Saturday, December 31, 2011

The Street Magician

He sits on the ground
With all the magic around him
We crowd around peeping over shoulders
To see what will he show next.

His voice is captivating
Enthralling the watchers
The tricks are great
Never a dull moment

Things disappear and appear elsewhere
Sleight of hand as never before
We try our best to catch him
But always fail

The show ends and we all clap
Some walk away as he seeks the pennies
Some reach for their pockets
Horror of horrors, they have been picked

The tamasha goes on every day
Doves gather for the show
A hawk performs
While other prey

We slowly catch on
But other shows remain
This time one plays the villain
While others are heroes they say.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Diary pages of my visit to the 3rd Planet from the Sun

Must have been an advanced civilization, I observe

Looking at the ruins, some of them magnificent.

The greatness of the creatures obvious from the cooperation

For, such abodes can’t be built by singletons.


I wonder how they perished

For how they lived is pretty clear

The interplay of the efforts and mutual harmony

Impressing me no end.


I see a doll dressed up in fineries

A clockwork mechanism

To make it work

I turn the key, nothing happens.


The silence is eerie

And yet I can hear

The bustle of the city

The din of the creatures as they moved on


I see the cages and pause awhile

Such greatness also had another side.

Who were the prisoners?

Creatures not like them?


If a greater species conquered,

Then where were they?

The cages are just like abodes

So they imprisoned their own?


Logical ends they must have reached

Seeking out the wrong and eliminating them

One by one

Reaching a stage that there was one


Then he too realized that he had some wrongs

May have jumped following them all.

They never realized that boosting the little good

Was preferable to eliminating the bad.


For elimination is destruction

Which entails no construction

The negative cycle which spirals down

The Crash inevitable


I have tears in my eyes as I turn to leave

The doll in my hand I throw on the heap

Suddenly the mechanism starts to work

I hear it say “Condemn him for he has sinned”


Ujjwal Uke 20111216

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Yuletide

It’s the season to forgive,

It’s the season to be free.

The burdens that we carry

Of past hurts and grief

Are easily shed, once you decide.

To forgive and become free


You let me down,

You betrayed me.

The pain still lingers.

I did what I thought was right.

You did what you thought was right.

But a century hence, it will just be a tale.


I am deprived of your humour,

I am deprived of your banter.

I face the loss, and so do you.

I fill your absence with remembrance of your cruelty

I need you and yet hesitate.


Time never returns for it is always there

It is we who move on

And then despair.

All it needs is to forgive and let go the pain

Everything will return

As it was always there.


I forgive you my friend,

I forgive you my dear

I forgive you from the deepest core

The pain is released and only you remain


I hug you and hold you

Never to let you go

You look with suspicion

Doubt filling your mind

You seem to ask- is it for real

Is the respite short term

Will the pain return


I smile and say

NEVER AGAIN

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Oh the faces you make

Oh the faces you make!
The unsmiling lips, the strong jaw.
The disapproving look
Are you in discomfort my friend?

They say the warriors of yore
Donned face paint to look fearful.
Your nice face turns so ugly,
When you try to create fear.

What ails you, my friend
What is the cause of your fear?
For it is fear within,
Which makes you try to look fearful.

Look I can scare you, I hear you say
Reassuring yourself of your strength
Hiding the nervousness within
Under the cloak of morals.

You arouse passions
David has come to slay Goliath.
Righteousness is the sword
By which you provoke

They egg you on,
Showering praise
The ticket sellers of the Collosseum
Who live off the blood of Gladiators.

You look unsure,
Is this the only way?
Am I doing right?
You look askance for approval

The drumroll begins
Everyone claps.
You get your approval
And then you begin.

But why the face paint?
What are you hiding?
Where's the gentle forgiving look, the hallmark of the brave.
The battle for right is fought by a smile, not by a scowl.

Ujjwal Narayan Uke 20111212

Friday, December 9, 2011

Where do you come from

Where do you come from my friend?
Do you find this corner comfortable?
Your child sits on the expensive paver block
Your wife covers her face.

You stay in the corner where streets of gold meet
The rate of your abode is in millions.
Yet you are always clad in simple clothes,
Your modesty knows no bounds.

Eyes half closed with sleepiness,
Induced by the weariness of work?
Or by the gift of Bacchus?
I often wonder.

Duelling with rivals unseen
Imaginary windmills you tilt at,
My Don your tales regale
All those who have the time to listen

You ramble on and on
Tales of Dragons you slayed.
The jungle which our cities have become,
With slaves remaining as all others have fled.

We have managed to trap a few parrots, you say
They are around you in gilded cages.
Imitating every word you say,
Pecking at the morsels you throw.

You rave on about injustice,
How inhuman life has become.
Why stay here then, I ask
You say you love it here.

You get yardsticks to measure
Your joy, your worth,
But of late it only shows how much more to do
Fatigue sets in for there is so much to do, you sigh.

Are you happy I ask
Taken aback, you seem disturbed
But soon the continence returns,
I am free here you tell me

The parrots roll over with laughter...

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

The Sun beckons

The Sun beckons you to see,
The follies of us, yes you and me.
For the darkness is there as clear as daylight,
Never has anyone been so blinded, as with eyes wide open.

We the creatures of flesh and blood,
The most efficient in the world,
Succumb to beliefs as soon they're heard,
The quest for knowledge, with vision blurred?

Lazy, thats what they make you,
Readymades is what you love.
Your freedom and life you buy in packages,
Happiness is now sold at the mall.

The ability to live and procreate
Was the hallmark of your existence.
Now with the Self being taboo,
And love going out of fashion,
Everyday we march on like working Ants.
The goal being nothing but serve and serve,
Without questioning whom do we serve?
Slave drivers now need no whips,
For they control your mind,
Telling you, it is foolish to think.

Your human virtues
Of love kindness and compassion,
Which you are born with,
Are diverted away from your brother.
Enjoy the explosion they say,
See the entrails being ripped off,
Of your fellow being and rejoice,
For that is happiness defined for you.

The doves are hated for they are free,
The hawks are loved for they are feared.
Where are we heading
A generation lost in fear.

Squeezing every bit from the lemon,
The pulp is worth nothing,
But with organ transplant
Your remains may become more valuable.
So bring out the scalpel,
Cut cut cut
What do we do of the balance?
Find a way to market it
In the bazzar of fear.

Ujjwal Narayan Uke 20111204