i chased freedom

freedom chased me

in the midst of it all

the other we did not see

i realize freedom is in me

in the seed is the tree

kindness can come from strangers 

across the sea

i have stopped chasing freedom

freedom has stopped chasing me

i pause to see the white winter sun

listen to the black night sea

serendipity…if you hear me

make our paths cross

i want a chance to share

happiness and loss

Photo by Miguel Naranjo on Unsplash

be the grass 

that cradles my feet

reads my silence

never asks to repeat

be the breeze

that slips between my fingers everyday

the gentle hand that touches me

when i get carried away

be the moon 

that never casts a shadow

won’t you tell me

where you’d like to go

let’s make a sweet memory

let go of all the gloom

when the world starts to fall asleep

and the jasmine starts to bloom

Photo by Shubham Shrivastava on Unsplash

i hear

in the lands of milk and honey

there will soon be 

a different kind of money

defi will defy

wealth will trickle

no change

without ripple

i listen to the friday morning jazz

sip my tea

in the search for someone

wonder if I will ever lose me

i polish the nickle 

and the dime

look around and realize

nothing is really mine

i close my eyes

tea is cold

the sun’s warm embrace

a gift better than gold

as the forests burn

and the skies turns gray

may I always remember what matters

…the gift of today

Photo by Aidana Khabdesh on Unsplash

you say

you are somewhat bored

the pandemic makes you

want to dash out of the door

i say

i feel somewhat zen

it is ok i don’t know

when the pandemic will end

you smile and look at me

your eyes convey a story

i close mine

pause my worry

love to just lie on the grass

so warm and green

share secrets

and some orange blossom ice cream

Photo by Mash on Unsplash

you ask 

would i prefer gold or silver trinkets

i say

i’d love the wind’s anklets

the ones that make beautiful music 

as the sun rises 

the ones that make the dusk

a time for sweet surprises

you ask

would I prefer to talk or be silent today

i say

let’s take a walk along the english bay

where the glorious red sun 

gently sinks into the turquoise waters

you ask

and that’s all that really matters

Photo by Esther Wilhelmsson on Unsplash

 

they ask me where i am really from

that is a good question i say

i ponder for a moment

my stillness goes astray

the waters are turbulent and brown

i search for answers in black and white

my wandering mind

wants to remember the one out of sight

i answer i don’t know where i am really from

that is interesting they say

they ponder for a moment

another lost connection in another day

we arrive and depart from the universe alike

me they you and more

why does it matter

where we are really from and where we go 

they ask me where i am really from

that is a good question i say

i ponder and decide

i will not let my stillness go astray

 

Photo by Ave Calvar on Unsplash

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

twenty six alphabets in a foreign tongue

can’t convey what’s on my mind

a brother murdered

a partner and sweet child left behind

why does empathy and love

get snuffed out by hate and tyranny

why does the beauty of difference

scare so many

precious life the gift of breath

may i always remember to be kind

twenty six alphabets in a foreign tongue

can’t convey what’s on my mind

 

Photo by Tamara Menzi on Unsplash

 

when you stand on firm ground

remember water flows beneath you

when this and that mix

you get beautiful blue

when you lovingly feed someone

remember you may get hurt

the kind and cruel 

are nurtured by earth

i think i know

why the wise ones say

nothing stays the same 

tomorrow and today

senseless violence

searing pain

everything will be washed away

like golden motes in the grey rain

 

Photo by Daoudi Aissa on Unsplash

 

somewhere

the sun sets

the moon rises

the heart never forgets

that first moment 

when my baby cried

looked into my eyes

and for the first time smiled

i will always love you to the moon and back

you know why

twenty summers

how the years have gone by

 

~HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY TO MY AWESOME SON, NIRANJ~

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

 

the last time we met

it was a warm summer day

we sat across a table

was it april or may

we talked about the weather

politics and politicians

drank green tea

and talked more about music and musicians

we walked around the garden

with silence our loyal companion

making sense of the mixed emotions

another long-awaited reunion

we are like the stars are we not

seem close but are miles apart

amidst the formality was there a moment

where we wished it was not the time to depart

it was probably

just my own wishful thinking

one can cry

with no tears streaming

just around the corner

another summer

if we meet again

i promise i will be braver

i will look deep into your misty eyes

and remember all that we have been through

when you say tell me

i will whisper green tea makes me blue

 

Photo by Alisher Sharip on Unsplash