Of broken glasses and beer.

Jagged edges.

When glasses descend

kiss the ground

with  stunning brutality,

their edges acquire a unique beauty.

Broken shards surround their romance

collateral damage

in a quest to stand out.

Once smooth

glasses are now instruments for damage.

Poke them into your palm

and you might draw blood

glistening beads of life force

the very colour of the wine

that once rested in those glasses.

But now,

jagged edges

are all that remain.

The beer and the sun

Courtesy: Ankita Shreeram

One glass of beer and a walk in the sun

All we wanted was to have a bit of fun

Cobble-stoned paths and shuttered shops

One canvas beneath and one besides us

One to tread on, the other to run fingers by

We had shut out the sun but it continued to burn

In a dancing flame in the pit of our stomachs

And when we felt the flame diminishing,

We abandoned cool cobble-stoned causeways

Hopped on to a black and yellow magic carpet

Ands sailed apace to have another sip of sunshine

Two glasses of beer and another walk in the sun

This time my feet wanted to dance, not to run

Shadows of overhead leaves danced on our arms

While the monsoon sun kissed our beer-warmed fingers

Golden warmth smiled through my lips

And voices of joy sang through my eyes

When the sun went down, so did the fire in our bellies

This time we let it die, happy to cradle the ashes

There would be another walk in the sun

Another look at children's toys and posters that promised to brighten your days

Another stop at raucous bars and another dance on rain-kissed streets

On a day not too distant from this one.

Harbour view

Courtesy: Ankita Shreeram

 Bright golden stars

Float upon the distant sea

Like jewels strewn with a careless hand.

A reluctant moon spies on their asymmetry

Perhaps plotting a tidal wave

That would reassemble the jewels

Into a perfect half-circle

Cast in the moon's image - 

Ode to it's narcissistic beauty.

As the sea joins hands with the blackening sky,

The golden stars acquire a salmon halo

Like a scarf made of spider web strands

And then steeped into salmon-hued glue

To keep the golden warmth safe

From the hungry water,

The moon's covetous eyes

And distant observers ashore.

Silence.

My feet

Sing songs of sweet agony

My muscles

Tell tales of disharmony

But my mind

My mind is in deep slumber

A nudge

No answer

Don't desert me, thought-buddy

Silence and I, we're awkward strangers

But now we're left alone

Like a man and a woman on a first date

Hesitant but fearfully hopeful

I take a tentative sip

From a glass full of stillness

Silence fidgets, then relaxes

The room darkens

Quietens

We smile, hands lying on the table,

Uneasily

I keep looking around for familiar intruders

Memories, regrets, analysis

But this is thought paralysis

Silence begins to melt

Though the room is cool

Melds into the velvety darkness

Leaving me alone

A heavy serenity

Wrapped around me like thick smoke

Inescapable, strangely comforting

Now I don't want my thought-buddies back

But I know they will come

Already, the door is opening

Inch by inch

Silence, she won't stay too long

A hard woman to woo

Maybe next time

I should let her take a sip instead.

Blur for clarity.

Let's crush the paper

bring the corners together

the world folding up

maps shrinking

distances blurring

let the sun shine on all of us equally

At the same time

let it illuminate all our eyes

at once

let seas heave into mountains

and mountains collapse into cornfields

let the world fold up

maps going up in flames

forests melting down on us

continents merging

boundaries blurring

let it all end

come together

fire and ice

deserts and icebergs

a storm unimagined

a tornado unforeseen

let it take our smiles and our tears

Our dreams and our fears

And hurl back at us

Something more honest, purer

More magical, truer.

Thank you, Robert Frost, who wrote, 'Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction, ice is also great, and would suffice.'