A Punctuation Mark

A Punctuation Mark

Running

Huffing and puffing

Playing catch-up

A hamster on the inexorable wheel

Of Life whizzing by

The fear

Of stopping

Like lead in the mouth

Picture Courtesy: Horia Varlan

Is it the taste of Death?

And then

A Punctuation Mark

Appears out of nowhere

A look into my own eyes

A moment of pause - a new vision

A tug of the heart-strings

The hint of recognition

The blank canvas

The empty page

Of this very moment

At every stage

Writing furiously

Letting the colors collide

Giving in to curiosity

Allowing myself to effortlessly glide

Into Stillness

Through the breath

Through the sound

Through every thing

That's all around

Running again,

Out of misery's reach

Reaching into the

Inner stillness though

With much to teach

Running into

My Self anew

Each moment becoming

Brand new

Phew!

- 15 May 2020

पहेली:The Puzzle

Picture Courtesy: Artwork by Ankur Gupta

पहेली	The Puzzle
मौत हो सकता है कोई कविता हो	Death… It is possible Is some sort of a poem
पर ज़िन्दगी? पहेली सी नज़र आती है आज	But Life? Appears completely like a puzzle today
इतराती हुई चिढ़ाती है कभी इठलाती हुई सर चढ़ा लेती है कभी	It prances and dances It teases then eases It can be flippant And then indulgent Vibrant yet trenchant
न जाने कैसे कैसे खेल खेल जाती है रोज़ कभी खुशबूऐं बिखेरती पंखुड़ियों पे जैसे ओस फिर अचानक चीर-काट के रख देती है सहम जातें है हम मन मसोस	The games it plays The fragrance it sprays A gentle dew-drop on a petal as raiment And in the very next moment It rips it all apart Fear tearing the heart
दर्द देती है ऐसा भीषण असंभव कोई भी निरिक्षण भूल जाओ सभी उत्तर-प्रश्न दिशाहीन हो तुम कहाँ है उत्तर-दक्षिण?	The pain it inflicts in abjection Makes impossible inspection or introspection Forget about an answer to any question Bereft of any direction
इसके सवाल ख़त्म नहीं होते थक चुके हम ये आँखें भी रोते रोते	The interrogation Doesn't seem to end No end to exhaustion The tears seem to upend
क्या आँसूओं में कोई जादू होता है मगर? भीग जाने दूँ अपने को इनमे अगर?	But is there some magic perchance In these very tears? If I examine them askance Yet allow myself to soak in them when they appear?
मन के जाले साफ कर जाया करते हैं आँसुओं को जब अनुमति मिले तो आईने में प्रतिबिम्ब स्पष्ट नज़र आते हैं	They do clear away the cobwebs of this mind When I give tears the permission They’re the mirrors That clarify the impression
ज़िन्दगी की इस पहेली के कुछ पहलू एकत्र होते दिखाई देते हैं इसके सवाल-जवाब के परे दिशा-निराशा से बिन घिरे समता की सम्भावना नज़र आती है	Of this puzzle called Life Some aspects seem to gather That beyond the questions and reaction Beyond direction distraction and disorientation Lies the possibility of equanimity
भावनाओं की पूर्णतः अनुभूतियों में भी सारी सृष्टि नज़र आ सकती है	That complete surrender to these very emotions Might reveal the secret of creation
June 10, 2014	June 12, 2020