A fond adieu

The Love…

 

Filling up completely

Then spilling over

Flowing, cascading

Torrential at times

Sometimes still

And then a gentle flow

 

From the bedrock of Being

The purity seeping in

The essence remaining

A loving, gentle glow

 

Though the physical may morph

The Love always is…

Flowing

Flowing

Flowing

 

As tears perchance

As laughter perhaps

As snippets of conversation recalled

As frames of pictures uncalled

As a favorite Diwali mithai

As handmade dresses in regular supply

As loving presence to continually multiply

As warm embraces unbounded

As video calls unplanned

As beliefs some unfounded

As discussions often ungrounded

As music and lyrics deciphered

As the gift of reading, (especially National Geographics!)

As curiosity to learn unfolding

As Love, in all its forms and expressions

Beyond thought, beyond impressions

 

Though the physical may morph

The Love always is…

Flowing

Flowing

Flowing

- A dedication to Mausi, 6 October, 2024

 

 

 

 

So full

 

So full

That I'm emptied of words

 

So empty

That joy overflows

 

So joyous

That tears spill over

 

So blurry eyed

That I can see clearly

 

It just is…

 

 

Such silence

That music abounds

 

Such sounds

That stillness is all around

 

Such stillness

That make me whole

 

A pause

That touches my soul

 

You are Me in Me as Me

I am You in You as You

Whole and Holy

In all eternity

 

Just as it is

 

- June 15, 2024

 

 

 

Picure: Greg Rosenke on Unsplash

The dewdrop

Forming mysteriously

Gathering up 

All it's courage

Laden with possibility

It coalesces together

 

Bringing

Pure intention 

Simply to

Give back to this Earth

Simply, to

Dissolve into 

The nothingness that

Gave it birth

 

Simply

To surrender

Lose all identity

In natural splendor

 

Simply disappearing

Ushering in

The blossoming

Of a new Hope

- June 6, 2024 

(from an old draft in archives from 2014 from Woodside, CA)

 

Picture: Aaron Burden on Unsplash

 

पड़ाव

 

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

बेलिहाज़ बेचैन बेईमान

बेकरार बेलगाम बेज़ुबान

बेफिक्र बेहद बेहतरीन

 

बेसब्र बेसमझ बेतरतीब

बेकसूर बेतकल्लुफ़ बेमुनासिब

बेरहम बेजोड़ बेहिसाब

 

बेवजह बेझिझक बेपरवाह

बेधड़क बेतुके  बेइंतेहा

बेबस बेकाबू बेगुनाह

बेसुध बेखबर बेपनाह

 

 मोहब्बातों के हसीन मुमकिन पड़ाव...

- Seattle, December, 2017

 

The Memory Lane

 

Photo by Benjamin Minnick (DJC)

Walking down

This path again

One I've often walked before

 

Not much seems to have changed

And yet,

Everything has

 

The cement has loosened up on the sidewalk

Buildings torn down in an entire block

Store closures hitting headlines

The emergence of different skylines

Even the road has new lines

Weather-marked creases

Of tire-tracks

Some cracks

My pace increases

I notice fresh, new

Face paint on the cross-walks

Newly paved in some patches

Yet not everything seems to have changed

I hear the same conversations in snatches

 

The chaperoning of a toddler on a scooter

The sledgehammers incessant clatter

The maids checking the meter

Ticketing an unsuspecting offender

 

The cement mixer churns

Like the hands of that master clock

That knows

How time turns

 

Inexorable

Intolerant

Incomprehensible

Infinite

 

And spread before me

New neighbors

New scaffolding

Incessant new building

Amid new flowers blooming

New leaves unfurling

 

The Reminder of

The humming-bird amid lavender

I smile big as I wander

 

Yes, time turns

Revealing new patterns

Revealing a new ‘ME’

Enchanted with Life you see

And yet, not much seems to have changed

Deep within

LET it be

Let IT be

Let it BE

- August 12, 2016

किश्तों में... | Life in installments

Photo Credit: Despina Galani on Unsplash

इक तरफ है चूल्हे कि आग  दाल के भगोने से लिपट रही  दूसरी ओर, बच के रोज़-मर्रा की दौड़-भाग  से, कुछ लिख पाने की आरज़ू  सुलग रही      किश्तों में कट रही है ज़िन्दगी	In one corner The flame embraces a pot of lentils In another Burns the desire to escape from this drudgery A desire for expression simmering gently   Yet Life seems to pass by in installments
कभी हैं काम के बोझ से लाचार  कभी छोड़ कर सब सोच-विचार  दूर किसी के पढ़ रहें हैं समाचार  खाते हुए परांठे और अचार   किश्तों में कट रही है ज़िन्दगी	At times, weighed down with work Thought patterns only to shirk Escaping into news from afar While eating some parathas with achaar   Installments are a part of this life
इक नज़र प्रकृति के सौंदर्य को निहारते हैं  दुसरे पल अध्-बनी तस्वीर को सँवारते हैं   बीच में कभी कपड़े तह कर लेते हैं  बेतरतीब पड़ी किताबें समेट देते हैं       किश्तों में कट रही है ज़िन्दगी	A look outside to appreciate the beauty of nature A look within to improve the emerging picture Spend time putting away the laundry Rearranging books and messy sundries   The installments continue to appear
ढूँढती हैं निगाहें बार बार  करतीं हैं ये बाहें इंतज़ार  किसी अपने की ही है इन्हें तलाश  वक़्त कभी कर लेता है इन्हें यूँ हताश	The eyes search and search again The arms await Yearning for a special someone As the wheels of time endlessly turn
तो लगता है जैसे  पल पल किसी ओर घिसट रही है ज़िन्दगी  साँसों में बंधी, सिमट रही है ज़िन्दगी  रिश्तों में बँट रही है ज़िन्दगी  किश्तों में कट रही है ज़िन्दगी	That it seems like Life is dragging on, moment by moment Tied to this breath, in confinement Being divided amid relationships Installments feeling like hardships
पर,  सीख चुके हैं अब कहनी  सबसे अपनी बातें बेबाक जुड़ चुका है खुद से नाता  प्रेम-भरा, नेक और पाक  इस पल ही मगर  सभी कुछ है एकदम ठीक-ठाक	However, The learning remains To express fully, openly The connection within established Love-filled, noble and holy The realization Of each moment's pure perfection
किश्तों में चाहे कट रही हो ज़िन्दगी  बड़ी रास आती है हमें  यही प्यारी-दुलारी ज़िन्दगी    - Feb 17, 2022	Despite the installments Finding delight and enjoyment In this amazing Life each moment   - May 26, 2024