mylight

 

"Moonlight,

#Starlight,

Candlelight,

Limelight,

Highlight,

Alight,

Ulight..."

"Ulight, son?"

"U my light."

"I love you, son."

"Lovelight."

"Ok, time to sleep now."

"Goodlight, Pa Pa."

"Goodnight, mylight."

#vss365

BREATHE

 

Betray fears,

   Revive hope,

      Embrace love,

         Accept flaws,

      Tease a bit,

   Hate all hate,

Enjoy life.

#breathe

#vss365

looking at you

 

I watch her #breathe, each a gentle wave erasing careless nothings on a sandy beach. Her long hair like weed or tentacles a blanket over me. Her eyes closed, she traces on my chest an elaborate calligraphy, mouthing ‘I love you’ silently. I watch, listen. I remember. 

#vss365

Borrowed from my short story 'Looking At You':

https://justoneavatar.blogspot.com/2012/10/looking-at-you.html

Sue Zed

 

"That's Sue Zed point. They have now put Barry Cade there. It became too popular. Stupid Forest Department!" the driver-cum-guide said. "But, don't worry. Try the next spot with the two pillars. If it is not cloudy, you can see the way down from those #hills."

#vss365

to be Swapna

 

College hostel near the desert. Hot day. 

His long hair hid most of his face. He was reading my poem 'The Story of Swapna'. He muttered, "She was like a #beacon...I want to be your Swapna."

We did not talk or be together after that.

That way, he was like my Swapna. 

#vss365

first time

 

It's not easy being a single dad.

"My first time, your mother stood outside. He gave it in a black cover." 

The old pharmacist reached for the regular.

"The #cherry-flavoured. XL. Ridges and all."

"What...Who is he?" 

"I'm a lesbian."

Her mother too joked like that. 

#vss365

road less traveled

 

I went to Heaven. 

At check-in, Mr You-Know-Who asked me: do you want to be with your mother-in-law, your ex-boss or your leader? I asked: how about Hell? He said: Sorry, closed for renovation.

I took the road less travelled and returned to Earth.

duet

 

"I hate this #duet between Delta and Omicron."

"People are too docile now."

"It's hurting our arms industry a lot."

"Let's go to war, President."

"Will you or should I intrude into some place, President?"

"How many should we sacrifice?"

"This duet will hide the numbers."

#vss365

fallen

 

Look at him –

The fallen little bird,

should I care or walk away?

Shall I watch him grow?

Proud and a little selfish,

how he shall love me!

He and I will part.

Will he then #fall prey

to the unloving?

Let him slip away.

Let him know not

future despair!

#vss365

Liar!

 

“Ha! We girls used to call you the triple-O, opinionated, obnoxious and obstreperous.”

"A guy giving more than one O to a girl can’t be all bad.”

“Sir, your jokes are stuck in the sixties.”

“You enjoyed my jokes then.”

“#Liar!”

“Look who’s talking of lying.”

“What did I lie about?”

“You told me you were married. Made me wonder if I had made a pass at you.”

“You make a pass? You were too busy being absolutely revolting.”

“Then, why did you tell me that?”

“I was practising.”

“For what?”

#vss365

From my short story 'The Liars':

https://justoneavatar.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-liars.html

reminisce

 

My wife & I were at the amusement #arcade.

"Pree!"

"Sree!"

They hugged, reminisced.

"Nutty," the lady behind Sree said. 

"Shake," I replied

We scowled together.

"Flashback over?" we said when they were back.

"Back to the present."

No future for Nutty Shake, we thought. 

#vss365

Borrowed from my short story 'When They Met':

https://newnonentities.blogspot.com/2021/03/when-they-met.html

siren

 

Was it my looks, my call,

Made me a #siren, at first;

Did I seem domesticated,

I waited around them;

Did they (I) forget I was wild,

Harm I could for some whim;

Why didn't I fly away,

Hit with a stick, burnt alive;

Them in paradise, us of

Lesser god wait in exile.  

#vss365

marital r@pe

 

"Congrats, Judge Indira. You have the first case of marital r@pe."

"Thank you, Chief Judge Karun. But, should a woman judge handle the first case?"

"Why not? Haven't you read the case file?"

"Let me read, one moment...OmiLord!"

"Yes, strange one, no?"

"The hubby was coerced to engage in foreplay each time."

"Yes, the wife insisted on that. She does not dispute that."

"OmiCron, I have it. Please give it to another judge, Chief Judge."

#unpopular

the same

 

"Susan?"

"#Daisy."

"Oh!"

"Yupp."

"Is there any way to make out which of you twins is which?"

"Nope."

"So, yesterday...?"

"That must have been Susan."

"I love you."

"What happened yesterday?"

"The same."

"Oh!"

"Yupp."

#vss365

the fight I fight

 

No one nowhere knows,

The fight I fight to stop fights,

The moves to move more.

arranged affair

 

Talking of the big #leap, there is no leap more scary than an arranged marriage.

It was like an extended job-interview. I had to probe and spot the tell-tale signs. Being stuck with the wrong spouse is rather like being stuck with the wrong employee. 

#vss365

Borrowed from my short story 'Arranged Marriage':

https://justoneavatar.blogspot.com/2011/03/arranged-marriage.html

 

love affair

 

I've to decide if I want to conclude this love-affair with a marriage. 

It's nice to think things through before the final #leap.

She knows how I discard my underwear. I know how she discards hers. It's a good thing to know. I know I am trying to skirt the main issues.

#vss365

Borrowed from my short story 'Love Marriage':

https://justoneavatar.blogspot.com/2011/03/love-marriage.html

prophecy

 

Prophecies of Notadamus, 3rd ed., XXIII.6.(iv)

At the #midnight hour (IST) on 2.2.22 [1], sex will cease to exist.

Crime rates, use of internet will drop. Social media will thrive. Politics and religion will die [2].

[1] Earlier ed., 6.6.66.

[2] Bureaucracy will not.

#vss365

from kiss of death

 

#Midnight. The sharp blade of a razor is against her jugular. Her husband's bound and gagged.

"Your wife can save you if she wants, she should kiss me well."

She looks at her husband. She can see him begging her.

She gives an air-kiss near the intruder's left cheek.

#vss365

Borrowed from my short story 'Kiss of Death':

https://gatheredthoughts-swapna.blogspot.com/2010/02/kiss-of-death.html

a woman for her

 

I was a woman for her. In calls and letters, I was Anila, not Anil. True, deceptive. If caught? Lynched separately, maybe. We didn't want #serenades to feed fantasies. Not friends nor lovers. A lingering touch. Met once. Before she married and went behind veils forever.

#vss365

mixed identity

 

"Victim's ID says Manish; a chain, Rahman; fingerprints match an Alex; the DNA of a Sindhu. Even when it looks like a crushed #watermelon," sub-Insp Anu said.

"That's our database manager," Insp Shokie said. "From the 35th floor, on the rocks, shaken & stirred. Why?"

#vss365

exposure

 

"Which book took you to puberty, Dev?"

"Harold Robbins' The Pirate...Ratman?"

"Too late...Godfather, Sonny's my man. Sukuman?"

"Atlas Shrugged."

"That's perverse, with Ayn Randy! Rohit?"

"Archies..."

"#Comics? How old?"

"Eight. Big Ethel, she.."

"Should tell your wife."

#vss365

Borrowed from my short story 'Exposure':

https://justoneavatar.blogspot.com/2011/12/exposure.html

rare intelligence

 

It's the #glimmer 

Of rare intelligence

That troubles me so.

Without that, 

It would be just 

Chaos and mayhem,

Hate and violence, 

Bigotry and perversity.

So easy to comprehend.

It's love and care

And liberal curiosity

And freedom and equality

That troubles me so.

#vss365

hallucinations

 

Hallucinations,

Images of the past mar

present and future.

gave more

 

I gave more to my #infatuations

Than to my love. 

The former taught me

About life and choice.

My love did not do much.

Just loved. And I live.

#vss365

amorous

 

The #amorous strip,

Discover mundane routine.

How fast seasons change.

Dirty Old Man

 

“Dirty old man!”

“Now, what did I do?”

“#Amorous on Monday, at noon!”

“Grand coming from you.  Who couldn’t keep her hands to herself on any day?  That too, in office.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you, my sexy one.”

“If only this wasn’t spiritual…even virtual would…”

“Hush, my love…”

#vss365

Can Can't

 

I : Here

I can't go to the place I love,

Even though our haunts are gone.

I can feel your lips, your breasts,

Even though it's another's.

I can be faithful but I can't,

Even though there's no reason to be so.

II: There

You can see me everywhere but you can't,

A reflection in the subway, another homeless.

We can pretend to care, say the right stuff,

But we can't be true once, to anything.

We can demolish and build, Nature's way,

We can't preserve life and dignity, that's unnatural.

a tattoo on souls

 

Wrote my last poem

On your body & mine,

A tattoo on souls,

Unique & everlasting.

Proud #perspicacity,

Of every fool before 

& after living the lie,

Avoiding reality.

The scream within’s gone,

The rage & tears too,

No thought, right or wrong, 

The fight’s over for love.

#vss365

haunted house

 

I went to a haunted #house.

The  door creaked,

the cat did go meow,

the stench of death

followed Monsters Inc.

And, in the dining hall, 

headless staff  

in topless gear served:

A bunch of politicians

Speaking the truth, 

Thinking of doing good.

My hair went white!

#vss365

Yes. Me Neither.

 

“I never dream of happy #memories.”

“Me too.”

“Have you ever dreamt of me?”

“Yes.”

“Me neither.”

“Are you trying to be Gainsbourg?”

“What was your dream?”

“You and my hubby…”

“Bloody hell.”

“Yeah, I chose you in that.”

#vss365

graveyard for memories

 

The Family Court is the graveyard for #memories. Couples who dreamt of tomorrows together wait to be free of yesterdays, and even today. The story could have ended differently. For the lucky, there will be an epilogue. For others, the prologue will remain incomplete.

#vss365

focus

 

"My beloved, do you remember the day we met?

Your dark #curly hair straying 

Across your beautiful face,

Those tear stained cheeks 

Glistening like moonlit waters,

In your..."

"My friend had curly hair, not me!"

"O ye gals! Why do you focus on the wrong specifics?"

#vss365

question with(out) answers

 

"Tai Chi 1st step. Palms facing thigh. Feet apart. Relax. Think of something #tranquil."

"Can I think of my love?"

"Good question. 2nd step..."

"You didn't answer."

"Question needing answer is not tranquil."

"She is a question with no answers."

"2nd, plz?"

"Need answer?"

#vss365

love is a fractal

 

"Love's a fractal. More I zoom in, the same I find."

“Fractal is a curve that reproduces itself to #infinity. Romanesco cauliflower is a fractal. Not love."

"You are unreasonable however I probe."

"Probe further, quit talking, idiot! Talking of fractals before O...oh!"

#vss365

renewal

 

I was late for the #renewal of vows. She was absent.

Why is he renewing that which he never took, she must have thought.

Then...

On a small makeshift stage, a Titanic for her, a priest and I. The vows in a foreign tongue, she and I said Yes & No for the wrong stuff.

#vss365