The Ocean's Waves

The waves of the ocean come tumbling,
neither grumbling, nor mumbling, but roaring.
Yet, the ocean's roar is more soothing,
than the soft voice of a friend consoling.

Some prefer the warmth of sun-kissed sands,
some the shade of palm tree fronds,
yet some prefer the cloak of darkness,
and some the facade of happiness.

These quiet companions may bring some peace,
yet the ocean's roar puts me at ease.
Compassion and sympathy it cannot pretend,
no matter what you do, it remains your friend.

Your silence it understands,
much more than words.
Relieved of its burden,
your soul can join the birds.

With the receding waves,
retreat your turbulent thoughts.
I hope the ocean brings smiles,
to many more distressed hearts.

The Lonely Girl's Charm

As I skipped down the country road,
I met a young girl, her head bowed.
Neither out of silent respect,
nor giving in to the breeze,
But as if a huge weight weighed,
putting her out of ease.
So stunned me this sight, my bundle of flowers dropped.
Shaken out of her reverie, the pretty girl too stopped.

To recover my flowers, she immediately bent,
as I watched the colours nature had lent.
Her skin fair and her hair black,
And her eyes, I felt, would never sparkle lack.
When she stood up and I through words began to stumble,
I noticed that though her eyes were bright, they lacked sparkle.

When hesitantly, the reason for trouble, I enquired,
I saw that she shivered, though it was sunny quite.
When I began to apologise, out of alarm,
she whispered "loneliness has me in her charm"
continued her words, "like a lowly fiend,"
said she, "have I been deserted by a friend"
"Neither do I sleep, nor see pleasant dreams,
nor does gaiety and laughter bubble, like yonder stream."
Elaborate she would not, nor anything more would she tell
yet I glimpsed in her silent but expressive face, her hell.

Patting her shoulder, like an actress in a mime,
silently my eyes expressed "Give it some time."
Her gratitude she expressed in a manner silent
She proceeded her way and I mine, no longer jubilant.

Now at home, in front of me, her head still bowed
In the looking glass, is the young pretty girl of yonder country road.

Why do I try to please everyone?

Before a very long time,
she was the queen supreme.
There were no rivals to her claim
no obstacles in her path to her aim.
Her every wish was always fulfilled
every unspoken want an urgent command.
Never did a frown mar the emperor's face
she was the victor of every race.

Suddenly the smiles began to fade,
she was unable to understand the cause
Confused, she worked harder and harder
to bring back the smiles but
though the years have passed away
she was not able to bring them back.

Every single thing she did was wrong,
every small mistake equal to a crime.
One mark less was like a shame
she became the black sheep in their fame.

Confused, she worked even more harder
the efforts she made even higher
She agreed to do each and every job,
thinking that would make it better
tried hard to do everything well
thinking it would bring back the lost smiles.

But nothing worked out her way,
refusing jobs became a nightmare.
Agreeing to do them even a big one
yet she never said "no" to anyone.
Be it a friend or a foe
her answer was never a "NO"!

On and on went this habit,
she never realised what went wrong
never refusing a job either
even if she knew she couldn't do it.
Till the day the question was popped
"Why do you try to please everyone?"

The query came as a big blow
it did hurt her a bit, but
it was the truth, she knew.
Yet, she stood rooted to the spot.
The path behind her was quite clear
yet fog and mist obscured the way ahead!

Now that she was here
which way should she go?
Whom should she ask and
what should she do now?

You, my friend, asked the question
now you must provide the answer
Tell me what to do and how
and give me the courage to do it too!

Loneliness and Happiness

Loneliness may be best friend to sadness,
but he is no enemy to happiness.
He may sometimes hurt the heart,
but sometimes he is like a lip-smacking tart.
When to protect our feelings, we build a fort,
the thought of loneliness is a great comfort.

Like some, he does not falsely console,
he is there, even where you are deserted by every soul.
neither does he tease, nor offer needless advice,
neither glorifies your virtues, nor points out vice.

When you are sad and upset, he is visibly there
even when you are happy, he is still there.
The only difference is that, filled with happy gratitude,
you call him not loneliness, but blissful Solitude.

The butterfly

Today, I caught a butterfly
almost caught it, then let it fly.
Free to fly from flower to flower
free to see the world over.

For I suddenly felt sorry,
for wanting to trap its flight
For what if my passing fancy
cost that beautiful insect's life?

All of us love our freedom
but do we pause to think,
what is the cost of such freedom,
that captures other animate things?

Trapping birds and butterflies
plucking off their pretty wings
just for our selfish pleasure
we plunder nature's treasure

Putting birds in cages
painting them in myriad colours
killing squirrels and stuffing them
dyeing their fur all blue
Would we bear such an assault
on our skin or life?

Our freedom is very precious
so too is precious nature's
So, I let the buttertfly free
for I really didn't want it to die!

Very irritating!!!

Why on earth should I respond?
Respond to a person who may never reply,
to whom my repeated efforts
may never seem such a big deal.
Who may call me over-confident,
never realising that I have no confidence.
Who may strive to find excuses
to avoid giving me my due.
Such pitfalls are daunting,
however small they may appear.
A day will come in the future
when I may laugh at it.
Yet, in the present, it is painful.
Though the present is called a gift
it may sometimes bring more sorrow,
than the joy the memories will bring.
Yet, I will still respond and reply
for the joy that these memories will bring!

My Lovely Island

I live all alone on an island
Not too far away from the mainland.
The mainland is never out of sight,
You can always see it, be it day or night.

My island has a lot of trees,
Green, in contrast to the blue of the seas.
Mother nature has been very kind to me
I get a lot of fruits and water for free.

My island home is beloved to me,
Regardless of the weather, cloudy or sunny
Today the sun may beat down relentlessly,
Tomorrow a storm may wreak havoc recklessly.

But on days when the weather is calm,
The sea breeze is like a soothing balm.
Even when there is a storm,
I know I am protected from harm.

Open to the elements is my island home,
I am free to do anything, to sleep or roam
There are times when I yearn, for some company
Times when it is given, though not willingly.

People from all over come and interrupt my rambles
They soil my island and leave it in shambles.
Against these people, I would love to erect a wall
But my island is not mine alone, it belongs to all.

Some people however are free to enter
To them, my island and I shall services render
These people can wander on my island at will
All welcomes them, the valley and the hill

For no reason will I leave my island
I am incomplete without my lovely island
It is more precious to me than any treasure
Its worth to me, I cannot measure

To the mainland I may seem aloof
Living in a home without walls or roof
Yet in nature’s lap, I am very happy
For this my hale and hearty self is proof.

Titanic

She stood at the harbour like a majestic queen
She was as long as an entire street
She was flanked by the entire navy’s fleet
Majestically, she moved into the open sea,
Hoisting the flag and pulling up anchor
Who knew that what would come, would be but tragedy.
The entire crew stood smiling on the deck
So did passengers bidding farewell to their near and dear.
The tugboats pulled at her broad stern,
Pulled her out far enough and then let go
She set sail without a flutter or any mishap,
A couple of days passed without any event.
The passengers were overjoyed to be on such a ship
Without warning, tragedy struck.
In the form of a dark, looming iceberg
There was a mighty crash
And an equally resounding crack.
The ship split into two
Right between the looming funnels
The hapless passengers were in a flurry
The dark and cold ocean became their watery grave
Not many lived to tell their tale
The majestic queen now drifted apart
In this sad story, each passenger had a part
Even to this day, deep under the sea
Lies that beautiful ship, waiting to tell her story.

The Lost Boy

One day, I was wandering down the road.
Just idly wandering, when I suddenly stopped.
Right in front of a beautiful park
The gate was open, so in I walked
Walking down the path, just idly looking.
Then I noticed a little boy
Who seemed to be searching for his toy
Wanting to help him, I went forward
But seeing a stranger, he became scared
Searching in my pockets, I found a candy
Seeing the candy, he became friendly
He had come with his sister, he said.
She tripped and fell and out came blood
Her scraped knee she had gone to wash
And this little fellow had wandered off.
Playing, he had not realised the passage of time,
Now it was dark and he was lost.
He just had his sister’s purse in his hand
From the purse, we found her mobile number
From my mobile, I then called her
She came quickly, happy to find him safe
Thanking me profusely, their way home they made.
And I too returned home very glad
Having ended the day in such a fine way.