A Departing Summer Personified

Hello! Sharing another poem here. I had composed this for the Rochester Indian Association's proposed literary magazine since so many complain about the Rochester winter :P


A Departing Summer Personified 

In the warmth of my days
A cold-blooded illusionist breeds.
Treacherous tulips, fair-weather fragrances,
Conspiring colors, evanescent greenery,
All too fickle for eternal stay.
With ruthless insolence and conceit
A Rochester-ian's longing,
His adoration, his summery fancies
Quickly deflated in shrewd mockery.

Cherish instead those trees
Whose foliage bleeds away colors
As unfettered winds whistle at their death
And yet like modest mortals they await
Being rotten under the white's weight.
Those intricacies of exposed dendrites,
Those 'cotton bolls' - ornaments on pines,
Beautifying the fate of woods stripped naked;
Those loyal birds and steadfast squirrels
Gracing abandoned, unadorned silhouettes,
Ghostly remnants of what used to be their 'home'
And with admirable allegiance, they still call it so!
Every flake that kisses the timeworn streets,
Those patient drops on the tips of stalactites who
But melt many a times faster than the human heart
Yes, cherish them instead.

Even winter has in store songs of mirth
Festive choirs singing X'mas carols
Hot chocolate, warm friendships, cozy cuddles,
The tenderness of grandma's knitting,
A father's frosty windshield, proud
With his toddlers' scribbles on display.
As childhood innocence revisits,
To counsel long-bewildered adults -
Snowmen stand witness,
The passionate grip of trustworthy hands
Reassuring a hesitant, novice skater,
Friends falling on skis, smiling still,
All renew a common promise, which
To a monochromatic wintry canvas, can colors lend -
‘There is more love, learning and loyalty
Amid this icy-blight, than any of my summery days’

What is worse, now think again -
The 'callousness' of a frigid winter's night?
Or the transience of my habituating radiance?
If you remembered - Seasons are Sojourners
These questions could afford oblivion.
Nature's course is evolving,
While yours naively obdurate.
Bear in mind, its beauty is fleeting not!
Only your immutable definitions make it so.

String Theory

Strings. So much of life is in these strings!

Separating from a cord, the first breath breathed.

Interpreting tension in reigns as parental commands, a childhood instinct controlled.

Getting a 'rakhi' tied, a promise renewed.

Exchanging bands, a friendship reassured. [5]
Tying a 'kalava' from a puja, a religion embraced.
Making new knots and undoing old ones, a superstition continued.

Struggling like an animal on a leich, in captivity toiled.

Dancing like puppets on a string, an authoritarian obeyed.

Soaring high like kites on strings, a passionate dream pursued. [10]

Cutting a ribbon, an endeavor inaugurated. 

Abstaining from 'no-strings-attached' sort of relationships, a self worth realized.

Merely stringing and unstringing instruments in hesitation, a conversation deferred. 

'Tying the knot', a lifetime committed,

Wearing beads on a string to manifest that commitment, a trust instilled, [15]
And winding a spool around a tree out of that trust, a tradition sustained.

Passing along life's secret code on molecular strings, a parenthood dawned.

'Tying loose ends' before we 'leave this place', an unexamined life reflected upon.

Strings. So much of life is in these strings! [20]

In tangling and getting tangled in mortal quandaries, 

In resolving dilemmas like knots in neglected hair,

In trust, the kind of trust -

   a gymnast has on her Mallakhamb rope,

   a dangling spider has on its silky string, [25]

In hope -
   that not all 'strings' start and end in our two hands
   but that there is someone at the 'other' end -
a parent, a sibling, a friend, a God, a belief, 
a boss, a dream, a milestone, a life partner [30] 

Some like colorful embroidery decorating the fabric of life,
Others weaving into our midnight's slumber, plucking strings of unrest;
but each one making it worthwhile to hold on patiently to all those STRINGS!

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Notes:
non-Indians - [4] look up Rakshbandhan & [6] Kalava
[13] comes from Tagore's poem Waiting

       "The song I came to sing  

remains unsung to this day.  

I have spent my days in stringing  

and in unstringing my instrument. "
[14-16] An Indian marriage/related customs...

   [15] beads on a string = 'MangaLasutra' (मंगळसूत्र/தாலி) in case you didn't catch that.

   [16] alluding to the Maharashtrian vat-purnima custom

[17] DNA, of course.

[24] Malla-khamb - link for your viewing pleasure (& for me to reminisce my childhood!!)

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I'm sure you can think of many more strings - tangible ones from computer science, physics, medicine, music, and many more philosophical ones. Try contributing in a format consistent with parts of the poetry, when time permits (?!) Better yet, what is your definition of a String? :P
Any comments/critique welcome :-) Thanks for reading!

Valentine's Poem

In spirit of the upcoming holiday, thought I'd compose something while putting my German to good (questionable haha) use!

  

   Blinken nicht die Augen...

halten Sie sich fest, um dieses wunderschöne Traum!

   Aufwachen dein Herz...

aus dem Schlummer seiner dunklen Mitternacht!

   Lassen es seine Türen öffnen und erkennen, dass -

jemand neu definiert "Liebe", wenn -

   Alles in eurer Welt scheint erweitert, transformiert und aufgehellt

und Zeit macht unbekannte, unerwartete Erfahrungen

   Würdig Gekritzel auf den Seiten von Ihrem Tagebuch!

Um Ihnen und derjenige, der dich am meisten respektiere, Happy Valentines! :-)

This is |not| a puzzle and neither is it autobiographical to any degree. Well, make what you will of disclaimers :P On a different note, please excuse and correct mistakes (except capitalizations!) if you can. Can I require all comments to be in Deutsch please? haha just kidding! Although http://translate.google.com/# is a useful tool (barring grammar :P) if you're up for the challenge/seeking a quick translation. Do share your thoughts!

Tentative upcoming/pending posts to look forward to for the next 2 months: 

- "Food for Thought: Thoughts on Food" (had said I'll post this today, but Valentines takes precedence over food labels and nutrition statistics :P)

- "Merits of Mental Math in Oblivion: Calculators Germinating an Arithmetically Challenged Generation" ...what I've been fuming over since the last 5yrs. (hint, this is my 5th yr in the US :P)

- A poem from my old list...

A Secret Admirer

Four hands employed in a selfless calling, (1)
Two graceful & nurturing, two unyielding &; muscular,
Playmates of a lifetime forging a dream by the shore.
A calm ocean and the morning sun watch along...
Grains of sand that once lay as a heap, orphaned & unnoticed, (5)
Now stand as a Castle. So handsome, stately &; grown in years,
Fast escaping the captivity of your architects' moist footsteps,
You spend the early hours coming to grips with your existence
To stumble upon a satisfying identity by mid day
At the sight of dancing sun rays - pearls on distant waters. (10)
With other waves I surge to catch your first glimpse,
But ebb reluctantly in low tides, as if confined by societal norms;
Cycles, as if those of an unfolding teenage,
Of stringing and unstringing an instrument,
Of gushing ashore but receding with an unsung song; (15)
An untold tale of excitement, for hesitance nips it in the bud,
Falling short all afternoon but getting closer each time
To something bigger, something better. A marvelous sand Castle.
Hopeful. If an entire lifetime were wrapped in a day,
Then dusk must have in store all its glory, and surely, (20)
As the sun paints the skies purple, marking an omen,
And reaches to the depths of the vastness of my vessel,
With a strangely determined momentum, in pursuit
Of a dream, of a reason, as if of a life partner,
On uncharted, unobstructed frontiers my spirit runs carefree (25)
But stops only to wash your majestic feet with tranquil waters.
Yes! then I turn around, to return merrily with other waves
Like a flock of girls, gossiping, chuckling, reminiscing, story-telling
Fondly of my transformation, my adventure, my affair.
For if I aspire - to break these confines, to grow more ambitious, (30)
Untamed, avaricious and demanding of reciprocation,
- To look you in the eye, embrace your walls,
Kiss your brow and whisper to you my secret obsession,
Such unleashed passions will leave you destroyed & myself turbid
Your tumbling, dissolving walls will mock the memories I locked away (35)
As the Pacific monster gulps your grains of sand,
My transient fascination will end in permanant broken reality
And on this dark, bleak night even the moon will refuse,
To reflect from my waters and beautify my miserable fate.
I will be left alone, in despair, only to find comfort (40)
In what was, but can never once again be -
The sandcastle of my dreams. The delicate love of my life.
Yes! hence I just turn around, to return merrily with other waves
For you were born to be a show piece 
And I, a secret admirer! (45)

This attempt is quite different from the previous two... the first & obvious difference is that it is non-rhyming. But I've also tried to make it a more indirect style of story-telling by hiding it in layers of figures of speech.

To start: "Four hands" (synecdoche)... who they represent is hinted in their description (line 2), in the phrase "playmates of a lifetime" (3) & best in the word "orphaned" (5)... they represent parents :P (too much of a stretch? or is it used well?)

There are many more... can you find any? I'm very curious to know (a) how effective my use of metaphors/personifications, etc was & more importantly (b) what you make of them... so feel free to share your creativity. (I *might post this Sunday to give it away) As always, any feedback/critique is welcome... :-)

On a different note, the semester starts soon & I might not be able to write again for a while... but lets see, may be this time I'll have that 25th hr in my day ;-) Thanks for reading.

A Tribute to My All-time-favorites

I promised to write about my hiatus from blogging in the previous post... but hey promises are made to be broken anyway, aren't they? ;-) 
Actually its taking a little too long to write & I've spent a lot of time reading, watching TED videos, sketching & composing poetry over my last week at home instead. So thought of sharing one such composition...

Of Legends

I read Kipling, Pinter, Yeats, Tagore,

Cummings, Eliot, Frost and many more.

Enraptured and stolen away by their imagery

How each poem, each phrase, every allegory,

So neatly woven, it simply conveys

Life's most intricate and labyrinthine byways

What does it take to pen such epics?

What sparks an imagination so profound

That speaks to devotees and agnostics

Alike, impoverished as well as the crowned?

Must I fall head over heals in love,

Or measure what I owe to the One above?

Must I experience bewildering vicissitudes of time,

Or elope with the evening moon like partners in crime?

Must I decipher the abstracted language of thy heart,

Or stitch together pieces of life long drifted apart?

Must I open my eyes to our unwitting coincidences,

Or ears to the melody of solitude and despondences?

Must I awaken from the curse of a hazy narcosis

Only to animate memories I pretend to dismiss?

Must I shaken the convictions of an extremist,

Must I redefine humanity to those of us who exist,

Or values and traditions for which we've stopped caring,

Or the occult meaning of secret ironies we're sharing?

What must I do -

To create a poetry comparable to these legends?

Fact is, where their imagination begins, mine simply ends.

The poetess in me is a personification of a literary limit,

Naive, distracted, insipid and befuddled she is, I admit

Typing and backspacing, the futile hours she spends

Only to notice more room for evolution and amends

My humble experiments cannot fathom to ape these gems.

BUT even an obsession of where their genius stems

Is oh so insightful, so remarkable, so compelling,

So rejuvenating, so miraculous, so astounding,

That even a poetry about their poetry

Satisfies my hankering to some degree,

Allowing me to pursue something

As beautiful, something as resounding!

Here are some tentative titles of poems that await completion, if there is such a thing :P (settlement rather ;-)) I hope to complete at least one or two & blog before winter break ends. Time will tell!

• Good Conversationalists
• Beautiful "Imperfections" and "Ordinary" Things
• Patience is Virtue
• Secret Admirers
• The Day I Run Out of Ideas

It is very obvious that I have no sense of meter or any technical skill whatsoever when it comes to composing poetry... so suggestions, comments, critique... any form of feeback most welcome! Also feel free to compose something in response & share :-) 

The echo of what seems like a "silent" calling

I always wanted to organize my thoughts in phrases that would rhyme - so this one serves as another check on my wishlist ;)

Buzzing alarms for early mornings,

An inbox full of reminders and warnings,

Beeping timers for lab chores,

Google calendar no one ignores.

Dictated by external reminders -

Humans running with horses’ blinders;

Life remains but a “to-do” list -

Exist and perish, perish and exist.

O look beyond that obvious call

To mundane hustles prey you fall

Scrape off your grime laden brains

An impenetrable fog is all that remains

Opportunities missed,

Beauty unnoticed,

Words unspoken,

Promises broken,

Talents hidden,

Memories forgotten,

A Friend in oblivion…

A Love unreciprocated…

O rise to reality! its never too late.

A parent, a spouse, a friend, a date

Lies long lost, long betrayed

O your passions and goals have strayed!

So far a history of mistakes, regrets;

Today too full with trivial affairs and debts,

Your futures merely stand and stare

Alas! Theres so few who think and care!

The most precious milestones in life

Have no alarms, no warnings, no reminders,

No timers, no Google calendars!

So don’t grunt and sweat in weary spirits

Silence your encumbrances & surpass virtual limits

Focus that inward eye you’ve left for so long blind

Listen to your heart and speak your mind!

May your life not be a series of conditioned reflexes slave to external reminders

But a product of introspection and actions responding to an inner calling even as subtle as a wink.

For those who can't read/don't understand Marathi - I wish I could do justice to these words through my translation!

Basically it reflects on how long lost we are in a race to make life better but theres not time left to "live" in the true sense of the term. There are numbers saved on cell phones, but no time to call; moments we reminisce but no time to connect with those people; happiness that awaits at our doorstep, but no time to realize & experience the bliss; sorrows that ache our hearts but no time to cry over them; accomplishments to showcase but no time to feel the satisfaction; plans to keep moving ahead but little time to retrospect!

The poem points to the shallowness and superficiality of our fast-pace lives, questions our true goals and calls for a reconsideration of the lifestyle we've adopted.

SOMETIMES ITS NICE TO SIT BACK & SOAK IT IN!!! :)

A touching poem....

Heres a poem my friend forwarded to me today...

Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.
And I never see my old friends face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,
He knows I like him just as well,
And as in the days when I rang his bell.
And he rang mine but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.
'Tomorrow' I say! 'I will call on Tim
Just to show that I'm thinking of him.'
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner, yet miles away,
'Here's a telegram sir,' 'Tim died today.'
And that's what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.

Does that ring a bell? Somehow this relates to all of us... Its incredible how many people we come accross in the course of a day, a year, a lifetime! Someone we run into, some acquaintances, colleagues, others friends & to-bes; some who knew us before we knew them & others vice versa. But there are a handful few who make a mark... the question though is if we've consciously registered it --> if so, have we pursued them? kept in touch? or is it an unfortunate "out-of-sight-out-of-mind" scenario? & if not --> are there moments we've failed to internalize? memories that are starting to fade? people we've neglected? or a conscience we've deliberately silenced?

The message is not to obssess about people and places but realize theres always more to co-incidences and conversations. It is SO important to think about the people you interact with, give your mind & heart the time to associate things and articulate it... or the superficiality of your personality will always come in the way of living life in the true sense of the term!