English Poetry
A collection of poems penned by Sudhām on a range of topics.
A Beautiful Friendship
Wonder if things would've changed Or would they have remained the same Would we have grown into wise old men by now Or remained boys taking things as they came Life would have kept us together I'd reckon Circumstances no doubt would've made our journeys part It would have remained a beautiful friendship If only a premature end did'nt beckon Had life not made other plans You'd have turned 50 today Imagine all that we'd have done The boys in us would've had their way So in your memory we shall pour out one Sing songs all night from an infinite playlist Do things the only way we would have done Have one more and one more till morning come
The Average Guy
I am your average guy The kind that hold the door for you Instead of getting ahead on the sly I am your average guy The type you call your friend Not the hottie who you wanna try I am your average guy The one who sticks around Never leaves you hanging dry I am your average guy Whose word you can rely on Not someone who’s default is a lie I am your average guy Happy always to lose to you Not hide behind if, but and why I am your average guy Your very last first kiss The love you just couldn’t deny Yes I am just an average guy
The Wiseman’s Lament
Fear not the fools For they have no pretence Fear the questions they ask For they may expose your ignorance Beware of the ignorant though They certainly are a dangerous lot Stubborn enough to keep facts at bay Smart enough to connive and plot Wisdom alone isn’t enough for the wise The wise must put it to opportune use For the fool doesn’t care much for knowledge The ignorant love status quo, tis change they refuse The fools have no concept of it The ignorant don’t find wasting it a crime Quest for knowledge is a burden for the wise Wisdom isn’t attained overnight, it accrues over time The world is fair and uniformly unkind to all No matter you are the fool, ignorant or wise The wise in their knowledge of it suffer more After all, “Ignorance is bliss in fool’s paradise”
The Mind Shapers
A tribute to all the potters Who shape the human mind To those who see each piece of clay And believe that it is one of a kind Their knowledge like deft fingers Shaping and moulding the clay Expertly spinning the wheel Fast at times, at times slowing play Carefully grinding and dusting Allowing the contours to appear Baking and glazing every single one To make them last many a year So here’s an expression of gratitude Towards all those wonderful artisans The teachers who have crafted us all Into becoming our best possible versions
Unstoppable
My nation stands at the precipice A fledgling ready to leave the perch Yet a maven helming a new world A beacon of a wise and vibrant past A billion hopes ready to take wing Aspirations waiting to fly high A populace with a newfound voice Diaspora that has found the spotlight You know you can reach where you’re going Once you know where you started from India today is an idea whose time has come Our tryst with our destiny has only just begun
Armageddon
Things aren’t always
As they seem the wise say
Life is after all, about the greys
And the games people play
Be wary of the silences
For in them lie the seeds
Of perceptions and pretences
Scheming and devious deeds
Minds with power to spread fear
No sweat broken when a lie is told
Bereft of emotion, never ever a tear
Ethics pawned and conscience sold
Gather ye the guardians of good
For the hour of reckoning has come
Stand for what’s right as you should
Fight for all and not just for some
The brave must protect and fight
For the meek to inherit the earth
Light torches, shine the path bright
Time to show what truth is worth
Blow hard, blow high, blow strong
Drive those storm clouds far away
For good takes time to come along
When it does, hold on, make it stayThe Night Watchman
Dense fog hangs on Rather obstinately The underlying sense of gloom Is undeniable Rays of the morning sun Battle to sneak in The air feeble in its movement Struggles to rustle a leaf The embers have braved on Valiant in their heat They beat a cold night The ashes tell their tale The steaming cup of tea Signals a new day Dutybound or subservient He salutes with a morning wish Hope and need intertwine Need saying survive another day Hope nudging and telling him This too shall pass
I am YOU!
Perhaps it’s always been the case But I have begun to feel it more these days In important and in those little things In familiar yet in undescribable ways I notice it in the way I speak Even in the way I react to what I eat It manifests in my constant worry I have changed for sure and it’s bittersweet Each day I look in the mirror the feeling grows It causes me to miss you more and then not to There are no two ways about it, I am sure I was “me” now I am “you”
I Believe
Sunlight streams through my window But fails to lighten up my dark corners The corners of my vacant heart Life just passed me by While I sat making other plans A long winding highway with pain at every bend A journey spent in waiting for the next milestone Just tunnels without any light at the end Good things come to those who wait they say How much longer? How much further? No stopovers, no goodbyes No fleeting moments stolen from life Lifes just a one way track headed nowhere Hope is the fuel I run on And I still wait because I believe Yes, I believe
Ode to a Sibling
Is there a burial ground for a heartache? A deep distant corner to bury your feelings Of the sort that were suppressed Emotions left unexpressed The ache of a playmate lost The agony of a companion gone The hand that helped me walk The one who shaped the way I write and talk Never to come back again ..you're gone without a trace Every time I've thought of you I've held back Stopped myself from wondering How it would have been had you been around How you'd have felt In my moments of joy and those when I was in pain Years have passed yet the hurt remains The unsaid and the unreleased is what I pen today Don't need photographs on the wall I close my eyes... I see your face