Reflections
Hello friends. Writing has always been my passion. It was pursued only as a hobby, until now.
With the support of my amazing family I have published my first book of poems, “Starry Mornings”! Now available on Amazon. Looking forward to your patronage. Thanks!
Please visit my website Radif & Mars for more information.
Long walks slow twilights dusky memories
Chilled coffee an exciting book and some time on lease
Petrichor lingering in the senses florets playing with dew
Autumn changing color of moods rainbows reviewing each hue
Certain things in life have price tags some simply have value
Good friends peals of laughter animated discussions
Precious theatre tickets with a special concession
Sepia toned by-lanes where we played with abandon
Grave colloquies that finished off with frivolous midnight fun
Certain things in life have depth even when there seems none
Forgotten moments revived with a visit to the attic
Faded photographs precious autographs and time becomes static
If I could turn the hands of the clock how far would I rewind
If I could change some things from the past what would I leave behind
Certain things in life have consequence it is reconciliation I must find
Bare necessities curated luxuries intangible advantages
Some pleasures are so fleeting some ache is for the ages
A mixed bag of attitudes and options a rollercoaster ride
Falling failing recovering reviving with God as the only guide
Certain things in life have forever timespans transient lives lied
Simple pleasures complicated relations intentions that faltered
Personalities peculiarities purposes and plans getting altered
A genuine act of kindness which has far reaching repercussions
A careless instant of callousness that can’t be undone with rectifications
Certain things in life have impact certain lives have impact on generations
A simple cup of tea
How difficult can it be
Some quintessential requirements to see
How my survival can be enhanced to the T
One lady plucking leaves in the tea gardens of Ooty
Working hard day and night to provide for the family
The owner, a gentleman in his forties or fifties quite likely
Staying away from wife and children who live in the city
The leaves arrive mixed up and merry in the local factory
Where workers live for those ten-minute lunch breaks verily
Chaff and sieve and carry and heave until leaves become dusty
The workplace now wakes up to aromas that are simply heavenly
Trucks and loaders lories and drivers are set off hurriedly
Reaching the corners of the world is not a task carried out timidly
Trifling shops and giant malls with distributors acting high-handedly
Get their share of goods and get down to display the charming variety
I buy it off the shelf storing it in air-tight containers I got for free
Now all I need is some milk, a stove, a lighter, a utensil, a cup and some sorcery
Which have all come from a similar route of workers toiling hardily
So that I can sit back and enjoy in peace my daily cup of morning tea!
We take so much for granted. We don’t have time to grasp the whole story
Things at your table have compelling back stories about their trajectory
Surely some gratitude must replace any attitude we harbor so effortlessly
Little details beg for reference, how much more fortunate can we be?
As I pass the window of a grand shopping mall
I recollect the days when I could not afford it all
Today with ability on my fingertips
I must have more gratitude on my lips
Realizing as through my belongings and blessings I sift
Abundance is a gift!
As I observe the woes around me I begin to comprehend
I recollect the many things given to me as Godsend
Today with ability to brave the pains
I must have more appreciation for the gains
Realizing as through my experiences that sting
Abundance is a blessing
As I relish the profusion of each day and its fruits
I recollect the hard work of those who planted the roots
Today as the extra baggage gets heavier
I must give back more than I gather
Realizing as through my many resources I frisk
Abundance is a risk!
As I go through social stratums and note the who’s who
I recollect the many who could not make it or get their due
Today it is possible success goes to my head
I must be more cautious on how I tread
Realizing as I maneuver through warrens filled with danger
Abundance is a game changer!
So I am not the most dapper person in the room
I need countless guidelines about how to groom
According to standards that my social circles approve
I have so much to learn and so much to prove
The circle just widened with WhatsApp and Facebook
Now half the world decides how I should look
So I am not the most well-versed person in gossip of the day
I need innumerable advices about how to join the fray
According to people who know everything inside and out
I don’t recognize the names they know their history and whereabout
The need just increased to oversee friends and frenemies
Now half the world is scrambling to keep apprised busy as bees
So I am not the most conventional person to follow traditions
I need unbounded instructions to reroute the aberrations
According to rulebooks and rubrics made by overlords of the guild
I am expected to toe the line or my fate can be sealed
The grip just grew stronger to turn everybody into clones
Now half the world is in matrix mode via laptops and phones
So I am not the most cleverest person exceeding expectations
I need infinite training to match standards of social sensations
According to masters of all we routine jacks are so hopeless
I don’t enjoy climbing and social ladders can be steep and ropeless
The effort just got laughable to please one million and some
Now half the world is happy in the belief that the other half is dumb
The toughest the hardest the most beautiful of all
Is a soft smile on the edge of the lips that hides each fall
You may think you know somebody from the laughter you hear
But tip of the iceberg deceives so well you never notice the tear
The simplest the quietest the most sturdiest amongst feelings
Is inconspicuous care that quietly helps in healing
You may never realize the extent to which it can mend and repair
But if there is one action that keeps the world in motion it is care
The harshest the bitterest the most rashest of all reaction
Is a foolish temper that destroys the very fiber of emotion
You may either control your rage or be consumed by it
But anyone capable of angering you becomes your master bit by bit
The coolest the sincerest the most basic of all consciousness
Is a kind heart that knows hurt and still responds with gentleness
You may be vulnerable you may believe fortitude is a quality for the sage
But vulnerability is not our weakness it is our accurate measure of courage
The strangest the oldest the most avoidable of all sentiment
Is unfounded jealousy that indulges in loose talk for ears you lent
You may not believe everything you hear you may learn how to sieve
But at the table which speaks evil of others you are the topic when you leave
Some dreams are scattered across incomplete skies
Some feelings that mattered hinge on partial lies
The world around me is daunting and demanding
Some confidences are battered even when the spirit tries
Seasons change color and moods tag along for fun
Society alters silhouettes once their work is done
The world around me expects exactitude and passion
Sentiments carry the weight of hope under the sun
Some expectations are building up on rocky foundations
Some passions are attached to them for restorations
The world around me extracts promises and pledges
Some folks are judging me for my lack of perfections
Fragments of memory are strewn in the room
Petrichor whiffing past takes with it the gloom
The world around me affects outlooks and dialogue
Pain hovers on the edge of recall like a rogue
Some optimism is required to go past the sting
Some prayer to give add on power to each wing
The world around me is elusive and illusory
Some real time dreams some faraway realities need jugglery
The foot is on the pedal the sprint is unbroken
Clamoring for action even before the word is spoken
This steeplechase is slowly making me a bit queasy
I wish I could step off the treadmill and take it a little easy
Life is racing past even as I ace the rat race
I want to breathe in the scenery I wish to cut off the pace
The expectancies are higher the performances contrived
Social pressures are replacing simple pleasures I derived
This constant need to keep update with trends and crazes
I wish I could ignore it all the criticisms and the praises
Life is racing past even as I stop for a respite
Did we really opt for this existence this state is so contrite
This rainbow is a mirage capturing colored desires in a prism
I call it crafty marketing they call it capitalism
Jargon is clervely whitewashed and packaged in gold
Someone somewhere decides my needs and lo! I am sold
Life is racing past even as I recall indulgences that had no cost
Now at every turn of the road hoarders and hoardings accost
Where am I heading the shaft is speeding towards a dead-end
The ones who hold my being for ransom select each trend
I am lured into a life of a lifetime eyes blinded by the bright light
The shine is Lucifer’s hallmark I am actually hurtling towards night
Life is racing past even as I try to hit pause button with all my might
There is no giving up now or ever. There will be a way to set it right
Sometimes the words and lines are labored
Sometimes they flow with the tide
Sometimes perspectives and attitudes are savored
Sometimes there are rules to abide
In the labyrinth of sentiments tread with soft feet
Words and attitudes pitch like arrows you cannot retreat
Sometimes the paths and spaces are constricted
Sometimes they are open and wide
Some access to emotions is restricted
Sometimes you are simply tongue-tied
In the intricacy of sentimentality beware of heartbreak
The world will move on nonetheless the heart does a double take
Sometimes views and beliefs are blinkered
Sometimes they are bonafide
Some thoughts get twisted and tinkered
Some ideas remain untried
In the warren of judgements keep away from prejudice
Empathies must be impartial to do real justice
Sometimes family and friends have your back
Sometimes they take you for a ride
Sometimes they make up for what you lack
Some feelings have simply died
In the tangle of relationships you must infuse compassion
In every give and take you do suffuse some more passion
Sometimes situations and surroundings are perfect
Sometimes you have grieved and cried
Some experiences have lasting impact
Some expectations and hopes have lied
In the snare of social skills you can’t recant like a coward
You must stand up and learn how to put your best foot forward
The less you talk about yourself the less they will talk about you
Conversations travel and turn into Chinese whispers soon you have no clue
Just like food, bland information is boring – each person adds a thing or two
Shortly you find yourself filtering fabrications from what was really true
The less you display your wealth the less they will trouble you
Claims of abundance create jealousies everyone claiming some due
Declarations of dearth fashion fears they will now look down upon you
Whether the monies accumulate or diminish hostilities still accrue
The less you exhibit your knowledge the less you will have to rue
Mediocrity rules and is convenient, intelligence will certainly not woo
Each one will grasp only from their level of perception the onus is on you
In case you have not noticed the wiser ones are so much quieter too
The less you demonstrate your feelings the less they will go askew
Thus fewer prejudices and judgements to face that invariably follow in lieu
Emotional baggage is yours to carry advice-givers have little to do
Expert opinions will be offered still each reaction from a variable view
The less you pronounce your beliefs the less you will turn blue
Explaining your stand and justifying your conviction even to a few
From the unseen line between opinion and opinionated you must take cue
Remember, like relations, some beliefs recurrently need repair and renew