tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17688676336200731292024-02-21T05:58:30.039-08:00Oxbow LakeDivyangana Rakeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744304197182501165noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768867633620073129.post-80236844742672968882018-04-20T08:24:00.000-07:002018-04-20T08:24:10.313-07:00Colour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed Demi Bold"; font-size: 14pt;">In the large bus,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed Demi Bold"; font-size: 14pt;">the hustle, the
unintentional touch,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed Demi Bold"; font-size: 14pt;">the inadvertent
bump.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed Demi Bold"; font-size: 14pt;">She, the old lady</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed Demi Bold"; font-size: 14pt;">White hair the
texture of cotton candy,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed Demi Bold"; font-size: 14pt;">rolls her eyes and
walks away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed Demi Bold"; font-size: 14pt;">A look of disdain
and contempt meets only a look of bewilderment and incomprehension.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed Demi Bold"; font-size: 14pt;">And she, the little
girl,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed Demi Bold"; font-size: 14pt;">the shattered piece
of glass on the road,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed Demi Bold"; font-size: 14pt;">that everyone
semi-circles around,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed Demi Bold"; font-size: 14pt;">but no one picks up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed Demi Bold"; font-size: 14pt;">She goes home, picks
up and innocent eraser from her pencil case</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed Demi Bold"; font-size: 14pt;">and tries to rub the
colour off her face.</span></div>
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Divyangana Rakeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744304197182501165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768867633620073129.post-37924538973301684762011-11-16T10:47:00.001-08:002012-01-18T00:17:41.096-08:00Behind the Sun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAhDjhb78_irSS9WYUcYLjigsC971rDj9ayz8ZTzvpop0AbZqKmxCb_H5scbxZCYmGUo6TvgeUP08CjMIhpFVFFSy6OU0D5RHBqxo632vtVU5Z9QwIDL5ITe9KhExbhaaiPBCDts_zOE/s1600/behind+the+sun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAhDjhb78_irSS9WYUcYLjigsC971rDj9ayz8ZTzvpop0AbZqKmxCb_H5scbxZCYmGUo6TvgeUP08CjMIhpFVFFSy6OU0D5RHBqxo632vtVU5Z9QwIDL5ITe9KhExbhaaiPBCDts_zOE/s400/behind+the+sun.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">The child nuzzled in her chest,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">its nose pressed against her collar bone,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">so close that they become one.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The waves crashing into the walls of the room created music,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">a symbolic symphony of harmony.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">As the sky and sea fused,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">even the sun glowed in their union.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The bird that sat atop the windowsill didn’t sing,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">It stared at the child with tilted head, curiously.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">She looked at the space next to her,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Bed unmade but empty.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">His dream had come alive,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Where was he?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">It was high tide,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Where was he?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The cold nip of the air bit her like a rabid dog,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Where was he?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Head bowed, hair flying,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">She sighed and waited.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The pain was visible, her face wasn’t.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">She looked up, blank.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The inevitability of the outcome stared her in the face.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">She held the child, closer and closer,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Too close.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Then she tied her muffler around her neck,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Tighter and tighter,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Too tight.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">They lay in bed, eyes closed.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Salt water splashed into the room,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Fell on the child’s face and trickled down,<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Where a tear should have been.<o:p></o:p></div></div>Divyangana Rakeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744304197182501165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768867633620073129.post-46839958083975710392011-11-16T10:45:00.001-08:002012-01-18T00:10:28.305-08:00The Harbinger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91t6vVg2MrVjr9drAjba8zKkxNck5ly-jb-yzwTtj2F4xyjvZGEfGccR4ANgNc8guldNvyt1HZytM3vNLaACpHauj7HTKmT6blXTO3fSrHSQHdOq-sCbqro42L4f7iIyvE2jupnG5eE8/s1600/the+harbinger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="266" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91t6vVg2MrVjr9drAjba8zKkxNck5ly-jb-yzwTtj2F4xyjvZGEfGccR4ANgNc8guldNvyt1HZytM3vNLaACpHauj7HTKmT6blXTO3fSrHSQHdOq-sCbqro42L4f7iIyvE2jupnG5eE8/s400/the+harbinger.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Sahib had been so kind. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">A whole week to spend in my village.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">where nothing ever happened.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">It stayed just the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Minute after minute, <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">day after day,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Year after year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">But sahib understood why I longed for home.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">So he let me go.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Shadows danced in the sunlight,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">the water breathed mist,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">The mist hugged the trees.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">The sky sang songs of love, separation, loss and magnanimity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Honey dripped from the bee hives.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Little boys stood under the tree, <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">with their tongues sticking out, <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">eyes shut, <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">facing the sky.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">That’s where I had met Bala.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">She is with child now.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Her smile, so crooked, looking at me, making fun of me,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Whilst I stood in sweet protest<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Waiting for just one drop of honey.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">She married me when I had nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">No money, no job, nothing to give her.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">She was probably waiting for me,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Her black and gold mangal sutra glinting,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Her kajal smudged, her bindi placed perfectly between her eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">I sat on the general class berth,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">my bag neatly tucked under the seat.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Seats filled quickly around here.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">I read the daily newspaper,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Sahib had taught me to read.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">I earned extra money for reading to sahib’s blind grandfather.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">He slipped me kheer now and then.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">I told stories of the big city to the other passengers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Bomkesh ji was shocked to hear the lyrics of the new songs people blared on their radios.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">It disturbed no one in our gully<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">They slept through anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Even while I was talking,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">I thought of Bala, her mangal sutra glinting,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Her smudged kajal and her perfectly placed bindi.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">She was probably waiting for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Sahib had given me a saree for Bala and ma,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Sweets, and small sweaters for my child.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">I had bought earrings and other trinkets.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">It would be my first gift to her since we pledged holy matrimony.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">I imagined the look on her face when she’d see it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">she married me when I had nothing to give her.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">But I do now.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">The train reached the station,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">The engine whistling.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">wheels screeching,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Coolies screaming,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Passengers hurrying,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Knees knocking against one another.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">People waving at each other with delight.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">The joining of parting souls after an eternity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">The sky sang songs of that too.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Waiting till the pushing stopped seemed best.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">So I waited.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Hand ducked under the seat, it felt the air.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">There was no bag.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">No saree, no earrings.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">A walk by the lake.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">The sand is filled with all kinds of rubbish.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Ash from cremated bodies,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Dead fish, Bits of rotting wood broken off from boats,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Rotting piles of garbage,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Crows pecking at it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">I stared at the rippling water,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Feeling like I belonged inside, never to come out.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">I had nothing to give anyone.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">On my toes, <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">I was ready to take the leap that would change everything,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">A drop of honey fell,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Landing on the tip of my nose.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Oh, Bala!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Her crooked smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Her laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Her mangal sutra glinting,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Her smudged kajal and bindi placed perfectly between her eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">She was with child now.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Fists clenched, shoulders stooped,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Dragging feet,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">sweat dripping from my beard,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">I headed home.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">The sky, haunted by a deepening gloom,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US"> sang of disappointment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">It had all stayed the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">shadows danced in the sunlight,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">the water breathed mist,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">The mist hugged the trees.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">The sky sang songs of love, separation, loss and disappointment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Honey dripped from the bee hives.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Bala was waiting for me,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Her mangal sutra glinting, her kajal smudged,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Her bindi placed perfectly between her eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">In the village where nothing changes, <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Minute after minute, day after day,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Year after year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Indeed nothing had changed. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">I had nothing to give her then,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">I have nothing to give her now.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Perhaps the man needed it more than I.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Perhaps there is justice in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Perhaps one day the sky would sing for me, the harbinger of joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US">Perhaps.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>Divyangana Rakeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744304197182501165noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768867633620073129.post-60325577169881504892011-11-16T10:44:00.001-08:002012-01-18T00:20:55.749-08:00Love and Shadows<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVxXFaSjfRP5JUVSlZSUCoA9BRasxdWKsn_YTJnh8RtmIl3KRcg3XELUn1zJV-T-tQShPp6SLtijc5h-WhkJqRa_P3VheKQ_usjEB-yjBpW-3oXT4SJw39NLU8lPuUxCF8k45ckmg5YE/s1600/love+and+shadows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVxXFaSjfRP5JUVSlZSUCoA9BRasxdWKsn_YTJnh8RtmIl3KRcg3XELUn1zJV-T-tQShPp6SLtijc5h-WhkJqRa_P3VheKQ_usjEB-yjBpW-3oXT4SJw39NLU8lPuUxCF8k45ckmg5YE/s400/love+and+shadows.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">He was like sleep to her,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">A blanket between her and the world,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">A kaleidoscope of pain and despair.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Her eyes had the grace of tiny birds that hop around in shallow pools of water.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">His smile was like the smell from an incense stick, it lingered.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
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</div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Some cells were found<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">That grew relentlessly, <o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">like their love, like cancer.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">He looked at her when lying in bed,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Eyes locked,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">feelings hung in the air like cigarette smoke on a lazy still afternoon.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Between the origin of a cataclysm,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">And the mundane things that precede it in their innocence and purity<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Is a small space, a breath of air, a fraction of time,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">in which the world holds still, tense,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">A motionless orb,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">but bound by its very nature to shatter into a thousand pieces<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">The cracking open of time and soul, bit by tiny bit,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">The pause between the first heart beat and the last<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">When the present seems as though everything is possible<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">And the future knows that nothing really is.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Fingers whispering words,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">The long “beep” of the heart monitor,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Crash cart screeching, paramedics shouting,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Her, weeping.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Rocking back and forth in her arm-chair.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Blackened, decaying walls smelling of stale death.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Her companion, the moth.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">The lights and memories that were dimmed by the dust of the past,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Blazed at her through the wings of the moth.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Her imagination flew like a gliding seagull,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Looking for a tomorrow,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">In yesterday’s shadow.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Into a vortex,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">A Dream,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">That pulls,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">That nudges.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">Running through the translucence,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">searching,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">falling,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US">and breathing no more.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div>Divyangana Rakeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744304197182501165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768867633620073129.post-78278989076765212832008-06-19T12:24:00.000-07:002008-06-19T12:26:07.440-07:00VortexA Dream,<br />A Vortex,<br />That pulls,<br />That nudges.<br /><br />Running through the transluscence,<br />searching,<br />falling,<br />and breathing no more.Divyangana Rakeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744304197182501165noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768867633620073129.post-1928803585765048082008-06-19T10:33:00.000-07:002008-06-19T12:08:58.925-07:00OverviewI look down from my balcony,<br />A sea of faces,<br />An ocean of bobbing heads,<br />And all ask the same question: "Why bother?"<br /><br />"Do we need to?"<br />"Why does it have to be me who cares?"<br />come from the few<br />who even bother to look up.<br /><br />They are wearing sunglasses,<br />There's a sheet of transparent glass<br />separating each from the other.<br />Protective gear,<br />and yet so vulnerable.<br /><br />It prevents us/them from seeing the bleeding trees,<br />from hearing the screaming,<br />from seeing the pillars falling upon which our very foundation is,<br />under the weight of the flaws of society.<br /><br />Their vulnerabilty makes them retreat further,<br />walking away from the trees, the grass, the mud,<br />into four walls of concrete.<br />Distancing them all the more.<br /><br />It's disturbing.<br />The screaming, the bleeding and the concrete<br />and yet,<br />I choose to remain up here.<br /><br />This was written on 24.07.2005.Divyangana Rakeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744304197182501165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768867633620073129.post-77504294654207818752008-06-16T23:50:00.000-07:002008-06-16T23:57:14.778-07:00SearchCome find me,<br />I need to be found.<br />The sand from beneath my feet is being drained away,<br />My breath being sucked out.<br /><br />Confusion and turmoil,<br />Real and Unreal,<br />Hope and despair,<br />All jammed into one small head.<br /><br />The swing moving slowly,<br />Back........................ and forth<br />Back ........................and forth<br />Time ticking by. <br /><br />This was written back in 2005.Divyangana Rakeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744304197182501165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768867633620073129.post-61664775914329225792008-06-16T23:24:00.000-07:002008-06-19T12:11:23.822-07:00UntitledThe parched hands,<br />The rough skin,<br />The thin body,<br />and me, being able to count the ribs.<br /><br />The clothes hanging loosely.<br />The feet bare, gripping the soil underneath them.<br />The ashen and wrinkled face,<br />speaking of sorrow and yet spelling out joy.<br /><br />His son next to him,<br />wrapping his hands around his fathers legs.<br />With so much pride, as the father talks.<br />And me, the privileged one, watching, listening, sympathising.<br /><br />The man, happy with what he has,<br />speaking of his condition while laughing,<br />just keeping enough to cater to his needs,<br />kissing his son on the forhead.<br /><br />A smile playing on his lips,<br />He tells us of how little land he has,<br />of how it might not rain this year,<br />and how his training in masonry failed.<br /><br />I might've been able to say something,<br />If the man had cried,<br />If he had expressed his sorrow.<br />Instead of smiling. Happily and calmly. Just smiling.<br /><br />He has a family to feed but no food,<br />No clothes,<br />No proper home,<br />and me, envious.<br /><br />Envious of the man's simple happiness,<br />Envious of that smile<br />Envious of the way he thanked us for coming,<br />Thanked the people who have to this condition of his.<br /><p></p><p>This poem was actually written a couple of years ago.</p>Divyangana Rakeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744304197182501165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768867633620073129.post-35391938054363744322008-06-14T05:04:00.000-07:002008-06-14T05:05:52.076-07:00LightThe damp blackened walls,<br />Smelling of stale death.<br />The window shutter held tight by straw.<br />The crumbling fireplace that hadn't been alight for years.Divyangana Rakeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744304197182501165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768867633620073129.post-59428550819775138482008-06-14T04:52:00.000-07:002008-06-14T05:03:31.217-07:00FlashbackAs I lay near the window,<br />A sphere of helium sucking life out,<br />A small portal in bright colours,<br />getting wider.<br /><br />Someone screaming next to me,<br />I think I can hear it.<br />Someone sobbing on my clothes,<br />I think I can feel the hot tears.<br /><br />I see him, he's running across the tracks,<br />he's raising his hand in class,<br />leaning on the pillar, torchlight on his forhead.<br />I should've known school romances never last.<br /><br />"Gone with the Wind" lying on my bed,<br />My mattress turned over<br />She's yelling...........<br />Why's she yelling?<br /><br />The bloomed lotus outside our classroom;<br />Fading away.<br />The red flowers, losing their red,<br />And me looking out of the door.<br /><br />I got my graph wrong that day.<br />Red ink splashed across the grid.<br />I see the portal now, dashed in blue.<br />I think it knows.<br /><br />At the dinner table,<br />My parents sitting across from me.<br />All of us laughing over a bowl of custard.<br />The death toll in Iraq rising, and me so jocund.<br /><br />The papers from my file are flying,<br />I'm strugging to gather them.<br />When did it all fall apart?<br />I realised too late i think,.<br /><br />I'm running on a circular track.<br />Seemingly endless.<br />Maybe it will end.<br />Today.<br /><br />The last sounds being the slight murmuring<br />of my mother in my ear.<br />Then the even more slight siren of<br />The Ambulance.Divyangana Rakeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744304197182501165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768867633620073129.post-11910850351610492932008-05-25T04:12:00.000-07:002008-05-25T04:25:14.406-07:00ShadowThe gray flows into the blue,<br />The water rises to meet the sky,<br />The orchestra of sounds crashing into me,<br />The ship in pieces.<br /><br />The waterlogged wood splitting,<br />The rain, washing everything away.<br /><br />There's a lady crying, Holding her dead son's body.<br />A hungry puppy looking for it's mother.<br /><br />A bullet has been shot somewhere,<br />we just heard it.<br /><br />There's no light left.<br />And yet, I stand on the mast,<br />looking for a tomorrow<br />in yesterday's shadow.Divyangana Rakeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744304197182501165noreply@blogger.com1