Day and night

As the flame of the night
Flickers and dies
A steady glow spreads
Permeating through the horizon
Filling each crevice and crack
With that molten golden liquid
Of the day!
When the earth’s bowl
Is full with this honeyed golden fluid
Ripples of events
Dance across the surface
And ebb on the shores of uncertainty
Stay there till the lamp of the night
Casts its luminous glow

Pain

The pain is still green
The pain of her loss
Green at the edges
And greener at the stem
Slowly unfurling
Curled up memories
Pushing through buds of agony
Tendrils of her touch
Are still quivering
Glistening leaflets
Wet with dew of tears
Rooted firmly in the dark moist soil
Of life

The Maestro and his Bride

Through the fertile valley
Through the mighty mountains
Across the galloping river
Through the venerable pines
Reverberates your music
The dance of your strings
Each tiny strum
Brings the Sun closer
To the lips of eager mountains
Each flicker of peace
Makes the stars bloom with radiance
Every sound carves
An intricate pattern on the soul
Waves of awareness
Raise the being
Dust sparkles around you
Forms a silver halo
The cedar of your instrument
Is filled with content
As the evening parts
The night ushers in...
Your eternal bride

*Photo courtesy: Vikrant Chauhan

When mother braided hair...

A comb of memories
Runs across tresses of lifetimes
Tears oil them well...
Nourish them...
Remember those deft strokes
Unlocking each strand
Undoing each knot
Slowly you laboured
Daily, a ritual
A dance of your hands
As they deftly parted
And halved for once
Your hands run
To braid each part
Interlocking lives
Securing tender moments
One cross at a time
Criss cross cross criss
Your pleats grew
Out came a dainty ribbon to adorn
That thick braid
And secure it tightly
To last till eternity