If Only…

By Joybrato Dutta

A broken heart, in a damaged cart
A baggage that doesn’t leave
And all I wish with every breath
If only time could retreat

A dormant flame, a prolonged pain
Perturbs me in my sleep
She closed her eyes with a wry smile
While I slid down to defeat
The morning kiss, the awakening bliss
Gave way to departing feet
And all I wish with every breath
If only time could retreat

No unfilled promise, no darkened blemish
Could further make me weak
Whilst I trot the path endowing my thought
Well packaged in deceit
Their flowing tears their growing fears
Fuelled my winning streak

Although I wished with every breath
If only time could retreat

A thousand smiles no lonesome cry
Their social eyes could meet
With the flowing hour, demising valour
A pretentious mirage I seek
Their broken hearts reflect my thoughts
As my lonely pride just weeps
Oh how I wish with every breath
If only time could retreat

The spark of conceit went down on its knees
My shameful image did meet
And in a moment the past sneered by
And triumph faced defeat
A confused vengeance, seeking repentance
Unworthy life I’d lived
And now I wish with every breath
If only time could retreat

A broken heart, in a damaged cart
A baggage that doesn’t leave
And all I wish with every breath
If only time could retreat

kahen ya na kahen

By Sharat D.Mathur

jee main aata hai har ik sham koi nazm kahen,

haat ho jate hain bezar, kahen ya na kahen

jee me aata hai ki vahashat ka vo lamha keh dain,

lavz ho jate hain khamosh, kahen ya na kahen

ashk kahtain hain ki gir jayen abhi kagaz par,

aankh jhuk jati hai chupchap, kahen ya na kahen

vo ye kahate hain ki shayar ho tum tumhi keh do

sunane wale hain wohi log, kahen ya na kahen

kuch main kahata hoon to kehtain hain ki kehta hai bohot

kuch na kehane pe bhi ilzam, kahen ya na kahen.

Related articles

• Kaise Kahen Ssn 2 (Part 5) (tichluvgurti.wordpress.com)
• Saaf Chuptay Bhi Nahi,Samny Aty Bhi Nahi (ayeshaehsan.wordpress.com)

Whats Life: A Play

By Malathy Madathilezham

Life is but a play!

The world’s an arena on display

Everyone’s for the limelight, the glitter

We scheme, we cheat, we act!

Masks Masks everywhere

Lies lies everywhere,

Different types of lies!!!

What is real, what is true… unknown

What is favourable, we deem it the truth

Everyone’s truth is different and flexible

We scheme, we cheat, we act!

Masks Masks everywhere

Lies lies everywhere

Different types of lies!!!

Painted faces, dazzling dresses,and oh what fashion!

Cover up, cover up the ugliness within,

And make us the envy of others!!

We scheme, we cheat, we act!

Masks masks everywhere

Lies lies everywhere

Different types of lies!!!

One wrong act! One true step!

And off you go, the stage is no longer for you!

Only the careful and cunning succeed

We scheme, we cheat, we act!

Masks masks everywhere

Lies lies everywhere

Different types of lies!!!

To survive, join the game quick,

Learn the tricks and the bricks of the trade

Learn to dodge and to play!!

We scheme, we cheat, we act!

Masks masks everywhere

Lies lies everywhere

Different types of lies!!!

Related articles

• Mask! (angelfacefoundation.wordpress.com)

In Memory of the Poet Laureate on his Birthday – Lord Alfred Tennyson

Born on August 6 1809, Lord Alfred Tennyson was the poet laureate for two nations – Great Britain and Ireland. Compared to any of his contemporaries, Tennyson seemed the embodiment of his age.

Tennyson first published his compositions as a student in Cambridge. His first publication comprised a collection of boyish rhymes about himself and his brother. However, the major breakthrough in his works came only by 1830, upon the publication of his solo collection titled – Poems Chiefly Lyrical.

Since then, there had been no looking back. By 1842 he had already published two volumes of poems and was living in London. The success of his work Poems made him popular like never before; and eight years down the line in 1850, he was appointed as the Poet Laureate.

A master craftsman in his own right, Tennyson made use of mythological references in most of his works. Subject matters in his works ranged from medieval legends to classical myths – from domestic situations to even nature in its extreme forms. The influence early romantic poets such as John Keats and William Blake is often reflected in the works of this master. An excellent user of rhythm, Tennyson’s use of musical qualities exudes in his lyrical compositions. Use of figures of speech like metaphor, onomatopoeia, assonance and alliteration is prevalent in his works.

Tennyson is considered as one of the great poets of not only the early Victorian Era but also one of the great English Poets, almost at par with likes of Wordsworth or Keats and definitely above many of his Victorian contemporaries.

No Rhyme No Reason

 

By Malathy Madathilezham

No rhyme no reason

Why I

Am with you

 

The pain I feel

Drives me closer to you

I realise that now

The days pass by

The fights, abuses and all

But I come back

How long,

Will go on this ?

 

No rhyme no reason

Why I

Am with you

 

The feelings the same

But something’s changed

The joy’s gone,

More of a hollow within

I loathe looking at you

But I can’t leave you

How long

Will go on this?

 

No rhyme no reason

Why I

Am with you

 

Yes, I love you still

But something’s changed

More of make believe

The thought of your touch

I shudder with fear

How long

Will go on this

 

No rhyme no reason

Why I

Am with you

 

 

 

 

Related articles

• Confabulation – To Rhyme or not to Rhyme? (snozzlewort.wordpress.com)

प्यार या आकर्षण?

शीला चित्रवंशि कि कलम से

प्यार है या फिर मात्र छलावा
भ्रम है या फिर दिखावा
युगों से लोग इसमें फंसते चले आ रहे हैं
ऋषि-मुनि भी तो कहाँ बच पाये हैं?
किवंदंतियां भी सदियों से चली आ रही हैं
इस युग में भी तो भरमार है

प्यार है या एक आकर्षण,
पहले तो कुछ सच्चाई भी नज़र आती थी
पर आज तो इसका रूप ही बदल गया है
प्यार एक आकर्षण मात्र ही रह गया है
न ही कोई सच्चाई न ही स्थिरता है
बस बुराइयों का ढेर बनता चला जा रहा है
यह कहाँ कोई समझ पा रहा है
युगों से तो प्यार की गरिमा व ठहराव की चर्चा भी चली आ रही है
उसके भी उदहारण हैं बहुत
पर कहाँ किसी को दिखाई देती है?
सच्चाई की प्रतिबिम्ब की झलक अंत तक दिखाई देती है
खुशबू बिखेरती है, चारों तरफ़ हवा का रुख फैलाती है
उसकी गरिमा को जानिए, गहराइयों तक पहुँचिये,
निष्ठा, गरिमा, व स्थिरता का सच्चा स्वरूप नज़र आता है
पर झूठा आकर्षण, झूठ का आधार जीवन को नकारात्मक बना देता है

कहाँ गया वह युग, कहाँ गए वो लोग,
जिनका ज़रा भी इस ओर ध्यान नहीं जाता
बदलाव आते हैं हर युग में,
पर आप कितने पानी में हैं यह सबको समझ में आता है
झाँक कर देखो तो प्यार में निष्ठां, प्रतिष्ठा,
स्थिरता एवं एक अटूट सम्बन्ध का कितना अच्छा सुखद एहसास नज़र आता है
जो लोग समझना चाहते नहीं हैं,
और बिगड़े हुए रूपों की ओर निरंतर भाग रहे हैं
यह छलावा नहीं तो और क्या है?
भ्रम नहीं तो और क्या है?

Related articles

• अमृत वचन (jeevanrekha.wordpress.com)
• When Over-trust Blinds Yourself … (nishantlodha.wordpress.com)

Remembering The Radical Romantic On His 221st Birthday – Percy Bysshe Shelley

Regarded as one of the finest lyric poets of the English-speaking world, Percy Bysshe Shelley was born on August 4, 1792 in Sussex, England. Immensely radical in his works and political as well as social, Shelley unfortunately did not receive much recognition during his lifetime. His worth as a genius as a poet came along only after his death. Shelley became such a strong influence on the next generation of poets and writers, so much so that he was great admired by the like of Oscar Wilde, Karl Marx, Robert Browning and Thomas Hardy. 

Shelley’s literary compositions exemplify both extremes of Romanticism – joyous ecstasy and brooding despair. The major themes of Shelley’s works comprised – interchange with nature, pursuit of ideal love, rebellion against authority, visionary imagination and the untamed spirit always in search of freedom. 

Though Shelley’s themes exude certain similar hues with his contemporaries, nonetheless, he has left behind certain peculiarities on the literary movement of Romanticism. Pursuit of the idea and the creation of powerful symbols are idiosyncratic to Shelley’s works. His compositions like Ozymandus, Ode to Intellectual Beauty, Prometheus Unbound and Ode to the West Wind are not only intellectual feasts but also a delight to the visual imaginations. 

It goes without saying that Shelley’s radical ides embodied in his literary compositions, still remains as a challenge to us to achieve our extreme potentials. 

Related articles

• Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Manuscript for “Ozymiandias” (biblioklept.org)
• Free Books by Percy Bysshe Shelley (mediabistro.com)
• Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) (biographyuk.wordpress.com)
• Spoiler free Breaking Bad trailer (plus3intelligence.wordpress.com)

घुलता हुआ एहसास

Ankit Chandra writes this forlorn lover poem with a caveat. Don’t label him as a forlorn lover, this is just an artistic creation. Wonderfully crafted though, enjoy

सोचता तो था की शायद उसको याद करता हूँ
पर अहसास अब कुछ कम होता है

कुछ समय पहले चाहता तो उसे बहुत था
पर महसूस अब थोडा कम करता हूँ

कहीं से कुछ कम हुआ है या खुद ही ख़त्म हो रहा हूँ
पर कुछ बातों को याद करके मायूस अब थोडा कम होता हूँ

सूरज को देखने की आदत तो नहीं पड़ी है,
पर चाँद को अब कभी कभी ही देखता हूँ

किसी और का नाम तो नहीं आया है अभी जुबां पे,
पर उसका नाम ज़रूर कम लेता हूँ

देर रात तक जागना तो अभी शुरू नहीं किया है,
पर रात में अभी भी कम सोता हूँ

आँखें अभी तक सूखी तो नहीं है
पर शायद अब थोडा कम रोता हूँ..

Related articles

• Flash Fiction: Bird Watching (ericpatrickclayton.wordpress.com)
• A Willing Heart (livefromtheheartofme.wordpress.com)

Ishaq Se Achha Kya Hai

इश्क में बहने सेअच्छा क्या है
ख्वाबों में रहने से अच्छा क्या है ,
हाले-दिल सुनाने से नहीं होगा मेरा वो
गोया चुप ही रहने से अच्छा क्या है .

रातों में जगने से अच्छा क्या है
रास्तों से लड़ने से अच्छा क्या है ,
बर्बाद करेगा तू , हो जाऊंगा ख़ुशी से मैं
बर्बाद हो फिर से -पनप जाने से अच्छा क्या है .

सजने और संवर जाने से अच्छा क्या है
ग़म है तो क्या , मुस्कुराने से अच्छा क्या है .
सफ़ेद कपड़ों में लिपट जायेंगे इस ज़िन्दगी के बाद
दुनिया के रंगों में रंग जाने से अच्छा क्या है

तेरी चाहत के फंदे में उतर जाने से अच्छा क्या है
जो है किया मना सबने – वो कर जाने से अच्छा क्या है ,
सुना चुका हूँ तेरी साज़िश ज़हर तू ही मुझे देगी
तेरे हाथों का दिया ज़हर पी जाने से अच्छा क्या है .

आपका
बिलाल

Related articles

• Mumbai Merri Jaan (khansjak.wordpress.com)
• Friendship Day Quotes in Hindi | Hindi Quotes For Friendship Day 2013 (friendshipday2013blog.wordpress.com)

A Longing Bait

By Aditya Nagarajan

How lonely, left was I to grave
substituting cigarette buds for illusory nipples of my mother

screaming and scathing, modest approvals of despair
those never ending love, lost like words; teenagers write at shores in beaches

I wake up, hollow, a perfectly day-night balanced between nostalgia and emotion
where rhythm masquerades as poignant guilt

I walk, thread-bare, worn-out, outworn, trite and stale
where shadows neither follow nor silhouette appear rare

A close veil of miasma lurk around like scented perfume coming out of
wet blouses

I cough the drag, the cigarette stopped being loyal
the smoke was like the genie, my mouth typified the magic lamp

I throw the rest of the cigarette like an author discards words unnecessary
as I surrender into stupor, sleep betrays me again