The Path To Lonely Nights

Time stood still as I considered my options,
Standing on the square looking to my right and to my left,
I looked upfront and I looked back to from where I came,
There, standing on the crossroad I was perplexed.

Out come the preacher from my right and asked me to hold his hand,
Follow me and my scriptures and rest assured,
If you do as I say, have faith and not question,
Rest assured your path will be smooth all the way to heaven.

The politicians, blabbering all, came from the left, and
some did follow the preachers and came from the right,
Follow our paths, we shall lead and you will be alright,
New age and new dawn is coming and your future is bright.

From the front came the financier, greed written large on his face,
Give me your hard earned wealth, what you have,
It will be invested well and you shall be see it grow beyond belief,
Yellow brick road to Oz shall be littered with gold for your relief.

There was a cacophony behind my back and I saw a crowd,
Shouting at me they all asked me to get out of the way,
Each of them are running to their chosen future in a hurry,
Go back if undecided, shouted day, and come back another day.

I searched in vain for my friends to see where are they,
Alas, they have chosen their camps and going merrily on their way,
Pushed and pulled with fear of being ran over and killed,
There on the crossroad, looking for the path not taken, I stood still.

They called me atheist, they called me dumb, they called me names I dare not utter,
Leftist, rightist, unpatriotic, traitors, they threw the whole paint bundle at me,
And all I wanted to do was to listen to what my conscience said was right,
Alas, choosing the path not taken will lead me to many lonely nights.

With a heavy heart I moved on, standing still was not an option,
Up came another square on the path I have chosen,
There in the middle of the square a roaring party was going,
Making merry and feasting with glee and gaiety were preachers, politicians, financiers all,
A long line of lost souls lining up the crossroads to the square for the crumbs to fall.

Let’s Live and Let Live

May one find solace
In one’s faith,
And be blessed,
While I seek,
And find pleasure
In getting lost,
And then seek
some more
for the truth.
For each, own way,
The path leads,
To only one truth,
One day
We shall all leave,
So till then,

Let’s live and let live.

Moonbeams’ walk

Wrote this poem today morning and then translated to my mother tongue Assamese (Axomiya). Posting them in the same sequence here.

Have you seen
the moonbeams walk?
sometimes they
light your paths,
sometimes they
cast shadows,
sometimes they fill
your heart with joy,
sometimes they make
it bleed raw,
sometimes they get lost
in the glitter of city lights.
but when the moonbeams
walk into your heart,
keep it safe,
because on the darkest night
of your life,
you will need the moonbeams
to navigate,
and light your path
with fireflies.

জোনাকৰ খোজ

দেখিছানে কেতিয়াবা
জোনাকে তোমাৰ লগত
কৰা বিচৰণ?
কেতিয়াবা আলোকিত
কৰি তোমাৰ পথ,
কেতিয়াবা ছাঁয়াৰ বোলেৰে
আকে পট,
কেতিয়াবা আনন্দৰে
উজলাই হিয়া,
কেতিয়াবা হৃদয় কৰে
বিষাদে ভৰা,
আৰু কেতিয়াবা জোনাক
হেৰাই যায় চহৰৰ
ৰঙচঙীয়া সন্ধিয়াত।
কিন্তু কেতিয়াবা জোনাক
যদি সোমাই তোমাৰ অন্তৰত,
সাঁচি থবা আলফুলকৈ,
জীৱনৰ ঘনঘোৰ
অন্ধকাৰ দিনটোত,
উজলাব তোমাৰ পথ,
জোনাকী পৰুৱা হৈ।

A barren desert does not bloom

My mind seeks solace

In places I dare not tread

A wall of vain emotion

It can not penetrate

Silent is the suffering, the

Melancholy of solitude

As bleeding heart weeps

Nonchalantly go you

And I wonder when

Destination remained same

But the paths diversed

Small peebles became roadbumps

Perched earth hunker

For some soothing shade

Alas, an elusive rain cloud

Passing by

A barren desert

Does not bloom

Poles Apart

My sight fixed at the magnetic north

Dismayed to see yours follow your heart

Our compasses poles apart

Enjoy the peace of your ego and emotion

Let me be at peace

With my solitude

Not that I was craving loneliness

But our paths diverged

Memories Golden

No regrets, no complaints,
No looking back,
Only memories to
Keep me company
As I slowly move
Through my
Remaining days.

Every dawn
A new beginning,
Every sunset,
Gentle reminder
That final destination
Is not that far .

And at last
I am free to choose
Memories golden
That light
My path.

Forward only option

Life itself

Leaves no shadows

Chasing dreams

Ghosts of ambitions crushed

Create roadblocks

We trudge on

Hope eternal

Setting sun on the horizon beckons

Come on

Darkness not to be feared

Rubbles of all that we have touched

Lie behind

Path uncertain

Forward only option

Scattered Snippets

I wrote a Hindi poem couple of days back and shared with my friends, many of them whose mother tongue is Hindi.  As none of them came after me with an ax, I dared to translate it to English and post today.  I am also attaching the original Hindi poem here. I am sure some of my readers, whose mother tongue is Hindi, may find fault with my Hindi.  My apologies.

Scattered Snippets

O’ love, cruel oppressor mine,
Ask me not
Where leads my path.
Home, I left for you
Heaven or hell
Does not matter now,

Journey of Life

“seek and ye shall find”

I seek no more
Nor do I need
Answers to all
Questions left
Unanswered
Truth is same
For one and all
When the ultimate
Destination is known
Does it matter
The path one takes
Embrace the unknown
Take what comes
In its stride
There lies the pleasure
The thrill, the adventure
Of the journey of life

Silence is a Heavy Burden

Fellow travelers we
Shared path
Covered in silence
Lest words spoken
Send us hurtling
On our separate paths
Peace in solitude
Silence is heavy
Heart weighted down
By the burden
Of silence
Of words unspoken
Painful loneliness
We tread carefully
Peace preserved
Pay the price
Living a lie