Stay

Stay with me for now,
Stay as long as you must.
Stay with me forever,
Or until I've turned to dust.

Love is unconditional,
It brings peace to the heart.
But mine simply consumes me,
And tears my soul apart.

I want you to stay
Not just tonight and tomorrow,
But now and forever, 
And for all time to follow.

If you don't want to stay,
There's nothing I can do.
Except to let you go and hope
That you find love too.         

That's when you'll know,
What it feels like
To love someone deeply,  
And be rewarded with spite.

But who am I kidding?
I don't want you to go away; 
Neither find love elsewhere;
All I want is for you to stay.

As You Sow

As you sow
So shall you reap.
But do not weep.
Let the pain seep         
Into your soul. 

It's there for a reason.
And it'll stay a season.
You committed treason. 
This is your repentance. 

There is no solace.
Not even a trace.
Consequences you must face.      
For your behaviour of disgrace.

Let your heart bleed.
Of truth, plant a seed.
Let it not weed.
And once you sow,
Make sure to reap.

The City of Hope

The city of hope,

The city of dreams,

The very heart;

This city never sleeps.

The sea by which

Promises are made;

People sit watching,

As the sun’s rays fade.

The streets chaotic,

Never a dull moment;

The night sky

Turns a cynic ‘to a poet.

The underworld and

Underhand dealings;

The endless wait at

Official court hearings.

The crowded trains

Are used by lakhs,

No thought for others;

Babies crammed on laps.

Yet there is something

About the eternal city;

It’s boundless love,

It’s versatile beauty.

Amid all the mayhem

You won’t be alone,

There will always be,

Another weary soul.

Of the city herself;

She doesn’t grow old;

She may be tired,

But she is still bold.

And if she loves you,

Be assured, my friend,

Your hard times are gone,

Your luck is on the mend.

She’ll look after you while

Bursting at the seams;

This city of hope,

This city of dreams.

Transient

Life’s not perfect,

It was never meant to be.

But it was worth it,

For you and me.

We met by chance,

Without expectations,

Going with the flow,

Respecting limitations.

We knew our time was short,

But that didn’t matter to us,

 We made the most of it;

We weren’t in a rush.

But in the aftermath,

I was asked the meaning,

Of this whole affair that

You and I were leading.

I had no answers;

Only feelings to show,

Of a love that was, and

A heart that took a blow.

And now you’re gone

My love, never to return,

Nothing I can do or say

Will make the fates turn.

So I will accept it,

For what it meant,

A love that had a tag;

It was transient.

A LITTLE NOTE

A little note

For dear little you;

Friends like you in this strange land,

I have very few.

The drunken confessions,

The heartfelt chats,

The exchange of gossip,

The checking out of lads.

I could do it all with you

Without a single care,

And now we live so far;

Everything we cannot share.

But that’s okay,

For I know the truth;

You’ll be there if I need you,

Like a firm tree’s root.

I don’t mean to be soppy,

But I’d like to let you know;

I’m here if you need to rant or laugh,

Or talk your facial muscles sore.

Your birthday is over,

And this note is a tad bit late,

But the sentiment it carries,

Has no expiry date!

Signs

Do you see the signs?

I see them everywhere.

They show me the way forward,

They show me that someone cares.

Signs are like pieces of a puzzle;

They are all around.

But you won’t see them,

Until you know what you have found.

And then you will realise,

That what you never saw,

Was something that was always there,

Ignorant to a flaw.

But mind you,

Signs aren’t always good.

Sometimes they bring clarity,

Sometimes, just cause to be misunderstood.

Signs of love,

Signs of fame,

Signs of hate;

It’s all the same.

Because until you can recognise them,

Signs are but silent,

See them, understand them,

And then they are brilliant.

So the next time you see a sign of love,

Halt, tread with caution.

For, what you see,

May well be an apparition.

Signs do that to you;

Show you treasure mines,

When all that was there,

Was just a whole lot of signs!

These signs will mislead you,

They will cause your heart to break.

Because they will tell you,

Tales of love fake.

So, learn to read them,

Don’t jump into a new fray,

Thinking you know the signs,

Which will lead you astray.

The heart is silly,

Listen to your brain;

It’ll tell you that signs

Are simply lame.

Follow your head,

Forget the heart.

Because signs and pain,

Never come apart.

This Too Shall Pass

A dark night,

A lonely heart,

But a voice tells me,

This too shall pass.

You’ve lived through the worst,

It says,

Tomorrow will bring,

A happier day.

The sun never ceases to rise,

It beats on,

Keeping alive the certainty

Of a new dawn.

So shall you strive on,

No matter the hurdle,

Because you know well,

You can carry the burden.

But sometimes,

Once in a while,

You look back,

Back at all that was nigh.

And you wonder,

How could things be different?

The answer’s simple,

They couldn’t; you must see it.

And that’s just life;

You’re dealt your cards;

Make of them,

What you must.

Spare not a thought to what could’ve been,

Think instead of what tomorrow will bring.

Because in the end…

A dark night,

A lonely heart,

A voice assures me,

This too shall pass.

THE CHANGE

The inhibitions I had long ago,
Are now all gone;
So is the fear I had then,
Which you thought was just a stubborn pledge I’d sworn.

I no longer shy away,
I am not scared at all,
I do as I please now,
I make my own call.

The thing that separated us then,
Would today be no barrier;
We could’ve been together,
And no soul could’ve been that us merrier.

I was young then,
I needed a guiding hand;
But in you all I found,
Was a sullen man.

The patience which you didn’t show then,
Could’ve paid off today;
We could’ve been happy and gay,
We would’ve done okay.

But I guess that’s water under the bridge now,
Those days won’t return;
I’ve moved on and,
A few lessons I have learned.

You are happy, so am I,
If I ever think of you,
My consolation is that,
Sometimes, so do you.

Voices in my head

Voices in my head,

Are you all dead?

You’re supposed to warn me,

Not to do anything stupid.

Instead you desert me,

Just when I need it.

And then I do what I most fear,

Speak before I think, putting in danger all that I hold dear.

Before you know it,

The earth has from under me shifted;

Shifted so that I am buried,

Deep into an abyss towards which I had for long drifted.

But it’s your fault, oh voices,

For not warning me.

For not alerting me to the dangers that lurk beyond,

For not telling me anew,

How crazy things can get,

If I don’t listen to you.

Voices in my head,

You used to tell me all;

You used to remind me,

Of things great and small.

And yet now you are silent,

Silent as a lamb,

Leaving me to fight,

This battle damned.

Oh voices in my head,

It’s true I cursed you;

Asked you to go away,

But you took it literally, and silently faded away.

Into the night you’re gone,

But my pain hasn’t receded;

And all that could go wrong

Without you, has in coming true succeeded.

Voices in my head,

Now I’m paying for not listening to you,

But it is your fault,

For I loved, and you didn’t stop me too.

TIME MENDS

It starts with 'hi',

Moving on to a joke;

Before you know it,

You're a gone bloke.

The friendship deepens,

The ties grow strong,

You feel like you have

A shoulder to cry on.

And even though that's true,

You're misreading it my dear,

For of breaking their heart,

You should have no fear.

For they never loved you,

At least not in the way you thought,

And now you're just someone

With their nerves fraught.

But that doesn't really matter,

For you're still a friend,

And every other sorrow,

Time will mend.

Over You

Does it sound like the title of a song?

I don't care,

‘Coz I swear,

I have moved on.

It took a while,

That is certainly true,

But don't turn blue,

With you now I am through.

All the yearning,

The pain, the love songs,

Make me feel nothing,

‘Coz I have moved on.

You'd moved on a while ago,

You seemed to be happy too.

But it took a little longer still,

For me to not love you.

I was tired of not knowing

When I'd be free,

Of thinking incessantly

If you were missing me.

But of course you weren't;

You had started anew,

Leaving me with nothing

But memories few.

Well I guess it was worth it,

Knowing why it didn't work with you,

In the future I will make sure;

Now I know what to do.

You were intelligent and romantic,

You knew just what to say,

To make me forget my anger,

To make my resolve sway.

But you thought too much of yourself,

Blaming me and calling me names;

Never did you stop to think,

Was there any truth to your claims?

I loved you deeply,

More than you'll ever know,

And you thought my reluctance

Was my ego.

And so you had to look better,

Never could you be vulnerable,

And so you put an end

To this lovely fable.

If your pride can be hurt then,

Mine can be dented too,

And if you hadn't stopped me,

I would still have said no to you.

Three long years it has been,

Since that fateful day,

And how much I suffered since then,

I can't even begin to say.

Our paths separated long ago,

Though I kept looking back,

But I won't any more,

‘Coz I've taken a different track.

I took a turn;

An unknown bend,

But without you there,

My heart has had time to mend.

So here's wishing you a happy life,

One that is safe and long,

I can wish for all these things,

Because buddy, I've moved on.