Kuch Aysi…

Agar khayaal na hota aapko ab bhi

To shayad khayalo mein aaj aap na hote

Aankho me aapki aaj jo numi na hoti

To shayad ashqo ko hum bhi na rok paate

Honth yeh agar na kapkapate ab bhi

Zuban aapki na ladkhadati agar

To na hoti koi pyaas; na milte hume alfaaz

Nazam kaha koi likh pate hum

Wafa se aapki na kabhi shikayat thi hume

Us par to khud se tha zyada yakeen

Darte thea to aapki shiddat se

Uss masoom ibadat se

Namunasib si lagti thi unki parchaiyi mein

Yeh aam si insaaniyat humari

Khamiyon se humari na kiya kabhi bare

Unhe to aapne seekha nahi karna tasleem

Shikwe to thea lekin hazaar

Seecha jinhe har din, har saal

Inn chand khoobiyon ki bhadakti lau mein

Wajood ko apne karke takhreeb

Aur kayam aysa kiya woh bay-aaib aks

Sajdaa ke naadan rango say

Ki na chahte bhi aysa chadha nashaa

Raste to judah ho gaye

Lekin manzil hum bhi usse bana baithe

Nahi to aaj khayaloon mein aap na hote

Na hote aankho mein yeh chuppe ashq

Beh jaate yeh beghairat, aakrosh ke ek pal mein

Mitt gayi hoti aapki woh muskurati yaad

Par aap se karna; hai karna khud se nafrat

Kya kare; kuch aysi humne bhi aapse mohabbat ki hai

Wind and stones

The Perfect Poet Award from the Poetry Palace

There lie dark, gray stones

In the rubble of matchless peers

Creased from end to end

They speak of the lands they roam

Tell tales of how it all became

Their tongue is the dust of life

Accumulated through the pouring rain

Stiffened by the heat that then came

Beginning from a time of time’s choosing

Their sight is all that has been seen

In the light of the sun’s piercing rays

And the moon at night, a mere reflection

The truths its beauty claims, a cunning deflection

There flies the wind in the empty sky

Its wings stretched wide; far and fair

With limbs so supple, so pristine white

All that is needed is a meager sight

A tryst that promises with sheer delight

For her eyes of searing sapphire

Burning bright as an ageless fire

As she soars above the stony litter

Imploring them all with a tale unheard

Dispelling the myth about not desiring desire

To witness with a heart uninhibited

And discover that the unknown is within their remit

Her song, alas, is a mournful tune

The sound of waves crashing against the shore

Falling away to a million pieces, worthless foam

Free, yet, they say, she is to fly

A gift so burdensome; yet unparallel

For it may yield sorrow, failure’s pain

But it offers the joy of that one glorious luxury

To see through the seams of unending allegory

Her tears, thus, never shall we grieve

That, she pleads, we shall not believe

For all the joy that they vow shall appear

As are we, so is she bound by this torment

Never to rest, even for a carefree moment

In that heart so pure; yet guilty of despair

More or less…

You can run with the wind

With such grace and such ease

These games that you play

Never honey do they cease

Till you leave me distant and breathless

And I stall and say please

Then you crawl in so close

Slip in quiet through these sheets

Place your hand on my heart

Warn the guilty to confess

So I say that I love you

And ask if you do too

Roll away with a kiss

Girl, all you say is more or less

When you bunch up your hair

I watch them glide through your fingers

A smile covers my lips

And for a moment there it lingers

Then you toss them aside with your casual flair

Say they never fall right in a sigh of despair

So I hold you in my arms; say you’re perfect to me

If you see what I see, you’re what beauty can be

Slip away here you go

Say I am a blinkered Romeo

So I tell you that I love you

And ask if you do too

Girl, you walk away with a kiss

All you say is more or less

Now the dawn of our days

Is folding into dusk

Still see you rise bright and early

Do all that you must

Pack the kids off to class

Drag me off of our bed

I just rest low and lazy

Watch you paint your lips red

You then sit by the side

Count the reflection of lines

But the foolish mirror can’t see

That’s the joy of our times

Girl, with you I have lived

Through the pleasures of Eden

So as I hold your hand

We can both feel the needing

Then you tell me you love me

And ask if I still do

With a wink and a kiss

All I say is more or less…

The west wind

There’s a chill in the air

The lights are bright outside

A single window’s open

But the blinds are drawn

We know the season’s changing

Can see the winter’s dawn

The moon’s shy up in the sky

Behind these clouds withdrawn

So when you’re holding my hand

Breathe a sigh so content

Say the world can hold on

As we live in this moment

But these troubles now darling

Flow like the west wind so wild

Shake us up; tear us down

Rip our roots from the ground

You hold hard; you hold long

As they swing us far and wide

Till we bleed each other

Out of this easy, childish hide

You say now I don’t know you

I ask tell me what’s true

Are we hunting for a clue?

Or just redeeming old dues

Now there’s a life that we know

And there’s one that we feel

They said with time we’d grow

So why can’t we say what’s real?