Glowworms Reunion

From the hills, moist plains, and riverside 

Glowworm beetles embarked on a journey

Towards a garden for their annual reunion 

To share their stories and enjoy the nectar

They left behind females as they can't fly 

It's like the bike riders' gangs on their trips 

They glowed intermittently in a  pattern

On that new moon night, they're the stars 

On land buried under the pitch darkness 

They reached the paddy fields and stuck 

To rice plants resembling firesticks glow

They rested in a big tree creating an aura 

Of Christmas lights during the spring night

They flew over the river creating art forms 

Of light patterns on the water with delight 

They reached the garden and selected

Flowers to enjoy the nectar they cherished 

They remembered their friends who lost

Their lives under the beaming streetlights 

Their mates who left life after delivering 

Larvae as per a strange tradition of theirs

While they returned through dark paths 

Towards the safety of their homelands 

Waving goodbyes until the next reunion

This poem is inspired by the glow worms I see during my late evening walk along riverside. Image taken from Bored Panda .Thank You :) 

A Vibrant Shebeen

They went to a she been

To drink some cheap liquor 

In company of town's rogues

Singing the Irish pub songs

Until they lose their senses

They wore the Irish pride with

Shamrock badges on the sleeves

A lady set the stage for tap dancing

The aim set was to dance after each drink, 

 To win a gift for St Patrick's day

But the cache was that they cannot fall

They were warned to forfeit if they can't

Else they've to pay more for every drink

The visage of that lady attracted one   

among them, He wanted to lose to the

magic of forever of her, He drank and 

danced and drank and danced and drank   

and danced and  passed out! The lady   

laughed and clapped! She had a bet on    

him falling after three drinks!

A poem based on word prompts from #BraveWrite #Flexvss #WIPWordSearch. 
#WordSoupDaily #CrowCalls #ProseInBloom#atreyasverse . Image taken  from Unsplash.

An Adventure In The Forest

 

Let’s go for an adventure

In the lush forest of pine trees

With bare essentials to survive

Walking along the ancient trails

Left behind by the local tribals

Let’s find a safe place to set up

A hut for shade from the rain

And barrier against the animals

With tree branches and mud

Thatched roof with the grass

A fireplace to remain warm

A rocket stove for cooking

Let’s sleep with the warmth

Of each other and fireplace

Let’s wake up to a new dawn

Amidst the tall trees of history

Let’s walk through the fog

Towards the wild vineyard

And taste the mist from the

Wild grapes before the sunrise

Let’s find the lake to swim

When the water is still cold

Collect pristine water from stream

For brewing wild berries for tea

Let’s forage in the wild for safe

Fruits, mushrooms, and roots

Hunt some small animals too

And cook them while sun sets

We can enjoy the dinner with

Fermented wild berries and grapes

We can enjoy a memorable spring

Amidst the nature, away from city

We could drench in the rain and

Play like kids, with nobody to bother

We could explore the hills and valleys

We could make love in the bed of

wild flowers, enjoying the wild fragrance

We could find wild honey to sweeten our

Brews and sparkle on our foggy mornings

Let’s build a tree shelter for safety

To escape from wild animal attacks

Let’s enjoy the wild life for somedays

A lonely world to keep falling in love

 

 This is the 400th post on this blog. This poem is inspired by the prompt from #MadVerse. 

Padmatheertham Pond

 A pond in the city center 

Having spiritual association with  

Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple 

The richest temple in India

By the means of hidden treasures 

Built during the 13th or 14th century

From a small natural spring-fed pond 

It was expanded into a bigger pond 

By the King Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma

Pond received water from the Killi river for some years

Now it relies on its old aquifers 

It is spruced by the renovation

of walls and bathing ghats

New lamps and a tiled road on the left

Facing the Padmanabha Swamy Temple 

Changed the look of the pond itself 

The smaller temples in the perimeter 

Draw people for devotion

Evening fills the pondside with 

devotees, locals, and the city dwellers 

I used to meet my friends 

At one end of the pond

Facing the waters and shared 

happiness and sorrows over the years

Enjoying the light breeze from the pond

I remember a man being drowned 

In the pond by a man on live television

I remember a giant inflated sculpture of

Lord Vishnu laying over the serpent 

On the pond during a festival 

The visual of the old clock 

Getting wooden goats to bang heads 

When the time reaches the hour mark

It is still exciting during special occasions

We used to feed the big fishes in the pond 

During our evening hangouts 

It remains a dream to enter the bathing ghat

As it is restricted 

But big rats used to hang out there 

I've seen the pond fully drained once 

But didn't notice any treasure beneath the mud

A lot of devotees come during the Sabarimala season

And they hangout on the walls of the pond

A myth tells that there is an underground tunnel

That connects the pond with the sea 

When the temple is lit with a hundred thousand lamps

The reflection on the pond is mesmerizing 

This is an iconic temple pond in my city Thiruvananthapuram. The image is taken from the Stock. 

Happy Hours In The Sky

Lightyears away 

There's a constellation 

of alcoholic gas 

A space brewery

Spread across millions of miles 

With a bit of dust 

It's a dreamland in sky for the boozers 

It gives hopes about life formation 

In planets with methanol and other 

Life inducing molecules 

Methanol is not safe to drink 

Those wishing to drink heavenly booze

Should take filters with them 

To enjoy happy hours in the sky 

I hope some boozers will reach there 

Someday to steal the heavenly booze

The alcoholic rings with dust around 

The planets give insights into the 

Formation of planets from the stars 

There's a comet that has spilled

Millions of gallons of ethanol and sugar

Gives hope to finding booze self-sufficient 

Comets for happy hours life 

I dreamed of a planet with alcoholic

clouds lagoons with liquid alcohol 

It has nice caves to live with gas masks 

Big craters to hold the water after 

Splitting it from the alcohol 

Inside the pressurized enclaves 

We can have happy hours with 

Planetary booze and leafy veggies 

From the vertical gardens 

When earth becomes poisonous to live 

Living in planetary colonies become

A necessity to survive 

A poem inspired by the discovery of alcoholic gases and a comet spilling alcohol he space. Image from India Times. Thank you :)

A Blank Mind

 

A blank mind 

With no memories of the past

No knowledge of the present 

Lost in thoughts 

Most of the time 

Now a homeless man

At a bus stop shelter

Talking aloud alone 

Screaming at the travelers

Living a life of a strange man 

In a city, he came for something

He had a long beard and long hair  

He wore trendy outfits, but now unclean 

No masks to wear during the pandemic 

Living at the mercy of  nearby restaurants

He kept water filled in leftover bottles 

He slept on the bench at the bus stop 

Be it rain or humid day, he remained there 

He must have come from a far away place

He talks in a strange language

Not belonging to the region  

His family might be waiting for his return 

Did he lose his mind over a heartbreak?

Or due to a head injury? 

At night, he becomes the guardian 

Of the bust stop shelter 

Even stray dogs don't mess with him 

Even the Police didn't mind his presence 

He survived there for so many months 

And then he vanished without a trace 

I wonder if he got back his memory

Or his family traced him for good 

Image from Unsplash. Picture taken by Patrick Robert Doyle .Thankyou :)

Falling In Love

A pretty smile from her teenage 

That stayed in my heart secretly 

As we grew into close friends 

Spending hours sharing little things 

Like happiness, incidents and secrets 

I realised she looked up to me faithfully

I felt a spark in my heart about her 

Her smile over the years became prettier

My mind couldn't stop thinking about her 

Her way of telling things first to me with 

So much excitement made me feel good 

Conversations with her became special 

Butterflies flew in my tummy whenever 

I heard her voice rumbling her things

I used to wait for her monthly call eagerly 

Sneaking away from her college or home

The calls became frequent over the time 

I couldn't tell her that I fell in love with her 

As her best friend,I couldn't let her down

I wrote many poetries about her secretly 

She let me flirt with her on valentines day 

I felt an intense bond thriving between us

Without uttering anything about love 

She became romantic and we became 

Mad lovers separated by the time zones 

She showered me with so much affection

Her husky voice became my morning light 

I shared my poetries about her, she liked 

I saw a life with her closer to a beach 

She invited me to her city to move ahead 

This poem is based on prompt "Describe what it was like to fall in love".

A Recurring Nightmare

 

Days after my father's demise 

I started seeing him in my dreams

It brought some relief to my heart

But it turned into a nightmare soon

I ran around to find an ambulance

And taking him to the hospital 

Only to be told that he was brought dead

I saw it again in my native place 

I had to run all the way to a junction 

To get a mini-ambulance 

To take my dad to a hospital

Again I Was told that he was brought dead

I started losing sleep 

I was living in a loop of a recurring nightmare 

That took me to the night where 

I struggled to get a vehicle on time

To take my dad to the hospital 

Where I was told, it was five minutes too late

I've seen the motionless body of my dad 

My mind felt guilty for being irresponsible

Not acting briskly enough to save my dad 

For nearly four months 

I kept seeing the nightmare and kept waking up 

In the middle of the nights 

I felt it was real and I was trying my best 

But every time I failed 

Until I tried a meditation 

Suggested by a friend 

I started getting good sleep 

And I stopped seeing that nightmare 

A Nightmare

A leaky dilapidated temple                                                                                                                                         

With mystic flowered deities                                                                                                                                                

Worshipped by an old priest                                                                                                                                         

Amidst the debris of past sins                                                                                                                                              

While the magic in the rain                                                                                                                                            

Showered precious stones                                                                                                                                         

Poisonous snakes came to                                                                                                                                                        

Be the guardians of the stones                                                                                                                                       

The talking sidewalks of Aragona                                                                                                                                       

Whispered about the treasure in the temple,                                                                                                                                     

But they were scared of the snakes, A greedy                                                                                                                                           

evil man rubbed ash offering from a demon,                                                                                                                                           

That offers powers to scare away the snakes,                                                                                                                                           

He entered the temple with a spear                                                                                                                                             

That emitted fire and he threw ash at snakes,                                                                                                                                           

They snarled away towards a creek,                                                                                                                                             

To quench their burns, He began collecting the stones,                                                                                                                                              

And they became mere coals, catching fire,                                                                                                                                                

He became a flame to dream a wake of death,                                                                                                                                              

He woke up in the creek drenched at dawn                                                                                                                                                

He didn't see any snake, He went to the temple                                                                                                                                                

and saw the priest worshipping                                                                                                                                

There was no sign of fire or precious stones

The poem based on word prompts #InstantEternal #turningthephrase #atreyasverse #wordsoupdaily

#moonmystic #vssdaily #ConverStory#WIPWordSearch #FlexVSS. Image from shutter stock.

One More Yesterday

I wish one more yesterday 

If I could, with you 

To walk along the Marina beach

Where I wished to propose you 

Holding your hands like lovers 

Without any undisturbed winds 

To hear your husky voice calling me

darling and sharing your thoughts 

I wish to see your colourful smile 

For one more time to seal it in my heart 

And walk away towards the grim sunset

Without saying goodbyes and any tears 

I want to purge the memories with you 

In the poems, I wrote for you years ago 

I know that you have read each of them 

I'll light a lamp with ounces of  whiskey 

Like a dark love burning bright at its end 

A poem based on word prompts #moonmystic #atreyasverse #ConverStory and  #ThePush. The image taken from Unsplash. Thank You :)

A Lost Infant

 A lost infant 

A lost bundle of dreams

Weaved during ten months 

Inside the mother's womb

About a lifetime of raising a child 

From the first scan of the movement

To the first  kick on the belly 

Listening to the sweet little things 

With an ear on the belly 

The selection of a sweet name

The shopping for welcoming baby

The decoration of the room and cradle 

A long wait for seeing the face

A long wait for seeing the smile 

A long wait to hear the first words

A long wait to see the first walk 

A long wait to play with the god's gift 

It's a short-lived joy

As the child left this world 

Too early 

It's a pain hard to heal

The tears of the bereaved  mother

The broken heart of a silent father 

 Consoling each other in silence 

Words can't console their loss 

As the image of their breathless infant

Haunt them as nightmares in 

Sleepless nights and hopeless days 

With all their hopes for a lifetime

Buried inside a small casket 

In the graveyard of sorrows 

With wishes for a cradle in heaven

This poem is written in solidarity with my friends who lost their children too early. Some inside the womb itself. 

Once Upon A Dream

 

Once upon a dream

I saw a pretty girl in my life

Unseen before and unknown

But she wandered into my house

Like my best friend for years

And a neighbour for decades

She had shared so many things

Like I am her secret keeper

She watered the plants inside my house

Whispering something to them with a smile

She went outside to buy something

After telling me to wait for her to return

Was she the friend I craved in my childhood?

To play, with me instead of my imaginary friends

Or was she the reflection of my best friend's friend?

Who used to pick up my calls when he was not around

I was curious about her, but I'd never seen her face

I wonder if my mind created imagery of her from the voice!

I woke up in the morning with questions about the strange girl

But I couldn't recollect her face again in my mind, though I tried

My friend, an artist, listened to the impressions I had about her

She made a sketch of this girl with an angelic face

She termed this dreamy girl, the angel of my life

I looked for girls with the face as in the sketch

My girlfriends didn't have that face

I've lost that sketch along the way

But that angelic face is still in mind

I wonder if that dream was a hint

About someone, I will meet in future

I'm still waiting for that

Girl to show up somewhere

Someday!

This poem is based on a word prompt from #loveletters . Image from Pixabay. Thank You :)

A Lone Walker

I am a lone walker

After the sunset 

Along a tiled riverside pathway 

With the company of the silent river 

Under the canopy of plantains and trees 

Guided by the moonlight and lights from homes

Without the hustles of walkers and runners 

It is a realm I crave in big cities for a walk

With crickets from bushes on the sides 

Making noise along with the birds 

The reeds wave along with the wind 

Lonely streetlamps are a relief 

In pitch dark areas I see mirages 

Of individuals looking at the river

I could hear the conversations of 

People enjoying drinks in the evening 

The movements in the bushes scare at times

As the bund used to be a haven of snakes 

I have seen mongooses wandering around 

I see the imageries on the ripples of rivers 

Created by the lights from the other shore 

Seeds of poems give my mind a workout 

Sometimes, the mind tells me interesting tales

The music from temples on the other shore 

Spruces mind at the end of the pathway 

At times, I see men sitting on the stone benches 

Enjoying the peace of evening in darkness 

The walk itself is an affirmation to see

Sunrise on dawn someday 

As I remain chained to the sleeping pill 

My long walks in the past drove me to 

Move to other cities with a belief 

I am walking with an aim 

To escape from here!

This poem is based on the seed I had in mind while walking in the evening. I indeed walk when there is nobody in the path. Image from the Unsplash. 

Time Brought You To Me

Time brought you to me 

I wonder if you will realise 

You're fluttering like a butterfly 

With the wings of lovely words 

I was lost in another dark world 

Until I saw the glimpse of your smile 

Until I read the imagery of your poems 

I know, time will take you away from me 

So, I will cherish every word you write 

I will dive into the sceneries you create 

And write my own sceneries from that 

Like a chain of poems in a collaboration 

I hope you will read them and laugh at 

The silliness of my wordplay, silently 

I am not tempted to chase a wild deer 

It's pretty to see it run on meadows free

I will read your words in my lonely nights

I hope I will dive into some nice dreams 

Image from Unsplash 

Decision

Make sure you clear up your mind,
Decide what is best for your future.
Do you see me as part of that journey?
If not, prepare me for your departure.
I will pack all the memories and dreams;
You can keep all the gifts and moments.
You'll still be in my heart as spring of past.
Let's walk away without uttering a word;
Without hugs, kisses, and sad goodbyes!
If you want to go on a journey with me,
Let go of all those dark fights we had,
All the tears and nightmares we shared,
And all those hurtful words we hurled.
Let's make a new start for our lost love!
Let's travel through new places to build                                                                                                  new dreams, experiences and memories.                                                                                                Let's promise to hold on to each other!

A poem based on word prompt #FromOneLine. Image from Unsplash. Thank you :)

Vishu: The Harvest Festival

 Vishu is a festival that evokes 

Memories from the childhood 

During the school holidays 

While I stayed at my Uncle's home

We used to collect golden shower flowers 

To place in front of a picture of Lord Krishna 

Along with rice, fruits, coconut, jasmine flowers 

and other auspicious items at night 

That is believed to make lord pleased 

In the morning, Aunt used to wake me up

And keep my eyes closed to take me to the

room to show the first view of Krishna and other 

Auspicious items for praying for a good year ahead

Then Uncle and Aunt gave coins as part of the elders

Giving younger ones the money for a prosperous year ahead

I and cousins used to go to my relatives' and neighbours houses

To collect coins as part of the custom and we used to save them

It used to be our pocket money for the year as kids 

The  scrumptious meal and dessert payasam 

Those images are still memorable 

It is hard to get golden shower flowers now 

And it's been a while since I celebrated Vishu 

I felt like a kid when my Mum's friend gave me 

coin and a currency note along with milk today

Wishing me a prosperous year ahead 

I felt like I saw Lord Krishna in her

My Mum too gave money like every year

I remember giving coins to the kids in the alley 

On a Vishu, when I was in Pune 

Their happiness was pure bliss 

The farmers that harvest rice, fruits and 

vegetables are the real heroes of this festival 

Images from Dreams Time and Alamy

A Fireplace Romance

 

A winter night at your place

When the snow is falling like rain

Let's become shenanigans of love

Beneath the disordered clocks

Finding the warmth in

A bed of roses for fireplace fantasies

And for decadent dreams in silence

Two glasses of red wine awaiting

With slow music to set the mood for the night

You're the star of the night in red attire

While we face the sprawling fire

Like the orange clouds during a sunset

I will read your favourite books aloud

While you lay on my chest, listening

Be kind with your touches and kisses

I will be gentle with my playful hands

I want to be the sculptor finishing

The curves of your body with my touches

It's the night I've been waiting for a while

To be in your arms and forget the world

Let's share the venom of our last first kiss

On your peach lips with passion

Lead me for kisses all over you

Let's make love for one last time

Let's play all your fantasies until we last

And our thirst for lust gets quenched

Let's seal the moment in our hearts

We don't know if we will ever see a fireplace

Again together!

This poem is based on the word prompts from twitter #moonmystic #2WordPrompt #loveletters #vssdaily #FlexVSS #atreyasverse #WIPWordSearch #wordsoupdaily #sensualscribbles #TalesNoir #1LineWed Image from Unsplash

A Blue Lake of Love

A blue lake of love 

Looks surreal with green backdrop 

The thistle flowers dance with wind 

While flora find the vibes of romance

Let's sail our boat of crush and flirt 

And see how far we can go with wind

I'll try to win your heart, you try to stop

I'll lose in your eyes, you try to evade it 

I'll steal your smiles, you try blankface

I'll glorify your beauty, you try not to fall

You don't have to try anything for me 

I've already fallen in dreams about you 

We can send our poetries into the sky 

Let the wind take them to new shores

While you decide the fate of our future

This poem is based on word prompts from #inkMine. Image from Unsplash.

Characterization

 

Eight years of a regime 

Ruined every social fabric of a nation

Destroying the pillars of a nation 

With a brute majority in electoral democracy

The opposition voices are stifled with the 

Overreaching arms of the government

A witch-hunting of epic proportions 

Even the courts play fiddle to the government

The compromised media give characterisations

To the rebel voices in favour of the government 

Those new media are characterized as Godi media

The social media cell of the ruling party target 

rebel voices with false narration and maligning campaigns 

The female rebel voices get rape threats and character assassination

The voices that question the government are characterized as 

anti-nationals, Urban Naxals, and  tukde-tukde gang 

The journalists who report against the government 

Lose their jobs and they get haunted by fictitious charges

Even court interventions don't give enough relief 

Social activists who work for the rights of the people

They are characterized as villains and they are jailed

With sedition charges that make it difficult to get bail

The tribals are stripped of right over their lands 

Haunted by armed forces and characterized as maoists 

Rationalists were shot dead for campaigning against 

the superstitions and other blind faiths that affect people

The NGOs that work among the poor are characterized as 

money launderers and they lost their right to get foreign funds

Amnesty International is banned in my country and you can

Imagine the plight of the right activists right now 

Many RTI activists have been killed or face a threat

Kashmiries were stripped of their privileges and oppressed  

They're characterized as Pakistani sympathizers  

Things related to Muslims are characterized as jihad, 

ranging from love jihad, UPSC jihad to Halal Jihad

There are hundreds of Muslims living in detention centres

characterized as illegal migrants by the government  

Not to mention the characterization of them as beef eaters

And being lynched in the name of possessing beef or for being Muslims

The students who protested against the citizenship bill were 

beaten up ruthlessly and got jailed on serious charges

The farmers who fought against farm laws were 

characterized as Khalistani supporters  until they won 

Hundreds of youth were beaten up for seeking jobs 

Criminals wearing saffron are characterized as patriots 

My own brethren were compared as Somalians by the premier 

The government characterises political opponents as economic offenders

The followers of an ideology that stayed away from the freedom struggle 

Characterizes themselves as the nationalists and they try to impose 

Their beliefs on the large population from different cultural heritage 

The vegetarians who support the government are trying to impose 

Vegetarianism on meat-eaters with the characterization of sinners

There is a characterization of Hindi as a national language

Though it is only an official language and there is the imposition

of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states through government policies 

The characterization of Dalits as people of lower strata 

They face atrocities in the form of rape and octraisation 

Now there is an us versus them narrative from the government 

Letting real economic offenders escape from the country 

And stop the people who can speak against them from visiting 

Other countries 

This poem is based on a monthly journal prompt from #anneapart. *tukde- pieces or splintering *jihad-the spiritual struggle within oneself against sin. *Godi- lap. This poem has a political tone as I am not oblivious to what I see in my country. Image from iStock. Thank you :) 

Another Life?

 

The tales of second life 

With impeccable memory of the past 

Often get the curious media coverage 

I wonder if it is a mental ability to know 

About the life of another person in detail

Is it a sheer coincidence of guess getting a match?

Many a day I tried to recollect my past life

Imagined me in different eras and countries

I think  I never had a previous life

I do not think I will have another life 

I never tried the virtual second life 

Nor I will try the metaverse 

If I have another life 

I would love to be a nomad 

I would love to travel and write 

The stories that are beyond me now

I hope I won't go through another love

I hope I won't go through another breakup 

I want to be a wanderer in search of glimpses 

Of  the sceneries that are surreal in the world 

And experience the life of being a human  in that modern era 

But I fear, I might end up in a colony on Mars or some other planet 

As a cyborg, clone, zombie, humanoid, or unknown species of that era

With artificial intelligence, life-enabling gadgets  self-healing and regeneration 

Living among sceneries and experiences beyond my imagination right now 

May be amidst a war with the aliens or the evolved human species'

Without ever experiencing the natural wonders that our earth offer 

This poem is a continuation of the thoughts about life, death, and life after death related to my recent poems in this blog.  Image from Unsplash. Thank you :)  The previous poems in this series are My Final Day On Earth and  What After The Death  .