Sunday, 23 February 2014

A Song

photo by Margaret Bednar



Why is the mind
Overcast with gray dreams
While the green heart
Still blooms periwinkles

Why is the crimson gypsy spirit
Stagnating in one place
While the magical life
Is fluttering on butterfly wings

Why is the Ego
Looking into the sky
While the soul
Remains grounded rooting
 
Posted for Margaret's Play It Again  Archive #1:  "An Ink-Stained Word List" @ Real Toads
&
Shared with Poetry Pantry @ Poets United
 

Sunday, 16 February 2014

REST IN PEACE *



REST IN PEACE*             

Like a moth thirsting for flame
He yearned for a female-mould
That became his Achilles’ Heel

Abdominoplasty
And hormone replacement over
He defied the world

How boldly he celebrated
His alternate sexuality
In the characters of his latest films

He enjoyed gender fluidity
But the mortal frame
Would not bear with the mess up

He lusted for life
Journey from femininity to androgyny
Ended abruptly

*this is in remembrance of Rituparno Ghosh,
the noted and gifted Bengali film maker who
passed away on May 30, 2013.

Posted for Poetry Pantry @ Poets United

Wednesday, 12 February 2014

HEART
It’s a red lotus
The soft petals spread and hold
His radiant smile

It’s a fountain-head
Crystal-words cascade down
I pick up a handful

It’s a gust of wind
Blowing away rumbling clouds
I relish sunshine
Posted for Susan's Midweek Motif ~ Heart @ Poets United

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

WHERE YOU’RE AT

It’s a cool, cool world
Where blooms speak in green silence
Calling the sunbird
                     
It’s a cheerful world
Where Nature abounds in food
Hearts pray for long winter

It’s a cruel world
Where pavement dwellers dream fire
Curse fog and their stars
Posted for Peggy's prompt Where You're At @ Poetry Jam

Thursday, 23 January 2014

CLOTHES MAKE THE WOMAN

She wasn’t an Indian by birth
But by choice
She was clad in simplicity
Expressed in single blue bordered white cotton sari
Originally a dress of poor sweeper women
Working in Calcutta Corporation
Thereby uniting her soul with millions
Living in poverty
It wasn’t a style statement
But love for fellow beings
Single border later became striped
Ah she was the white flame of purity
In her sandals, crucifix and rosary
Mother Teresa
My Obeisance to you


Posted for Fireblossom Friday : Clothes Make the Woman @ Real Toads

Wednesday, 22 January 2014

 AN EYE AND CLOUDS
Thousand white feathers
Sailing together
Each a free spirit     
Breathing benediction
The lonesome boy eyes them
Then ties them in his heart
They become his fountain of words
He writes them                                        
                                                                              
 Posted for Poetry Jam
&
Shared with Real Toads

Sunday, 19 January 2014

SUCHITRA SEN*
                                                               
She had plucked a handful of stars
They adorned her long black hair
Her graceful moonlight step
Gave a new rhythm to thousand feet
When she made love with her enigmatic eyes
With the legendary Uttam Kumar
My daughter’s heart melted
So did mine, my ma’s and my grandma’s
Newlywed couples watched  Suchitra-Uttam** films
Rather than go on honeymoon
They held us enthralled for decades
Our sweet heart of all time
Was a true enigma
Not once did she step out of her self-willed wall
Decades after decades
Except on brief outdoor sojourns to spiritual places
Did she become a social recluse to glitter
Forever in the vast firmament of her fans’ hearts
As the same ethereal beauty?
Two days ago when she breathed her last
My land grieved for the octogenarian
Her near and dear ones honored her wish
By not lifting the veil of mystery
No one saw her bar a few loved ones
As she slept forever on the bed of flame
Fire consumed all but not her name
In million hearts does she dwell
One, whom age does not wither nor custom stale

*Suchitra Sen (Bengali pronunciation: [ʃuːtʃiːraː ʃeːn]  listen (help·info)), born Rama Dasgupta (  listen (help·info); 6 April 1931 – 17 January 2014), was an Indian actress who acted in several Bengali and a few Hindi films. The movies in which she was paired opposite Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Bengali Cinema**.[1] A film critic summed up Suchitra Sen's career and continuing legacy as "one half of one of Indian cinema's most popular and abiding screen pairs, Suchitra Sen redefined stardom in a way that few actors have done, combining understated sensuality, feminine charm and emotive force and a no-nonsense gravitas to carve out a persona that has never been matched, let alone surpassed in Indian cinema"…courtesy : Wikipedia

Posted for Poetry Pantry @ Poets United