Tuesday 5 May 2015

5 Poems by Shipra Agrwal

ON THE THRESHOLD

Long ago
you painted a picture for me
of a house with purple walls
somewhere between the city and the beach.
I had closed my eyes then
and heard you sing
of a love found and lost.
I tried to find it again, but
it was gone
that fleeting look of tenderness in your eyes
so was the picture
and I thought it to be
another one of my reverie.

And yet, months later
here I stand
on the threshold
of that figment of your imagination.
How did you make it real?
When did you show me the way to it?
I think I know the answers deep down...
But, what I don't know
is the way forward from here.
Should I knock on the door
or should I just walk past it?
Would you smile when you see me,
would you let me in?
and if you do
would there be a way out again
for me?


IN YOUR DREAMS

I close my eyes and try to sleep
but at times, too much peace can also keep one awake.
I seek out a sound, a flutter to peg my thoughts on,
but all I hear is the rhythm of your breath.
I touch your arm and wonder, where are you right now?

To a forgotten hiding spot in the old neighborhood
or a snow covered peak dipped in silence,
where have your dreams taken you today?
Would you have a story to tell me when you come back,
or are we writing one together in a half-imagined, half-real world?

There's a shadow of a smile on your lips that reminds me
of the whispered iloveyou, just before you fell asleep.
Would you say it again when you wake up?
Or is that what you are doing right now,
in your dreams?


LOVE LETTERS

Don't kindle the lamp, beloved,
not today..
It casts tall shadows on the wall
and makes us seem farther away.
Sit beside me, let me fathom the darkness of your eyes tonight
I pray!

Oh but it's threatening us, my love,
the Sun..
Says there won't be a dawn to this night
it will forever drown itself in the ocean.
For another moment of light in our lives, I'll burn down all timber
of reason!

The Sun is a rotten old fool, beloved,
loveless soul..
too drunk on its strength, it knows not
the power of your afterglow.
Let the darkest night befall, we'll still have the shimmer of memories
of yore!


MISCHIEVOUS LI'L IMPS

Mornings come to me with your thoughts in tow,
Vague, fleeting, half-formed thoughts you know!
I often wonder if they are a continuation of a dream,
Like a song interrupted by a far placed scream.

Just like a song heard in the morning stays with one all day
So your thoughts, mischievous li'l imps, refuse to go away.
I play with them often, and each time our laughs grow crisper,
They jump on me and sing to me and tease me with their whispers.

At times I chide them and make them sit quietly in a distant corner
But they look at me with puppy eyes till I can't ignore them any longer.
"Go back to where you come from", I tell them, "Go and ask him, will you? "
"Does he have li'l imps of his own? Does he think about me too? "


TWILIGHT

The light is fading
bit by bit
both around me
and inside.

I turn away
from the setting sun
to the shimmering lights
of the city,
they attract my attention
but repulse my soul.
And then, there is the darkness
growing stronger every minute
threatening to engulf me.

Should i run to the lights
and kill my soul?
Or should I wait for the dark
to drown it, drown it?


No comments:

Post a Comment