Averting The Evil Eyes

I LEARNT TO LOVE YOU –the hard way

You and I met

Under strains of lunacy

As prospective marriage partners

We crawled into the coffins of the astrologer's forecast

And discovered the ordinariness of marriage games!

Seeing you as a pawn tethered to a pillar of ignorance

Indecorously tied to that large banyan tree...  suffocated me

All my desires and dreams shrieked their hearts out.

I was cut off  almost instantly…

 I realized the hollowness in the name of' ' beliefs'

My profundities made me drowsy

The sweat on your face was still warm,

The beads on your forehead were glowing in tender innocence

Oh, so many 'kohinoors', to be claimed; I yearned...

Such images do not inspire a song but defines a bond

I decided to take you in my life discrediting my family's beliefs

Wedding drums resonated from the rubble of a storm...

And my soul awaited daybreak...

"Hope" is the thing with feathers—

That perches in the soul—"

And the feathers represent the qualities

 Of kindness, responsibilty and compassion.

In the mirror-works of your kameez,

I could catch the sunshine come and go in buoyant bursts

 Eyes crinkled, but my soaring spirit needed no prop

I took you down to the seashore and let waves wash over your hennaed toes

Celebrating freedom!--  my, oh my! it was like an explosion on senses

A big wave rolled in and drenched both of us to the waist

The helpless crowds gathered to watch the ritual gently disintegrated

In each other's arms, our souls heard the little tête-à-têtes ---a pair of lips sealed

For the first time, I saw a joyful face, so apt, so radiant for the occasion

Your smile was utter, every muscle in your face went into it

The sound of the crashing water and your eager lips wrestled with my conscience

Feelings emerged---to break all bounds...

Yes, I was fast, too fast ---

But thankfully  it was impatience for my timely intervention and not lust...

 Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. -- Bertrand Russell

Bloody Impressions

His hands were tied;

body pinned to the floor of the enemy van

Someone hit him hard with a gun-butt;

he coughed in agony

The van kept heading; bullets were ricocheting around it

It took a while ----

Knees wedged against his chest, he rolled out of the vehicle

 Falling, crumbling he returned to his land,

A battleground 

strewn with bullet-torn limbs and bodies

He recognized a few faces; 

heard a few saying their last prayers

Groans and moans buzzed around him deafeningly

His heart ached looking at Captain wrestling with death

It was a shocking reality, no illusion there

Another explosion rolled, a blinding light burst into the space

Several machine guns, rifles and tanks penetrated the earth

He slipped into the trench and hid himself

Beyond him was a thick haze of black smoke

The outline of the mountains were barely visible

The only sounds were the whirr of the military wheels

 His eyes moved slowly, from left to right; then right to left

The smell of fresh fires wafted with the breeze;

The sirens were clearer now; he crouched low in his trench

A few bullets flew above him once again,

The dust, the screams, the shredded metals perambulated in the air

He couldn’t move; another bang, another bomb reverberated...

Big dust settled on him, he was under bricks and loose stones

But, then he moaned--- God, my leg!