The Darkest Night Of The Year

Darkness has spread its wings
It's taking over the sky
Black ink spills over a white canvas,
It's a barren land inside the artist's mind..

The contagion of fear is here to take us all.

Wake up, Crucifier!
Let the full moon out of the shadows
Raise high tides once again
Lash out at the army of rocks
Wipe away the darkest night of the year.

Office Poetry Breaks

Following the trail of the Butterflies...

I roam freely in the fields of golden grains,

The Sun shines brightly behind the shoulders’ of the mountains

A swarm of butterflies dance to the tune of the northeastern winds

I witness the graceful tap of those tiny wings;

The opening and closing of a universe full of secrets.

Wings like soft petals of heavenly flowers,

Wings full of colours and stories,

Turning into a kaleidoscope of my life…

Where do they come from?

Where do they go?

Theirs is a relentless search of beauty

Just like the dream, I chase on my two feet…

Making their way through the dense forests,

They carry the pulse of the wild and the mysterious.

Once they reach the gardens of daffodils,

Their souls blend in with the mood of the season.

I look around

I don’t see them anymore

Suddenly it’s winter,

Fields clad in thick foam of white snow

I close my eyes, a world moves inside me

I open my eyes to the scene of wings fluttering out of a cocoon

And it’s spring once again...

Image Courtesy: www.google.com

That's when we were free...

When we laughed without a care in the world, 
Our masks let gone of; 
All our fears vanished into the thin air.
That's when we actually met, 
That's when we were free...

The Young & The Wild...

You wander like a nomad in your youth. You follow the wind, see seasons change...
And then, marvel at nature's secrets.
They tell you to stick to the lines,
But you're quite the mischievous hopper, aren't you?

With the heart of a wild child,
You laugh at all those falls.
Even with the pain, you muster up some courage.

Perhaps, the boundaries are meant to protect
But the world beyond fascinates you...

You create your own directions, The walls can't hold you back.

Hope surprises you.

Hope is like a solitary leaf dancing with the wind,
Flying freely and carelessly...
Sometimes, you're almost certain that she'll fall flat on her face..
And that's when she surprises you.

Sometimes, I wonder...

Woke up to the call of a dull afternoon,

An afternoon in the plains,

While, my heart yearned for the hills

As I looked outside my window,

A tender fall of a raindrop catches my eye.

Like a scene from a half dreamt dream;

Like a poem in the making,

It speaks…

With a still gaze, I try to soak it all in

The assortment of greens, reds and pinks in my garden,

A solitary white flower blooming in the wind,

Birds chirping one at a time, occasionally joining into a duet

The fading in and out sound of a hovering airplane,

Adding that tint of urban culture to this isolated fancy world of mine…

This single moment,

A union of so many voices;

The coming together of so many stories...

Yes, this ordinary life.

A coexistence of worlds that run in parallel

With or without, our knowing

Sometimes, I wonder…

Don’t you wonder too?

Image courtesy: http://s1005.photobucket.com/user/rosydeava/media/Nature/045autumn.gif.html

Bird on a wire

Bird on a wire 
So trapped, yet, set free
Look upon the trails of the clouds and hear the sky speak.
Is it a sign or a story?
Rest the hero for the day,
And just be the spectator today...

A thousand ships sailed...

One knock of hope on thy doors,
And a thousand ships sailed..
They know not the tricks of the ocean,
But there was a brave rhythm in their togetherness...

People in phases...

People in phases,

People in situations,

Caught like stars in a galaxy

Who stays a stranger?

Who remains a friend?

Walking on dotted lines, making time seem fine

A twirl of events;

A slow dance of souls

We cross paths, our journeys too long

Seeking connections, sometimes not…

Things happen, sometimes not…

Held by a string of thoughts

Bound by none but time

Each connection, an unexpected reason

Our hearts find home,

The smiles seem known.

No matter how short, how deep

Connections, these are

Let it be, as they are...

For we, are people in phases

Phasing in, phasing out

Making moments shine out of dust

Writing stories etched in our hearts

Prone to wins & losses

Still looking, while the universe is at play

‘Something is out there’, they say.

Strangely, we know…

Just make her smile...

Like a rock, she rolls

Hitting pavements, crossing shores,

Each strike adds another coat of strength,

The scars so countless, yet so defining

A sculpture so formed, so her...

As days change into seasons,

More sheen to her body and mind

Some seasons were dry and unkind

But what could break her now?

She stood firm like a rock

With no chains and stark-naked honesty.

Her inner flame, her only soft spot,

A light too bright to stay veiled,

So it reflects on her texture when she smiles.

You want to know her?

Just make her smile.

Only one win matters...

Fragments build up within,
A sudden surge of energy fuels my soul

The walls, they want to melt away and let out these waves, 

Is it an explosion that awaits? 

Maybe, these are just noises and mere noises.

An on and off spell of calmness;

Showers of love and harmony. 

An equilibrium, I can't keep up with,

It keeps disappearing when I try to touch,

Is it my touch or am I just chasing a bubble? 

The bubble is fragile, not me. 

What I seek is hiding somewhere in a maze.

Oh the games, there are too many!

Only one win matters...

Now, I choose between the rights and lefts, 

My choices, my moves.

Play, play, play, 

Till the master move emerges 

And breaks down this stalemate. 

  

Only one win matters, 

To crack open the heart of possibilities,

So play, till you find the key. 

Play, till you see the maze vanish away...

Audio for this: https://soundcloud.com/neelanjana-barua/only-one-win-matters

Quite the afternoon...

This seemed like a fine afternoon to scribble down something.

After flipping through a few pages, I found that spot.

The clock kept ticking at a leisurely pace…

Maybe it's going to be ‘two thirty’ for a long time now…

It was an ordinary moment really;

The day was changing colours right under the Sun,

The air was filled with a concoction of noises;

The mild bustling of cars on the streets, carpenters at work,

Whistles of the pressure cooker, a running tap,

Dogs barking at the motorcycles on the streets,

Trees swaying with the gentle breeze,

And even the crickets were around...

I was in between my yawns and sighs,

My eyes set on the ceiling fan,

Staring & wondering if there's something to admire about it…

The dullness of this hour had this eerie soothing effect.

The sluggish hands of the clock barely made a move,

Minutes to seconds went by but time stood still.

Soon the Sun began to draw its curtains;

Its light kept fading with every move;

The clock timed the act and conveniently so...

Perhaps it’s going to be two-thirty for quite some time...

I am Black…

I stood behind as still as the wall,
A wall so full of puzzles and shadows…
I could never have that stage,
But their drama is flawed without my body.

I am that black canvas inside your thoughts,

One colour for many emotions…
Without me, light has no worth;
You’ll find no direction unless you surrender…
I’ll show you more than you wish to see;
And leave fine lines in your memory…
 

I am black; more than just a colour
I give shades to those blurred fragments of your mind…
Without me love isn’t as sensuous;
The Moon isn’t half stunning;
Without me, there wouldn’t be a ‘night’
 

My darkness frightens the mortals…
I am that silhouette of fears, wrath and pain;
That stranger who follows them everywhere they go…

 My presence haunts the prude,
But the poets call me their muse…
  
You can run away and abandon me…
But remember, I’m the one when you seek refuge;
I am that partial life in between your heartbeats;
The only destination beyond that ‘finishing line’…
         

What is it that you're looking for?

What is it that you’re looking for?

What makes you twist and turn all night long?

Why not content with what’s on your platter,

When the rest have bowed down to the worldly ways?

A prism of thoughts, as unsettling as water;

And all that pondering never ceases to rest…

So you start digging on your own,

Picked those muddled up pieces here and there

Something’s still missing, it always has...

The journey’s long and weary,

That feeling of fulfillment is a distant dream.

The picture still isn't clear;

You wait for the colours to fill in…

Yet they made you walk along that hazy stretch,

You wandered like a curious nomad, ran to quench your thirst

But the mirage won over you at first;

Soon you learned its trick and leveled the scores.

Those sore feet took you on for miles and miles,

But what could beat the flight of thy mind?

It’ll hunt for the hints and leave its trails behind…

Not even the stones can weigh you down now;

You’ve come too far ahead of those second thoughts,

Much beyond the reach of ifs and buts…

My Adventure has only begun...

I have a dream and it comes to life at night...

The day always came with its own plans,

So there came the nights, to wander and explore

I want to run on the grassy fields;

Where the morning dew caresses my bare feet,

The gentle wind escorts me ahead

As I slowly picked up its pace,

We made music as we raced…

No rush, no track of time,

Didn’t matter who came first…

For we didn’t want to stop, did we?

The light was frail, on and off,

The Moon romanced behind the clouds…

The passion lit skies threw its thunders,

And the sky started melting as she blushed…

It drizzled down and wet the lands;

I’ve always wanted to be drenched like this…

So I kept running,

My adventure has only begun…