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Wednesday, April 01, 2026

What's a Poem?

When a grey cloudy roaring sky,
suddenly turns crisp blue
and whistles with the wind,
a poem is born…

When you were all prepared
for a rough hectic day ahead,
but it turned out to be
much softer and sunnier instead.

A poem is that little moment
tucked between two happy thoughts.
It's the stamp of time just when
a fluid darkness spills into dawn.

When you couldn't sleep all night,
it's the blanket of warmth,
that feels like a full deep slumber,
with a dream, minutes before you woke up.

A poem is the correct shade of pink,
slightly brighter and richer,
than your natural lip colour,
which makes your smile better than usual.

When you remember old days,
and quietly nod to yourself…
Someone looks back from the mirror,
reassuring, you've come a long way.

A poem is hidden
in a sleepy snail shell,
waiting to be picked up on a rainy day,
by muddy little playful fingers.

It's the song that shadows write
on blank sunny white walls,
listening to the leaves and birds,
as they turn it into a mural.

A poem is a doodle in my diary,
scribbled somewhere on idle pages,
amidst awkward pauses of work meetings,
for a quick refresh of my mind.

Between the last bronze of the sun
and the first pearl drop of the moon,
there is always a poem,
peeping in and out along silver linings.

:: This poem was written for poetry reading events and workshops for school children, lined up for this summer at the School Book Fairs, that I was supposed to be a part of.  I wanted to teach the children, how a collection of beautiful thoughts can become a poem! Unfortunately, because of the current situation of the world, schools are on distance learning and these sessions got cancelled.  This poem remains in my mind as a bouquet of quietly beautiful things, to refresh the mind and bring back some positivity . 
This poem is inspired by the question in the picture book "This is a Poem That Heals Fish" by Jean-Pierre Simeon", translated into English by Claudia Zoe Bedrick. I got a glimpse of the book on 'the marginalian' by Maria Popova :: 



Saturday, March 14, 2026

Pendulum

Beliefs sway back and forth
on the pendulum of uncertainty.
Within the torn tapestry of war,
we rediscover new threads of relationships.

Longing for a glint of the crescent moon,
on bruised grey-blue skies,
we catch a precious dream- filled cat nap,
between startling alerts and alarms.

Like a fulfilling sip of coffee
on a rushed stressful workday.
Or a hushed full deep breath,
amidst a fast- paced running race…

Jets no longer display
colourful trails for an airshow.
We wish for innocent paper planes,
to hold onto our faith and memories.

Smoke disguised as clouds
creates an illusion of normalcy.
But the sky quietly weeps at dawn,
washing down the trauma of last night.

Clueless kids happily call it rain
in today’s child-friendly reality.
Yet somewhere in between inhumane acts,
life continues to reveal little moments of empathy.


#tapestryofwar #betweenalarms 



Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Uncaged

This was a bird
who walked into a cage,
naively, on her own,
and chose to stay there.

The doors of her confines
had always been open.
Yet, she never dared to step out,
or even tried to flap her wings.

No one to stop her, but her apathy,
gripped with fear and ignorance.
She never cared to taste
what waited right at her doorstep.

Many caged birds continue to sing
desperate songs of freedom,
but the uncaged bird
knew not how to sing!

She had never stretched her wings,
nor learnt how to use her voice.
Too comfortable in her mediocre existence,
she had wasted her prospect of flight.

A never-opened mind to possibilities,
is an ignored chance of empowerment.
For the prison of fearfulness and inaction,
is far too thick a trap to break.

Which bird are you?
Have you ever questioned the pattern?
Are you brave enough to break the rules
to knock down generational karmic shackles…


:: This poem questions all those women who choose a mediocre existence over empowerment. They come from an educated family, a free country, with no restrictions. They can wear whatever they wish and step out of the house at will. They get many opportunities to become a better version of themselves. Yet, they choose to be lazy, inactive , do nothing special and just waste their time in a worthless journey of financial dependence.

After many such typical uncaged women in every family of repetitions, once in a generation, comes one different young woman from a contrasting background - the rule breaker, who questions and changes regressive family patterns forever!