with the moment.

What lies ahead, unknown.

What’s left behind, memories

I cannot change.

What matters now

Is this moment, precious,

I make no efforts to hold on.

Unknown to me I became an observer.

As this moment will pass,

I shall embrace

The one that comes.

Why worry

What it holds,

The mystery shall be revealed

In due time.

Ghost of past participle

I wanted to see

She wanted to be seen

We met halfway

But the ghost of

Past participle struck

The half that remained unfulfilled

Became the point of discussion

A stormy present

Leading to a murky future

Of matters

That do not

Matter any more

Don’t ask me about past bygone

I wrote this poem a few days back in my mother tongue , অসমীয়া  (pronounced Axomiya, also known as Assamese) and translated to Bengali and shared with my friends and family. After a couple of days I translated the poem to Hindi and English in that order.  Among the four, Hindi is my weak point. Sharing all four version with English first and the others in the order written.

Ask me not what pain is hidden

Behind the smile

Past is buried today

Long forgotten

Darkness

A distant past under a star filled sky

Darkness of the new moon 

Lighted dimly by the evening star

Proclaimed your love looking at my eyes

Told me you understand me
More than I understand myself
Gazed at your eyes silhouetted
Reflecting darkness of the sea

Oh how I wanted to ask thee
What you understood about me
Seeking myself through the ages
It’s darkness only that I see

Were you scared of what you saw
To share with me what you found
Now I search for the answer alone
Under new moon’s darkened glow

Contradictions

A clear blue sky
Lacks definition.
Without a dark night,
For a bright day
There is no appreciation.
Without its spots
Moon won’t be as beautiful,
Road lacking few road bumps,
Journey is uneventful.
A blemish free life
There is no story to tell,
Without the past of Jean Valjean
Les Misérables won’t ring a bell.
Calm sea hides
Deep secrets in its bosom,
Vibrant nature in a moment
Wrecks havoc and destruction.
A world at peace,
Will it be boring?
Thought of violence
To appreciate peace,
It is depressing.
Even without appreciation
Rose will still bloom,
Even if no one looks
Beauty is not doomed.
A bipolar world
May be the norm,
Not an aberration.
Life is a saga
Full of contradictions.

Love is a four letter word, so is pain

Letting go will ease the pain, they say

Only if leaving would have been easy

Value what you have, cherish today

Everything past is history, future fantasy

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To my dear readers, I will be out for few weeks on a trip and may not have good internet connections.  So till we meet again, Happy Holidays and here is to wishing you all a very happy New Year 2018 in advance.

I have not changed

I have not changed
I learned to live
With a long list
Of unachieved goals
Ghost of accepting
The inevitable
Things that I can’t change
Does not faze me now
Hiding behind a mask
Of my own making
Tolerating unseen pain
Is no longer acceptable
I am free of the shadows
Lurking behind the veil
Not defeated
My soul is free
Garbage of the past
Unburdened
Forward to future
I have not changed