The Loneliness of the Long Distance Commuter

My heart sinks when I think of you
The hour that's between us two.'
Home and work, will the twain meet?
Mine but to trudge there, rain or sleet.

Open Ola while wolfing breakfast
If he comes on time, pack the rest.
Explain everyday where I'm to be found
Still sometimes the dolt goes round and round.

Jammed in a shared cab with fellow sufferers
We wall ourselves with cell phone bricks
Now I know all the tricks
To cutting time

"Please put the radio on," I sing
Then I hear another's phone ring.
Sometimes I run my chore calls
Knowing others helplessly eavesdrop. Balls.

As the dust dives in through windows open
I wait for the others to mouths open
The air con can be a joke
Stifling. The choice? Choke.

Traffic at the University turn
Is when I check Twitter on the run
Inch by painful inch we advance
Patience is a virtue, I chant.

I shift my aching knees in vain
To find a spot of relief in chains
As the others get off at their stops
I slide across seats free now, the sun to crop.

Those detours for others do delay
It saves money, mind to heart relays
The green on the way soothes for a sec
To dissolve when the car brakes. Heck!

Walking in to work, I'm already pooped
Rush to the loo, to recoup.
With such a start to the day
Any wonder, I wanna run away?

Worrying

Crow thoughts pick my eyes out
When I try to sleep.

Youth

I wish I could tear the skin off your face
It reminds me of mine when I was young.

In tandem

If only
My legs could run as fast on the treadmill
As my mind does all the time
I'd have the figure I think about.

Strawberries and Cream

Red.
Juicy.
Firm.
I bite into you
My mouth
Flooding with
Sweet and sourness.
With cream
You cool me
My favourite
Menage a trois.

Reading the waters

When I begin a book
I dip my toes in it
Soon I'm drowning
Becoming the hero
The heroine
The villain
In the world beneath.
The water
Seeps out of me
When I come out
Forgetting how
To be myself.

Morning haiku

Dark sky
Lightens in blue
Like my mood.

Tree haiku

A tree
Arms stretched
Like a flower.

One angry woman

The anger inside me
Fights to get out
I'm its bottle
But sometimes my cork mouth
Flies off in air
And it shapes words vile
That fly to their marks
Settle on their chosen perches
As I look at the havoc I've wreaked
I try to pick up the pieces
Of what were once humans.

London

Fell in love with you before I met you
Through writings of authors, your hue
I knew before I traveled your roads
Whether by car, bus, foot, or under your belly
"Are you alright?" seemed familiar not just from the telly.

You blew hot sometimes, at other times cold
I'm glad I saw you in white, truth be told.
Westminster's grandeur has lasted long
Big Ben keeps chiming its tuneful song.

The Thames is your blood blue
Where I walked from Tower Bridge to Waterloo
The Tower of London's glitter and gore
Gave me a glimpse of days yore.

Our whirlwind tour then saw
Rocky Windsor castle. A draw
Of lots was won by Hampton Court Palace
Which had gardens that were full of grace.

Imaginary volleys at Wimbledon
Ghostly figures at Globe's kingdom
Leisurely strolls through Trafalgar Square
Led to Buckingham Palace, the Queen's lair.

The other way led to Piccadilly Circus
Which refers, methinks, to a roundabout, bas.
Where we met the Phantom of the Opera
Nearby, Fortnum & Mason- a culinary Shangri la

Oxford Circus on Boxing Day and otherwise
Our happy hunting grounds, shopper's paradise
A little ahead, Harrod's, marvellous opulence
We liked Liberty more, understated elegance.

Cirque de Soleil acrobatics at the Royal Albert Hall
Museums galore, science, natural history, you have them all.
Obliging signs took care of me, so I needed not
To scatter crumbs, which was Hansel & Gretel's lot.

Hot chocolate kept the chill at bay, as did a warm coat
Not to mention woolies, my trusty cap, a brolly in my tote.
A trip to Sheffield introduced the Yorkshire countryside
And one to Bath the delights of 10,000 years old water besides.

Oxford's quaintness, Cambridge's newness, a river runs there too
Being punted along, snuggling under blankets blue
Expansion of the mind, with all the tours I took
Of art galleries, from the Tate to National Gallery stuck.

Memories as photos and the additional kilo I've gained
Are all now that have remained.

Cooking in Progress

There's something about food
That puts me in a good mood
The washing purifies me too
The chopping takes away blues

For it requires mind. The violence
Dissipates my frustration. Hence
When I make the oil sizzle in the wet
It is easy to make the veggies sweat.

Stirring rhythmically, seeing my creation form
The uncertainty of it. Will  the spices storm?
Patience in spades is needed. The clock helps not
Only my gut, for when the veggies are done in the pot.

Somehow the eating is all the sweeter then
To feed myself and another, to know when
We stop, tomorrow too I will cook
And it doesn't happen by the book.

Silver Lining

The stars elbowed out the night from the sky.

I knew Venus, Sirius, and Orion’s Belt.

Then I started making up my own.

Silver spangles in the sky’s night dress.

They rained down on us, as we craned our necks.

Hillistan

Is it hookah smoke?

Or are the hills on coke?

Tucked in a white blanket they will slumber sweetly

Till they are woken up tomorrow morning.

Sunset in the Hills

Blue light of twilight rose to the top like yeast

While the golden red sunset we know 

Settled like rust in boiled water at the bottom.

Streaks of gold electrified the sky

Intense fireworks before the earth sleeps again

Red clouds blushed the sky for an evening out.

Sunrise at Gurdum

The sun made its presence felt

Yellowing the sky while being out of sight

Then blues, as if it didn’t want to get up

But had to, for duty’s sake, to awaken us.

Still no sight of the sun, now

Watercolour hues drench the sky

Yellow wins finally

Warming waves of mountains from the back

Which we can’t see, only deduce.

A range of cloud formations also seduce

It is camera shy

Warm red with yellow in the right.

Want to erase the mountains blocking our view

Like we could do when we painted them in

Now we cross them, once we choose to and have to both.

Now the warmth reaches the eyes

The clouds on the left warm

The mountains in front of the red

Are mere graph lines now.

Streaks that could be clouds

Now the yellow’s warmer

That’s where the sun is

The rays reach an opposite mountain

The yellow’s swallowed the red

Liquid gold floods the V.

(R)evolution

It's tough to think of a tiger as a cat
Or to imagine a cat as a tiger. That
is a stretch- literally.

A killer who accepts leftovers?
Shrinking in size, a roar that cowers.
They say tigers don't change their stripes.

Evolution, with time, changes every being.
Is it a pity, or is it not? With every singe
Survival, the herd instinct, and the bio clock
All rear their heads, to stalk the one who stalked.

Memories remain of the wilds, the air of the unknown
The promise of prey to come, which tasted overblown
Will the tiger drink of the milk of human kindness?

Or will the cat bolt, seeking to sharpen claw once more
Breathe life in a skeleton, search hills again for blood, gore
Is it even possible? Or will it be too little, too late
The spirit remains, even if the flesh falls to fate.

Cal Rain

Rain. Everywhere. You just need to look up.

Sometimes it finds you, amidst gupshup.

The rain has a voice too, chattering away.

Sometimes it drowns you out, on its day.

Often it's in the background, like the generator

Which kicks in when lights go out. What's more

Is that it demands attention, khichdi, pakodas

As we snuggle in again, excuse for samosas.

It may irritate, being housebound for a day

Brave knee deep water, only to find no way

To cross rain's dominion. Buildings are islands

Calling out for paper boats and magic wands

To hold our weight. Umbrellas, upside down

Would help us sail through the town.

Until then, our heads are bowed

As we wait till it's cowed.

Weight Poem CaPoWriMo 2.07

This war is one which is more deadly

Than nuclear ones for it is a medley

Of water (zero calories), negative calories (herbal tea)

And another relevant myth and mythology.

Will I lose weight by going to the gym?

Some say yea, some say nay, not thin

Permanently will you be, only till you keep going there

A bit like using Fair and Lovely. I’m tired of greens everywhere

On my plate, whether it is lunch or dinner. I never feel full

Only look it, alas. The stubborn scale smiles scornfully at me, gull.

CaPoWriMo 2.02 & CaPoWriMo 2.06

It is cricket’s last day

The winner is the best team

At least for today.

Again the madness in May

Will begin with IPL’s cream

Battling it out, pundits say.

The crowd is currently fey

As reality mirrors a dream

We say sometimes yay!

When the ball turns, it’s nay

Cassandra croakings stream

Online, for blue blood we bay.

With a reverse sweep by the way

Our hearts beat again as we lean

Towards thoughts of a win gay.

We clutch at straws to make hay

Utter curses which are mean

Only to forget when we lay

Down to sleep, the cost we pay.

CaPoWriMo 2.01

A good gambol with gossip

As a topping is energizing- a tip-

To tweet a twoosh is not tough

Know when you’ve said enough.