Without and Beyond

Citizenry without papers,
A state without boundaries;
Morality without laws,
Economy without treasuries.

Language beyond grammar,
Literature beyond books;
Art beyond politics,
Beauty beyond looks.

Is this what we hope for?
A world beyond boxes;
A life not restricted
To mere paradoxes.

The rope that binds

A little to the right
A step more to the left
We keep moving away
From each other
Till the rope that holds
Us together
Finally breaks

Belief

​You say he is

Not a Muslim;

He says you are

Not a Muslim;

Which one of you

Should we believe?

Down memory lane

Slowly, slyly, quietly;
I walk down the dark alley –
The one that lies in the deep
Recesses of memory.

Who lives there all alone?
Playing an old gramophone;
Long lost songs from history –
From a book with pages torn.

The voices are low and weak,
And an old man tries to speak
Of a world that used to be
Bright and lovely; not so bleak.

“You moved ahead”, he tells me,
“Left us behind, your family;
We rot in here, all alone,
With no one for company.”

I run away from that place,
Ignoring him as he says,
“You will be back here again,
Now that you have seen my face.”

warm winter’s day

a warm winter’s day
the sun beats down upon men
who keep their heads down

The atheist’s lament

In passing away
You gave birth
To heaven and hell
In my head
You went to heaven
And I, hell!

Sunrise in a strange land

Sunrise in a strange land –
The day has just begun;
No one knows who you are,
You have no place to run.

You reach out to someone
And make a gesture true;
They look at you and turn
Their face away from you.

How did you get so far
Away from comfort zone?
Is this what you wanted –
Frightened and all alone?

You have to find a way
To be part of the place;
Keep that fear inside,
Become a friendly face.

When you can see them smile
And greet you everyday,
You know you have thrown
Your worst fears away.

Then its time to move on,
Leaving this place behind;
Searching for another
Sunrise in a strange land.

Outside the window

Outside the window –
A bird, looking in;
Does he feel sorry
For me, stuck inside?

Locked in an office,
Grounded by meetings;
Does the bird pity
One whose wings are clipped?

Indoors to indoors,
I shuttle each day;
The bird must wonder,
Who’s imprisoned me?

He flies from the ledge,
Spreading his wings out;
I get back to work
At my office desk.

Ambition

An incomplete love
That draws you closer
And yet moves away
With each step you take

An unending tale
That keeps you awake
With fresh hope at the
End of each chapter

An unplanned journey
That starts every day
Without a roadmap
Or destination

The clock never chimes

A passing fragrance,
A delicate glance;
Life in a moment,
Lost inside a trance.

Brush against someone,
Say a whispered word;
The moment’s the thing –
It flees like a bird

Distant memories –
Rolling back the times;
A peek at the past,
The clock never chimes.