Sing that old song

 

When the night is long,

Just sing the old song,

When the fog is deep,

And the climb is steep,

Sing it loud,

Sing it long,

Just sing along.

Why is February short?

 

February is short,

Most welcome it,

For spring is not far behind.

And, those in the death row ask,

Why is February short?

Finding Love

 

He called out her name

When things were still unsettled,

Her name echoed

Across hills and vales.

And since things were still

A bit unsettled,

He got buried

In an avalanche of love.

As he used up the pockets of air,

The pockets of life,

He wondered how it would be

To die of love.

She heard him, of course.

She threw her axe into the volcano,

That it be baked, and be wrought,

She outstretched her arm,

And caught the lightning in her fist,

And strode towards land,

Leaving a tsunami in her wake.

The lightning would show her the way,

The axe would dig up all her love.

But, it was one thing

To give all your love,

Quite another to find your Love.

May your love boomerang

 

Thursday gyan:

May your love boomerang.

For, what is unrequited love?

Love, that did not boomerang.

Ash Wednesday

 

Today is Ash Wednesday, the Wednesday before the start of Lent. TS Eliot concluded his poem Ash Wednesday with these lines:

Blessèd sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit

of the garden,

Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood

Teach us to care and not to care

Teach us to sit still

Even among these rocks,

Our peace in His will

And even among these rocks

Sister, mother

And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea,

Suffer me not to be separated

And let my cry come unto Thee.

Today is Ashish's Wednesday too. And, he wrote  a few years (plus a few days) before:

तुम्हारे और मेरे बीच 

इतने जन्मों का फासला तो होना ही था,

किसी जन्म में तुमने हाँ कहा,

किसी जन्म मेंने ना कहा,

जिस जन्म में तुम रो पड़ी,

उस जन्म में मैं हँस पड़ा,

इस जन्म में तुम्हारा स्पर्श हुआ ,

पर मैं जाने किस भँवर में खो गया।

और कुछ जन्म तो बीतेगें ही,

मेरे देश में वह मुश्किल मिलता है।

-25 Feb '86

Recess is over.

 

On finding classmates after half a century:

Half a century is a long time.

And the spaces between us

Has filled an eon.

And I shake the dust off me,

And I try to look sharp.

Lest you don't remember me.

And you look at me quizzically,

And say:

What's with you, mate?

Let's rush to the Class,

Recess is over.

Don't Judge the Sky

 

Don't judge the sky

By it's colour,

Don't judge the trees,

By their yearnings,

Don't judge the travellers

In the mist yonder,

By the path they have taken,

Trudge your own path,

Over dead leaves and thorns,

And leave a wake behind.