Tiring Eyes

Tiring Eyes

Then the sky falls asleep.
In the heart of darkness
Timid, glow bug’s fire –
Glow on dinghy’s sides.
Distant strains or a hoot!
Some engine huffs home.
Flowers of roadside bush
Gather, with stories new.
Dusty, virgin flowers –
What stories do they say?

Then the Atlantis sinks
In space of apocalypse
And the empire melts –
On a generous dream,
Of a sparkling goblet,
Brimming pearl red –
Life or honey? Beheld
To my lips, my breath,
In hands of moonlight.
If need be, let it flow –
Along with my religion.
And I shall lay in peace,
And sink into the breast
Where river of blue wine flow.

And like these dreams,
The nights have gone by.

Now all those flowers
Swing silent – lifeless,
Their tired, withered bows
Reach to snatch the moon.

*****

Guilty of an Embrace

Guilty of an Embrace

And then I lost it once again.
Loss never came so precious.
Feelings haven’t touched yet.
Lips they speak heart’s words
And so it doesn’t matter why.

Love came in silence of dewdrops
Never knew when it left weeping.
It came again – it never knocked,
And again it left blind, unknown.

Many years have past since then,
Many days have melted in spring.
What difference does it make now
Now, that I can feel all over again.

Thirst to feel is satiated now.
Deserts turn back from oasis.
Heart of sand breathes again.
The lonely door stands – still.

All around, walls that stood,
Came crashing down in dust.
Anguish lay in a ruined heap.
A single streak of brightness,
Tore apart – descending mist.

*******

Once in a Lifetime

Once in a Lifetime
(English translation of lyrics of a Bengali Folk song by Bhaba Pagla)
You’ll not be back here again.
You’ll not live a human all over again.
You’ll not be back here again.

Be so very careful my dear mind – keep your guard.
Your time ticks further away and beckons the dark.
Across your heart stretches the endless sky.
Bhaba says, “Open your eyes to look onwards.”

You’ll not be back here again.
You’ll not live a human all over again.
You’ll not be back here again.

Having been here, whatever you might have done,
Chitragupt – the accountant has put on record.
Equations will be drawn by the Great One.
Before Him, to whom, none can fake.

You’ll not be back here again.
You’ll not live a human all over again.
You’ll not be back here again...
*****