Just another love story (II)

Feeling sorry for the lone girl standing quite away
From the noisy group of boys who barred her way
He felt that he ought to help her out
Maybe he should start by clearing her doubt

Bernoulli’s theorem was rather straightforward
But girls were dumb from what he had seen and heard
So in plain words he tried to elucidate
Things started out simply but it must have been fate

She was just another girl and all was fine
Or so he thought till he heard the grapevine
Someone mentioned she was crazy for him
But he did not think it was more than a whim

He did not have patience for useless rumour
He loved another, so this he wouldn’t humour
And thus, he decided to steer clear of her
As luck would have it, something else was in store

One love wanes then another appears
Days turn into weeks, then months, then years
When suddenly the intoxicated haze of alcohol and drowning sun
Brings the memory of the girl he has ignored for two autumns

A crazy impulse makes him dial her number
His brain is scrambled but he hopes to sound sober
She is surprised, no, shocked - but not as much as him
She is with someone else and his chances are grim

He disregards the whole episode as a one-off
But despite his efforts he is unable to laugh it off
Her changed loyalties don’t just prick his heart
It is more than wrenched and that is just the start

Perturbed by his own growing volatility
He feels it is not the time for stability
Yet there is an overriding urge to win her over
So he pursues her in a rather peculiar manner

He blows hot one day, blows cold the other
And discourages the girl till she can take no further
Then when she is finally on the verge of fleeing
He tells her he loves her with all his being

Both are dumbfounded at this confession
Warily they set out on an expedition
Into the labyrinthine world of love and affection
This was some years back but the journey has only begun

Morning in the woods

An ochre leaf floats along the gurgling span
The moist scent hangs over clear waters
Glimmering with little flecks of the golden sun
White foam splashes against brown boulders

Pale yellow butterflies dance in mid-air
Lucent wings fluttering without a sound
Purple and blue wildflowers here and there
Look up from the glistening grass around

A leaf clings to remnants of the night
Beads of dew waver on emerald edge
Nearby a flock of parrots takes flight
Dusty babblers cackle on a waterside ledge

Zephyr over the water ruffles the feathers
Of a blue kingfisher on the brink of a dive
Pheasant chicks and mother totter together
And forage for the bugs on which they thrive

The willow tree observes the landscape
For long years it has stood there
Along these waters it has taken shape
As the woodland stays alive in the stream’s care

Eternity

The loneliness of eternity

Makes me thankful for mortality

For eternity is a sad irony

The briefness of life pitted against infinity

Comes forth victorious

For brief as it is

It promises wonder and joyousness

It is merciful even in sadness

For it assures respite from the sorrow

And though from eternity we must borrow

Time, the most precious notion ever realized

In living out our small days it is utilized

Eternity receives nothing, while we

Exhaust our treasured cache and cease aptly

Endless days would be the worst

While others come, then fade to dust

Eternity must be tiresome, bitter and cold

While though our life is short, we get someone to hold

Void

Wild wind and lashing rain

Listen to me, I run again

Against you, and you sting my face

But I run on, to that place

Where I find myself, my essence

My peace, my penance…

Under the dark gray foreboding sky

I stand alone and wonder why

I'm wrapped in its ominous presence

Yet upon me falls such a sense

Of calmness, an odd stillness, immobility

A bizarre impossibility…

I come to a standstill, and you keep pouring

Hear me now, what's this that you bring

With you, that eases my soul of its restiveness

And helps me to think through the mess

That's become my life, chaos and confusion with traces

Of bitterness…

The wind whips across my bare arms

It hurts, yet it can do no harm

The hurt inside is raw and deep

This shallow ache can never seep

To those depths, so there's no reason to complain

Yet again…