Echoes of Yesterday

They left one by one
they had brought no baggage
they left with none.

I look around with detachment
little notes, now crumpled balls
coffee rings,
soiled mugs
echoes of laughter
those hurried hugs.

No one had promised to stay forever
no one had a plan
Those who came calling in spring
didn't stay to see the fall

So they left
one by one
my fair- weather,
carnival friends

Mishmash of Love

Love
walked us through
the mishmash
of unexpressed
emotions

Sometimes,
you encountered the maze
yet, at times
I ran into
a thick wall.

Hopeless souls
we two-

We carried on!

Wine-Kissed

Summer wine
swirled languidly
around her tongue.
He watched her eyes
turning into
stormy twilight

Outside
the dusk had left.
The peach smeared
across the sky
melded sensually
with silvery greys
 
His gaze but, lingered
over the hint of wine
sitting pretty
on her lips

Enchanted Dreams

The sun rays
sneak in
through the white lace curtains
and, kiss my
still sleepy eyes

I wake up
from a dream-
of you and me
and fields of
buttercups
and tulips;
Of roads
flanked by
lush green stretches
of fields.

I open my eyes but,
to sterile white walls
the hum of air conditioner
and the monotony
of life

All This While

Your promises

 Neither broken,

Nor met;

Suspended,

Trapped in a moment.

Frozen

My heart tells a story

To my soul each evening

Some memories re-live

By no will of mine

I am defeated by my own

Through the tests of time

I had been stalling

All this while

All this while!

Till Eternity

I often build castles in the air
 knowing well
 that you would add foundations under them

 You endorse my dreams as your own
 Fight my battles with every breath'
  My fears know for sure
 that you have built a cacoon around me
 and your promises will guard me
 till eternity

Bouganvillea

you and i
and a long summer
stretched between us

the bougainvillea
blooms in wild abandon
protesting the norm
that wants to tie it
...tie me!
you are my wide, calm sky
embracing my
defiance
but loving it
nevertheless

Alone in your City

Alone,
in your city
the roads and sidewalks
ask me, where do I wander.
What do I seek?

The pubs and cafes
beckon me
I turn my back!
Coffee has lost all meanings
Its froth and,
my exuberance
met a hopeless
death,sometime back

Your city is so painstakingly
familiar,
Ah! achingly so.
Only that
it is a tad hazy now!

Lost Love

What happened to our love!

I see it hovering around 
brushing past us
and hiding between the crevices 
of our assumptions
Or, sometimes, breathing hard 
under the piles of indifference
Yet sometimes, caught miserably
between our egos
stung by our words,
hurt!

our language failed us
I didn't understand yours
you misunderstood mine
Our words got us here
in the abyss of silence-
deep, dark and hopeless

Is it spring already!?
you expect me to pick flowers
All I see is weathered leaves!
Autumn sings woefully
in the recesses of
my poor heart